USA Today has a story on recent Pew Forum survey that shows that 48% of Americans are “Protestant,” 22% Roman, and 20% are slotted under “none,” and 6% under “other” (the greater share of which one guesses is Islam, which is gaining . . . Continue reading →
American Christianity
Puritans, Slavery, and Criticizing Heroes
Thabiti Anyabwile has a stimulating and thoughtful post about a controversy that, except for the interwebs, I would have missed altogether. It apparently arose over a rap song. Hence my ignorance. Now, if was Al Green, Booker T. and the MGs, or . . . Continue reading →
Good Mormon Families?
When discussing the success of Mormons, who prefer to be known as Latter Day Saints, in spreading their religion, people point to four points of persuasion: They have good families They are nice people They’ve had an intense religious experience They’re right on . . . Continue reading →
Colson Calls for Doctrinal Boot Camp: But Which Doctrine?
In 1994 Chuck Colson attempted to convince evangelicals that the decline of the culture was so precipitous that they needed to set aside the historic Protestant doctrine of justification in favor of an intentionally equivocal statement about how we are accepted by . . . Continue reading →
Radon Thoughts Is Reading Always Reformed
He likes the essay about Sister. Read more».
Collin Hansen on Evangelical "Self-Inflicted Amnesia"
Sometimes younger Christians give the impression that we have things figured out. We’re the future. We’ve found the old methods wanting, so we’ve developed new ones. We’re the generation that will strike the right balance where our forebears fell over to one . . . Continue reading →
Is the Reformed Faith a Second Blessing?
In response to Jason Stellman’s monday post the question has arisen as to what should be required for membership in a confessional Reformed (e.g., Three Forms) or Presbyterian (Westminster Standards) congregation. The argument has been made that, in American Presbyterian churches, the . . . Continue reading →
Clark Pinnock Dies at Age 73; Was God Surprised?
Too soon? Bad taste? Perhaps but so is suggesting that God might have a body (see Most Moved Mover) and that the future is “genuinely open” to God. As soon as I read of Pinnock’s death in Christianity Today the first thing . . . Continue reading →
Anne Rice is Right (and Wrong)
I understand why Anne Rice has renounced (HT: Aquila Report) the visible, institutional church. She’s a modern and she’s an American. She might also have some “authority issues” (she was born “Howard Allen O’Brien“) but I digress. Yes, she’s Romanist but she’s . . . Continue reading →
Audio Resources: The Presbyterian and Reformed Family Tree
Ever wonder whence the split Ps and broken Rs come? Here’s a great interview with WSC’s Darryl Hart on the Presbyterian and Reformed family tree.
Horton: To Be or Not to Be? Reformed Christianity And American Evangelicalism
Somewhere along the way, however, the evangel became increasingly separated from evangelism; the message became subservient to the methods. Today, it is taken for granted by many that those most concerned about doctrine are least interested in reaching the lost (or, as . . . Continue reading →
The Presbyterian Guardian is Back (Link Corrected)
Well, the back issues are now available online (HT: Josh Martin)
Neither Abyss Nor Eschaton
David Hall analyzes the just past PCA GA. I found it helpful.
Hegel in the PCA?
It seems like a dialectic. It’s almost a minimalist definition of “Reformed” and Darryl has some interesting analysis of it.
EPC Moves Toward the Mainline and the Mainline Moves Toward the Drain
Recovering the Reformed Confession I described the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (along with the CRC) as a part of the “borderline” (as distinct from the mainline and the sideline). At the time, the CRC appeared to be moving toward the mainline (which trajectory . . . Continue reading →
Ergun Caner, the Legacy of Revivalism, and Show Biz
UPDATE 28 JUNE 2010 CT takes a similar approach to the Caner story. Since this post appeared, Caner has been removed from his position as Dean but remains a faculty member at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Original Post 30 May 2010 Ergun . . . Continue reading →
The Anti-Canonical Spirit Of American Religion
A canon is a rule, a measure, an objective standard by which things are measured. A canon is also a limit. Americans have never been particularly fond of limits. We are a busy, restless people always pushing the boundaries. Every school child . . . Continue reading →
The Problem with Churches and "Social Justice"
Darryl explains.
Idols of the Heartland? The Megachurch Background of American Idol
The LA Times has a story chronicling an interesting connection between some evangelical megachurches and contestants on American Idol (HT: Bill J.).
"Sectarians" v "Relevants" in the PCA and the Strategic Plan
“Nowhere has the disagreements between the “sectarians” and the “relevants” been more evident than in the discussions regarding the Regulative Principle of Worship, women in diaconal ministry, and the cultural mandate of the Church. The Metro New York Presbytery of the PCA, . . . Continue reading →