What The Loincloths Signalled

While the problems of the evangelical Purity Movement have been well documented, one of its biggest errors was promoting a non-theological account of modesty focused almost exclusively on behaviors. With few exceptions, modesty was largely cast as the responsibility of women to . . . Continue reading →

Nihilism And The American Middle

In recent years, a new form of terror has emerged: decentralized, digitally driven violence organized not around coherent ideologies but around memes, fantasies, and nihilistic impulses. The perpetrators of this low-grade terror campaign do not belong to hierarchical organizations or pursue concrete . . . Continue reading →

It’s Nihilism

MAGA social-media personality Benny Johnson blamed transgenderism; Westman started identifying as female in 2020, when he was 17. (Robin Westman used to be Robert Westman.) “The trans movement is radicalizing the mentally ill into becoming violent terrorists who target children for murder,” Johnson posted . . . Continue reading →

The Vertical Dimensions Of The Cross

The Scriptures give us a robust revelation about all that Jesus accomplished on the cross. As we go about seeking to categorize all of the various dimensions of the cross, we discover that there are both vertical and horizontal dimensions to Jesus’ work. The verticaldimensions are foundational; . . . Continue reading →

Pot Is Not What You Think It Is

Rescheduling marijuana would open the door for Big Weed to go mainstream. Businesses now operating in a legal grey area could licitly deduct business expenses, access capital, and advertise openly. National brands could arise, running spots during football games, offering intro deals via . . . Continue reading →

Three AI Challenges

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is rapidly developing. It’s hard to keep up with some of the new ethical challenges Christians are facing. Especially our young people are being bombarded with all kinds of tempting new possibilities for distraction, entrapment, deceit, and apostasy. . . . Continue reading →

Concerning Scandals And Scandalizers

Richard Nixon (1913–94) was President of the United States from 1968–74. He resigned from office in disgrace because of his part in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal. By today’s standards, the Watergate scandal might be considered small potatoes. Nixon himself, who . . . Continue reading →

The Order Of Love (Ordo Amoris): Proximity, Not Ethnicity (Part 2)

Three times in his discussion of the nature of virtue Thomas Aquinas (c. 1224–74) referred to Augustine’s AD 388 treatise against the Manichaeans, On The Morals of the Church (De moribus ecclesiae) regarding the “order of love.”1 Even though it was a . . . Continue reading →

What The Hoodie Means

I was driving home from work yesterday when I saw a teenager walking down the street in 80-degree weather with a hoodie pulled over his head. It’s July! I wish I owned the patent on the hoodie design, if such a thing . . . Continue reading →

Advice To Young Pastors

I was twenty-eight years old when I started in full-time ministry in 1999 as associate pastor of a large Presbyterian church. I was thirty when I was called to pastor a small suburban church on my own. I made loads of mistakes . . . Continue reading →