The Confessions Matter (or Maybe They Don’t)
The history of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has been a confessional one; its the future will not be
The history of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has been a confessional one. Based on the action of the commissioners of the 220th GA, the future will not be. Just as the body cannot survive long severed from its head, it is impossible for a denomination to bear a unified witness having cut itself loose from... Continue Reading
Getting Jefferson Right
Fact checking claims about Thomas Jefferson
Although this Q&A may seem controversial in that many of our readers have followed David Barton’s work, such as “The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson,” our professors have carefully researched Jefferson and uncovered historical information that is relevant to the discussion about Mr. Barton’s claims regarding Jefferson. V&V: Why... Continue Reading
Race and the Gospel in Mississippi
We have danced with the devil and we ought to recognize him when he returns
I think they can deal with it by doing exactly what the Apostle Paul did with Peter: to confront on the basis of the gospel, and to seek repentance and reconciliation. That’s what I think they should do, and will do.
Thinking Out Loud in Public
In some ways, blogging is a form of thinking out loud in public.
And maybe we need to remember these words of wisdom: "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways" (James 3:1-2)
Defining Religious Liberty Down
Say what you really think: that the exercise of our religion threatens all that’s good and decent
The words “freedom of belief” do not appear in the First Amendment. Nor do the words “freedom of worship.” Instead, the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans something that its authors called “the free exercise” of religion.
Strait’s Rules for Living Well
OK, so I’m not Leroy Jethro Gibbs….but, I, too, have a set of rules to govern my life
Pride is the single most destructive force on Earth. It blinds us, isolates us, and calcifies us. Jesus died for messed up, broken, selfish, incomplete people. Me, you, everybody. No exceptions.
‘Well-ordered souls’
Atheist notes atheism's failings, Christianity's wisdom
Atheism, he suggests, fails in providing real community, education, and perspective. It does not foster kindness or tenderness. It produces pessimism and fails to create a true appreciation of art, architecture, and important institutions
The Church In Our Time: Nurturing Congregations of Faithful Presence (Part 3)
Recovering Theological Foundations - The Enduring Goodness of Creation
And while in the pietist perspective the meaning of the material aspects of creation is variously interpreted—ranging from a useful backdrop to redemption to an obstacle to it—it remains universally the case that these material aspects have no fundamental role in God’s larger redemptive purposes. That this is so may be seen in several widespread expressions of pietism. First, we see it in pietistic preaching, which fails to positively address larger social or material concerns.
How Capitalism is Killing Liberal Christianity
The future of Christianity in America depends on at least one group not sticking its head in the sand for much longer.
But for the message to be compelling, it must also be clear. Their challenge is in communicating an identity rooted not in some watered-down Christianity that mimics social progressivism, but rather a holistic, historic, and even uncomfortable Gospel that keeps the redemptive work of Jesus radically at the center.
Blessed Self-Forgetfulness
True growth happens when we take our eyes off ourselves.
Maturity is not becoming stronger and stronger, more and more competent. Christian growth is marked by a growing realization of just how weak and incompetent we are, and how strong and competent Jesus is on our behalf. Spiritual maturity is not our growing independence. Rather, it's our growing dependence on Christ. Remember, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the "least of all the saints" (Eph. 3:8) and the "chief of sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15), and this was at the end of his life!