I am not certain what it means but pastors resort to military analogies with surprising frequency. One of them is the metaphor of “dying on a hill.” The image is that of a marine charging up a hill or fighting to hold . . . Continue reading →
Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was one of the most influential writers of the 1st half of the 20th century. He was a skeptic about religion but had a keen eye and a sharp tongue. It was he who described Sister Aimee’s religion . . . Continue reading →
My copy arrived yesterday. Looking forward to it. The publisher (Eerdmans) says: “H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) was a reporter, literary critic, editor, author — and a famous American agnostic. From his role in the Scopes Trial to his advocacy of science and . . . Continue reading →
Chick Tracts ironically turn grace into the same kind of superstitious incantation that they passionately decry. —Samuel D. James
William Miller (1782–1849), a lay Bible student (later a Baptist preacher), predicted that Christ would return to earth some time between 21 March 1843 and 21 March 1844. One of Miller’s followers postponed the date to 22 October 1844. When Christ did . . . Continue reading →
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A friend and HB reader writes to ask about the validity baptisms administered in mainline (liberal) congregations. Should a NAPARC (North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council) affiliated congregation receive as valid a baptism performed by a minister in a denomination that has . . . Continue reading →
A survey of 3,000 people conducted by LifeWay Research and commissioned by Ligonier Ministries found that although Americans still overwhelmingly identify as “Christian,” startling percentages of the nation embrace ancient errors condemned by all major Christian traditions. These are not minor points . . . Continue reading →
Perhaps as a result of the value they place on good sermons, church leadership and the style of worship services, many people – even in this age of technology – find there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction when seeking information about . . . Continue reading →
…The Big Eva world is indeed run as the personal fiefdom of a few, even if many of those decent people involved on the various mastheads are unaware of this. But cross those few, or touch their dogmatic golden calves, and you . . . Continue reading →
The economy of evangelical power is complicated but I want to highlight just two aspects today, aspects which have been critical in the recent discussion and which have a profound doctrinal significance. First, there is the fact that the same narrow gene . . . Continue reading →
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were . . . Continue reading →
Some 57,400 American Protestants converted to Roman Catholicism between 1831 and 1860… Protestants reacted strongly to such Catholic proselytizing. They attributed the Catholics’ success in part to the cultural appeal of their imagery and art. Accordingly, Protestants began to make use themselves . . . Continue reading →
To most Millerites, Ellen’s visions were simply another manifestation of the unfortunate religious drift of the times toward “fanaticism.” Early 19th-century America abounded with”prophets” of every description, from little-known frontier seers in Ellen Harmon’s own Methodist Church to prominent sectarian leaders. Mother . . . Continue reading →
Nineteenth-Century American religion was wild and wooly. It began with an outbreak of Pentecostalism and concluded with the death of Dwight L. Moody and the beginning of the end of Old Princeton. In between saw the rise of Mormonism, the Second Great . . . Continue reading →
Nevertheless, despite all our natural resistance to authority and despite our suspicion of the church the fact is that our Lord Jesus, whom we profess to love and whose Word we profess to believe, instituted the very visible church against which we so easily rebel. Continue reading →
Now that the number of persons departing the denomination has increased from 89,296 to 92,433, and the statistical rate of decline has bumped from 4.83 percent to 5.54 percent, Parsons can no longer soothe fellow church bureaucrats in Louisville that decline is . . . Continue reading →
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We’re awash in ersatz, ad hoc, consumerist, Narcissistic spirituality Continue reading →
Synod, having considered that part of the Advice of the Committee in General which is found in point III under the head: Treatment of the Three Points, comes to the following conclusions The First Point Concerning the first point, touching the favorable . . . Continue reading →
Warren Throckmorton, who teaches psychology at Grove City College, the fellow who blew the whistle on Mars Hill, has set his sights on David Barton of Wallbuilders fame. You may have seen Barton on late-night infomercials or on the web. He is known for . . . Continue reading →