2020 Archive

Negotiating With Polyamory: A Snapshot Of Evangelicalism In 2020

by on February 22, 2020

H. Richard Niebuhr (1894–1962) is the slightly less famous younger brother of Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). The latter was a favorite of two presidents, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. The former is most famous for his 1951 book, Christ and Culture, though his early work, The Social Sources of Denominationalism (1929) and The Kingdom of God in America (1937) remainfluential. In the latter he perfectly characterized liberal Christianity as that in which “A God without wrath brought men without sinto a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” In Christ and Culture he offered a taxonomy of Christian approaches Continue reading →

Why The Mission Needs The Marks

by on February 19, 2020

Doubtless the one of the most significant movements within evangelicalism at the moment is the “emergent” or “emerging churches” movement. The adjectives “emerging” and “emergent” designate different wings of the movement. Generally, the “emergent” wing is more radical and the “emerging” wing a little less radical. Just as frequently, however, in the contemporary rhetoric from both wings of the movement no distinction is made and this essay will speak of the “emerging movement” (hereafter, EM). Like their older evangelical brothers and sisters, the EM also rejects (at least elements of) fundamentalism and revivalism. In their place, they are constructing a cross-traditional, eclectic synthesis. Continue reading →

Explaining the Nine Points of Synod Schereville

by on February 15, 2020

In 2007 the Synod the United Reformed Churches in North America adopted a statement of pastoral advice concerning the self-described “Federal Vision” theology. One of the main matters of business at Synod Schereville was to address an overture brought by Classis Michigan regarding the Federal Vision theology. As part of dealing with that overture Synod took two actions. First it re-affirmed and strengthened the language first adopted at Synod Calgary regarding justification by faith alone (sola fide). Continue reading →

Former Member Of PCA SJC Leaves PCA

by on February 13, 2020

…Over the past several years, I have been distressed at the downfall of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the rise of heresy within the body through the Federal Vision teaching and immorality through the same-sex attraction movement. I have raised . . . Continue reading →

Your Faith Has Saved You

by on February 10, 2020

Bob Godfrey preached the evening sermons last night. His text was in Luke 8:40–56. It is a challenging passage, as he observed, but I was struck by one verse in particular and by the difference between the Greek text and the ESV. I was reading the former while Bob was reading, as he should, from the latter from the pulpit. As he read v. 48 we heard, “And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’” What I was reading, however, …‘Daughter, your faith has saved you…’” (ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν). Continue reading →

As It Was In The Days Of Noah (28): 2 Peter 1:3–11 (part 4)

by on February 7, 2020

The Christian life is not the instrument of salvation. To attempt to make it so is a self-defeating move, since none of us, in this life, shall attain perfect sanctification. Thus, all of us fall short of the mark. This is undeniably true. In that case, we are left to going back to the dog’s breakfast of the late-medieval doctrine of congruent merit, the doctrine rejected by the entire Reformation, that God imputes perfection to our imperfect efforts unto justification and salvation. Continue reading →