This morning I saw what I thought was a promising headline: “Confessions of a Former ‘It’ Church Pastor” (HT: Aquila Report). My first thought: “Great! This will be an account of a pastor who woke up one day and realized that the . . . Continue reading →
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of . . . Continue reading →
It’s not too late to remember that the Bible is not just another commodity — that the whole point of owning and reading the Bible is not so I can fit bits and pieces of it into my life, but so I . . . Continue reading →
“Like a sloppy wet kiss” Continue reading →
There be some who have daily some new command from God, to make known unto their brothers and strangers. Some are rapt into an ecstasy and have their appearance and countenance changed, lying upon the ground certain hours. Some tremble and quake . . . Continue reading →
Doctrine. Theology. For many evangelicals these words are as pleasant as the phrase, “impacted tooth!” That theology is irrelevant to Christian life has essentially become a received dogma. Nevertheless, as much as indifference about Christian truth reigns among evangelicals, to the same degree . . . Continue reading →
In this systematic theology, Frame has not overwhelmed us with the scholarly apparatus characteristic of so much theological literature, and as he certainly is capable of doing. Instead, he has chosen to enter into conversation with his reader, showing how he has . . . Continue reading →
One final note: whether you think this is a really good systematic theology or one of the most important in the last generation or two, probably depends on how much you get into tri-perspectivalism. I have friends who find Frame’s triads of . . . Continue reading →
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 →
“And in a world where evangelical comment is increasingly censored from within by the humourless and the Top Men, a samizdat operation is unlikely to lose its purpose in the near future.”* —Carl Trueman, “On Mortification and Narnia” — * Samizdat = . . . Continue reading →
The mentality of fundamentalism sometimes crops up where one would least expect it; and there is no better illustration of this than the inimitable New Testament scholar, J. Gresham Machen. Machen was an outspoken critic of the fundamentalist movement. He argued with . . . Continue reading →
The AP ran a story this past Sunday revealing that Fuller Seminary (Pasadena, California) has decided not to contest the formation of a homosexual student group on campus known as OneTable. Fuller’s policy says that marriage is between one man and one . . . Continue reading →
Many now regard only one aspect of criticism, that of the expression of disapproval or hostility. There is, however, a second aspect that is equally important: the friendly analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a project. This volume is . . . Continue reading →
I’m cleaning out my office and clearing out a great lot of books One of the volumes I found is Carl F. H. Henry, Basic Christian Doctrines (New York: Holt, Rhinehart, Winston, 1962). Included in this collection of very brief entries are G. . . . Continue reading →
So far the case has not been terribly difficult or painful. However many evangelicals may be wandering in the churchless wilderness without any congregation whatsoever, there are few responsible evangelical theologians who, however much they may not wish to talk about the . . . Continue reading →
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it countless times: “I’m not a member of any local congregation. I’m a member of the invisible church.” When one hears this, one is tempted to agree with John Murray that it would be better . . . Continue reading →
I was once a churchless evangelical. As a young Christian I attended a medium-sized (300 member) SBC (Southern Baptist) congregation for a few years without joining. It wasn’t really a problem. Of course they would like to have seen me baptized (as . . . Continue reading →
In part 1, I began to sketch a case that for a way between neo-Pentecostalism/Charismatic piety and a sterile piety. Genuine, confessional Reformed piety is warm, Spiritual, and vital but we understand that the Spirit works through means (Word and sacraments). This . . . Continue reading →
Since the early 19th century American Christianity has been largely dominated by a revival of the original Anabaptist theology, piety, and practice. One can transpose much of what took place in the 19th century over the fist generation Anabaptists (1520s) and it . . . Continue reading →
UPDATED 14:02 5 Feb 2013 So says YRR (Young, Restless, and Reformed) leader Mark Driscoll in an interview (regarding his forthcoming book) published by the TGC: Q: You observe that “appreciated people” exchange grumbling for praying, competing for celebrating, bitterness for thankfulness, . . . Continue reading →