1. To Be Near Unto God When in holy ecstasy the Psalmist sings: “I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplication,” he pours out his whole soul in this song, but no one can analyze that love. To have love for God is something altogether different and something far weaker […]
Continue reading
Archive | July, 2014
On “Courage” in the (Christian) Academy
July 7, 2014 
0 Comments
Another post worth sharing by James K.A. Smith. This time he reflects on claims of “courage” made by scholars (both progressive and conservative) when they risk the derision and scorn of people whose opinion they never really cared about in the first place. Are such scholars really risking anything? But Smith closes with an observation on […]
Continue readingSteadfast Principles in a Changing World
July 6, 2014 1 Comment
A few days ago, the New York Times opinion page included a short piece called “Steadfast Principles in a Changing World” by James K.A. Smith, professor of philosophy at Calvin College, on the subject of Christianity and capitalism. Smith differentiates between the concept of free markets—which is not incompatible with Christianity—and modern-day capitalism. Insofar as capitalism today […]
Continue readingThou Shalt Not Forsake Thy Celibate Christian LGBTQ Brethren
July 5, 2014 0 Comments
Today Vanessa Vitiello Urquhart of Slate Magazine wrote an article about “Side B” Christians. These are followers of Christ who, though fully committed to biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality, nevertheless identify openly as LGBTQ. Most of these Christians choose the difficult—but also potentially very fulfilling—life of celibacy. Others of them choose to enter complementary-sex marriages, in full recognition that […]
Continue readingGuest Post: There’s Freedom, and then There’s Freedom
July 4, 2014 0 Comments
It is the fourth of July and “freedom” is ringing loudly from every fair, shopping mall, and even some churches. As I drove past a Presbyterian church on this Independence Day, these words were emblazoned on their sign facing the main road: “Happy Fourth of July! For freedom Christ has set us free! Galatians 5:1″ […]
Continue readingIs Christianity a Science Showstopper?
July 3, 2014 0 Comments
Over at Reasons to Believe, Dr. Fazale Rana has posted this article addressing the question of whether Christianity inhibits scientific advance. It reminds me of an episode of the recent Fox Television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, in which host Neil deGrasse Tyson opined that whenever someone appeals to a divine explanation for a natural phenomenon, it […]
Continue readingHow Much Did the OT Writers Know? (2): The Spectre of Bibliological Eutychianism
July 3, 2014 0 Comments
Dr. Bill Evans of Erskine College has written a post here regarding a growing theological controversy at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (actually, it seems that the controversy has already been settled unilaterally). At the heart of this controversy is the question, how much did the human authors of the Old Testament know when they were […]
Continue reading Two Approaches to the Church’s Mission
July 2, 2014 1 Comment
Christopher Wright. The Mission of God’s People. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert. What Is the Mission of the Church? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Imagine that you are responsible for drafting your church’s budget for the upcoming year. Further suppose that a large portion of the budget has traditionally been allocated to a certain […]
Continue readingEcclesial Collaboration
July 1, 2014 0 Comments
In Kyle’s earlier post, “What is a Culturalist Presbyterian?” He emphasized the value “CP’s” place on cross-denominational unity. In light of that I wanted to share a blog post Carl Trueman wrote for Scot McKnight. McKnight also wrote a favorable review of Carl’s recent book “The Creedal Imperative.” This is a great example of two […]
Continue reading
Allkirk Network 