Concern about dead formalism or ritualism is legitimate but we should not think that because a religious service is emotionally or psychologically satisfying or that because one has a certain kind of ecstasy that one has escaped dead formalism. There is a . . . Continue reading →
We like the idea of direct, special revelation that speaks to our particular circumstances. Most of us don’t relish the idea of struggling in prayer, of dealing with doubt, of making a decision in the midst of uncertainty. God could clear things . . . Continue reading →
The revival was marked by what were said to be great manifestations of the work of the Holy Spirit—speaking in tongues, ecstatic prophecies, miraculous healings and even the claim that somewhere around thirty people had been raised from the dead. Just . . . Continue reading →
Darryl Hart writes: “The proponents of Edwards and the First Pretty Good Awakening (hereafter FPGA) are worried about nominal Christianity – that is, people who go through the motions of worship or Christian practice. Although this is an understandable concern – who . . . Continue reading →
“The Religious Affections is an important book, but in my view it would be unwise to take its teaching on what true religion consists in very seriously. It is a book about the importance of emotion, expressed in a public, visible way, . . . Continue reading →
What follows is from the latest issue of Tabletalk, which contains a series of letters from “Legion” to his young assistant, the style of C. S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. Dear Pithius, Our dear boy, you quite misunderstand the problem. So long as Christians . . . Continue reading →
If I had written this someone would call it mean but since Andy wrote it, I’m sure it will be fine. What matters is that it’s true.
Can you say theologia gloriae? I can say, theologia crucis.
Mark Galli (HT: Alex Webster) has an interesting story in CT Online today about the power of religious euphoria. He likens the attraction to, indeed the addiction to euphoria to attraction and addiction to a drug. Galli writes: We disdain faith that . . . Continue reading →
Wonder what QIRE is? Check out these cats. (HT: Martin Downes)
QIRC = Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience. Ben Myers hits the nail squarely. “Where every church service becomes the opportunity for a life-changing experience of the divine presence; where every song and sermon and prayer is designed to produce immediate emotional impact; where . . . Continue reading →