Does Anyone Need to Recover from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood?
A review of Aimee Byrd's 'Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.'
We shouldn’t reluctantly affirm biblical manhood and womanhood, nor should we follow it while thinking it seems arbitrary or even a bit illogical. We should love and celebrate biblical manhood and womanhood as good and wise and beautiful and fitting. It’s how God himself designed men and women to flourish. Nobody needs to recover from... Continue Reading
The Rise of the Divine State in a Time of Crisis
Once the State gains power, its rulers work relentlessly to maintain power.
“The paternalism of the state is that of the bad parent who wants his children dependent on him forever. That is an evil impulse. The good parent prepares his children for independence, trains them to make responsible decisions, knows that he harms them by not helping them to break loose. The paternal state thrives on... Continue Reading
Ten Soul-Expanding Quotes From John Murray’s Behind a Frowning Providence
"The test of a person’s Christianity is what happens in the storm, when the house is battered in the winds of affliction."
“There are areas of the Word of God that we cannot comprehend until we have experienced suffering. For thirty years of my Christian life I neither understood nor was particularly drawn to the book of Job. Along with a particular time of suffering came the help to understanding it. Martin Luther had a similar testimony:... Continue Reading
A Review: Tough Issues, True Hope: A Concise Journey Through Christian Ethics
Davis gets to the heart of twenty different moral matters in this book on ethics intended for senior high students and adults.
Although “Tough Issues, True Hope” is a guide to Christian ethics, Davis wants to note it stands apart from other books like it. Along with the clear and conversational format, he was serious about it being a concise journey through these topics. “I didn’t want to bog readers down,” said Davis, “but I want them... Continue Reading
Sharp Eyes, Soft Hearts, And Sanctified Minds: Evaluating Christian Books
A few specific criteria govern the way I evaluate the overall effectiveness of Christian books, in particular.
A good Christian book should guide the reader to the Celestial City. It should lead them in a Godward direction and inspire them to live hopeful lives and holy lives. I review books – a lot of books. Some people have expressed an interest in how I evaluate them. A few specific criteria govern... Continue Reading
When Kids Won’t Bow to Your Idols
Our reaction to our kids’ behavior often has little to do with brokenness over their sin and a lot to do with how irritated we are that they’re threatening our own desires.
Pay attention to your negative emotional responses to your kids. Think of the times you get the most frustrated with your child. More often than not, it’s not their behavior that’s causing your response—it’s that one of your idols is being threatened. Trace your feelings back to the source. What’s in jeopardy? Your picture of how... Continue Reading
Moving Toward Dread Conformity
Nisbet argued forcefully in all versions of the Quest for Community, the human person craves, seeks, and pursues community relentlessly.
If he does not find his community in a subtle, organic, local manner—as revealed through the slow unveiling of tradition, especially in the English common law—the human person will create artificial and, often, gargantuan community. Since the breakdown of the medieval synthesis—in which all things held together through the unity of one faith in one... Continue Reading
Anxiety Is an Opportunity to Know God’s Peace
Every mental or emotional struggle we experience is also an opportunity to develop our faith.
We all struggle with various forms of anxiety. What does your anxiety look like? Is it mild worry? Or full-blown panic? Or something in between? Do your feelings of anxiousness come and go—or are they constant? No matter what your anxiety looks like, the Bible speaks truth and peace into our mind and heart. Scripture... Continue Reading
8 Practices That Divide
Lessons in unity from Jeremiah Burroughs.
When the world around us exploded into fake news and increasing polarization did we think the solution was to dig further into our own tribes? And when we were tempted with ungodly leaders—that we’d call our Cyrus—to defeat our godless enemies, did we not think we’d be planting in the soils of division? What crop... Continue Reading
“He Has Our Good at Heart”: Augustine on God Praising God in the Psalms
God has “marked out” a “path of praise” in the scriptures.
The Psalms are not merely God’s Word to us, they are God’s Word to God, God’s Word about God, God praising God. And that is why they are a reliable guide for our praise of God. “God has praised himself” in the Psalms, Augustine tells us, in order that “men and women [might] know how... Continue Reading
