I grew up outside of the Reformed tradition, though I have been a member of Presbyterian or Reformed churches for over a decade. Growing up, it was common to describe people in the church as “prayer warriors.” This is not something I . . . Continue reading →
As of late, popular Christian culture has been saturated with books critical of evangelicalism—for supporting President Trump and Republicans as a voting bloc, for causing political divisiveness in the church, for being largely white, and for just generally supporting things that the . . . Continue reading →
As someone who spends a lot of time in the online world, reading a work with a clearly defined goal and supported by real research the author did themselves is unusually refreshing. For that reason alone, I would give this book five . . . Continue reading →
In the wake of the New Calvinist (sometimes called the “Young, Restless, and Reformed”) movement, the adjective Reformed gets slapped on seemingly everything. What does it mean to be Reformed? Is it simply people who hold to a Calvinistic soteriology? Is it . . . Continue reading →
It was in seminary that a certain Church history professor (and President of the HRA) taught me about the technical theological distinction between lumpers and splitters. If you are unfamiliar, let me clue you in. There are people who group things together . . . Continue reading →
And thou, sweet Poetry, thou loveliest maid, Still first to fly where sensual joys invade; Unfit in these degenerate times of shame, To catch the heart, or strike for honest fame; 1 In general, it is accurate to notice that poetry has . . . Continue reading →
For a long time I have noticed that I have two sides to my interests and personality. I can be very rational and analytical in my approach to faith and life. I also have a love of the arts, particularly literature and . . . Continue reading →
I remember seeing my first one. It was beautiful, and I could barely take my eyes off of it. There before me on a simple piece of paper lay the answers to so many of my questions. This was the secret, the . . . Continue reading →
Christians often mimic the tactics of non-Christians in the social and political realms. For example, the “cancel culture” found in legacy media and social media is also found in evangelical media and Christian social media. American politicians and pundits use scare tactics, . . . Continue reading →
James Waddel Alexander (1804–59) was a Presbyterian pastor and professor who served churches in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York, and labored for a time as a professor at the College of New Jersey. Like his father Archibald, James also served as . . . Continue reading →
Preaching begins with Bible reading and interpretation. Before a minister can preach a given text, he must decide what it says. To interpret a passage, the preacher necessarily brings to bear his broader reading of Scripture, a system of doctrine, and the history of interpretation. Continue reading →
The apostle John ended his first letter with a simple command for believers: keep yourselves from idols. Idols, of course, take various forms and shapes. For many American evangelicals today, common idols are political and cultural ones. So argues journalist Tim Alberta . . . Continue reading →
Covenant is an unavoidably and obviously important category in Scripture. Throughout the history of the church, beginning in the very earliest years of the post-apostolic church, there have been numerous attempts to account for the covenants, but it was not until the . . . Continue reading →
“If you want to almost-instantly humble any Christian, ask him about his prayer life,” or so the maxim goes. Prayer is one of those practices of the Christian life which every Christian will affirm in importance; in practice, however, many will struggle . . . Continue reading →
The rise of Donald Trump, the renewed call for a “Christian America,” the novel promotion of Christian nationalism—these three things are recent realities in the American political and religious scenes. Indeed, they are related realities. Furthermore, these three realities are not helping . . . Continue reading →
This story, much like the story of every man, does not end with Orual’s confrontation with the divine as a judge—reciting her case as a wannabe plaintiff and being given (supposedly) no answer, or worse, divine judgment—as the only possible outcome of her meeting with God. Continue reading →
In the first two parts of this analysis of C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, I laid a foundation by providing a brief summary of the original myth of Cupid and Psyche and noted the similarities between this myth and so . . . Continue reading →
Another book on baptism? Well, yes. And while this volume may not be the polemical tour de force you were hoping to use to answer every last objection from your questioning Baptist friend, this short book will be an incredibly useful resource . . . Continue reading →
In 2018, a megachurch pastor wrote, “When it comes to stumbling blocks to faith, the Old Testament is right up there at the top of the list.” This sentiment reflects one of the dangers of not understanding the Old Testament, which is . . . Continue reading →
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Thus begins Psalm 23 in the old King James Version. In an age of ever-decreasing biblical literacy, Psalm 23 remains one of the most well-known passages in Scripture. One gets the sense that, besides being . . . Continue reading →