While the current bylaws greatly restrict our authority, we believe we must act like elders none-the-less,” they write. “It is time to take responsibility for our church, regardless of how much our current bylaws prevent us from exercising that authority. —Sarah Pulliam . . . Continue reading →
American Religion
John Paul II, Sister, & Billy Sunday
Yet with Rome, the grandeur and spectacle of it all somehow overwhelms and masks the fact that its trading on fundamentally the same motive that drives TMZ. It’s easy to make fun of the extremes of Americana religion, with Sister Aimee riding . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 67: Recovering Mother Kirk
Before there was Recovering the Reformed Confession, there was Recovering Mother Kirk a seminal book for all Reformed confessionalists who are looking for a way between revivalism and fundamentalism or between QIRC and QIRE. Darryl Hart published Recovering Mother Kirk just over . . . Continue reading →
A Conspiracy Of Silence
Yet the leaders of the “young, restless, and reformed” have not typically allowed that concern to curtail their comments in the past. Many of them have been outspoken about the teaching of Joel Osteen, for example. In their early days, when the . . . Continue reading →
D. G. Hart On Americanism
This is from a conference co-hosted by Providence Reformed Church (URC) and Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church (OPC) in DesMoines. You can see all the talks here. (HT: Presbyterian Blues)
The Difference Between Reformed And Revived
So the “reformed” and the “revived” make two different kinds of determination when they look for Reformation and revival. Proponents of revival make claims that should be reserved for God, that is, whether a soul has truly come to new life in . . . Continue reading →
Pilgrims (And Their Hosts)
A wise traveler adapts to the customs and languages of the host country. When we lived abroad, people never asked us about our health. It is considered rude. The day we left England, however, we were peppered with questions by an American . . . Continue reading →
Schwärmerei And Catholics Together
Schwärmerei: “From schwärmen to be enthusiastic, literally, to swarm” (Merriam-Webster, sv.)
The Mormon Denial Of The Christian Doctrine Of The Trinity
Latter-day Saints also believe strongly in the fundamental unity of the divine. They believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost, though distinct beings, are unified in purpose and doctrine. It is in this light that Latter-day . . . Continue reading →
Christian Doctrinal Interpretations Vs. Joseph Smith’s Revelations
These passages can be interpreted in different ways. Yet by viewing them through the clarifying lens of revelations received by Joseph Smith, Latter-day Saints see these scriptures as straightforward expressions of humanity’s divine nature and potential. Many other Christians read the same . . . Continue reading →
Are We All Really Abraham’s Children?
Something I heard recently led to a tangent not directly related to his excellent, as always, sermon. He’s been preaching through the life of Abraham. Something he said made me think about the claim that is frequently made about the three great . . . Continue reading →
This Was The Life
As a boy I got up early in order to watch cartoons on Saturdays. I did the same on Sundays but back then, in the mid-60s, television on Sundays was a little different than it was on Saturdays. First there was a . . . Continue reading →
The Robe Then And Now: An Indicator Of Where We Are
I happened across The Robe, the other day. I had never seen it. It was interesting to see how the Christian faith was portrayed to the world in 1953 in CinemaScope and how the film with its new technology was received. It . . . Continue reading →
Beyond Plagiarism: The Politics Of A Cult
Wilson was gracious to me in all of these private interactions, but he made it clear that if I disagreed with him publicly I would be undermining his work for God’s kingdom. As he wrote in one e-mail, “either you remain out . . . Continue reading →
Harold Camping Dies At Age 92
According to a statement released by Family Radio, Harold Camping (1921–2013) has died (HT: Sarah Pulliam Bailey—Her RNS story) When the internet became available to the public, after connections became fast enough to allow pages to download in less than 30 minutes, . . . Continue reading →
What The Nuns Once Did
This is so grotesque that they have probably concluded it is exceptional. On the contrary, thousands of British children are being snatched from their natural parents in secret each year, after totally unfair hearings against which it is almost impossible to appeal . . . Continue reading →
On Traveling From Münster To Geneva
In 1535 the Reformation was about 14 years old. The Protestants had gained some legal status within the Empire but its existence was by no means secure. Internally it was wracked with dissension over the moral and theological implications of the doctrine . . . Continue reading →
Kicked To The Curb: Reformed Theology, Piety
Dad had been a staunch defender of a somewhat cramped version of Calvinism formed by his upbringing in the Gereformeerde Kerk in the Netherlands. Early on, his parents had put the kibosh on his aspirations to ministry; unless he had a distinct . . . Continue reading →
Late Modern Paganism
In Acts 17 Luke tells the story of Paul’s encounter with the Athenian Philosophical Society. Luke mentions two philosophical schools, the Epicureans and the Stoics. The latter were looking for the universal rational principle, for the way to align themselves with the . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger On The Buzz Vs Reformation In The OC
Kim Riddlebarger spent his summer sabbatical profitably and one of the things he did was to write a series of fascinating posts on evangelicalism in Orange County, California during the 1970s—2013. It’s not an exhaustive account but it does illustrate well the . . . Continue reading →