Trick or Treat? – Our Halloween dilemma
How do we approach this complicated issue? I suggest that Halloween is, in some ways, similar to Christmas. In 21st-century North America, you don’t need a calendar to tell what time of year it is—just look at the seasonal merchandise of any department store. Equipment for cookouts or picnics indicates that summer is on its... Continue Reading
But It’s My Opinion –How Do We Know When We’re Right or Wrong?
One of the hardest things in the life of the church is a difference of opinion. Far too often, minds are made up with few facts, and assessments are skewed by our life experiences, emotion and subjectivity. The clash results when opinions are closed to reason, or any thought that I might be wrong. Healthy... Continue Reading
Is the Bible Really Perspicuous?
Are we now to believe that God was unable to reveal the truth about creation in such a clear way that ordinary people could understand that truth right down through history? The word ‘perspicuous’ here means clear—clear enough for you and I to understand it. In an address at the Educational Convention held in Chicago... Continue Reading
The Divine Tailor
God was the first fashion designer. It’s odd, then, that the pictures in the children’s Sunday school consistently show Adam and Eve wearing outfits apparently borrowed from Fred Flintstone. Children and adults alike perceive their first parents’ wardrobe as ugly: a ragged-edged deerskin awkwardly tied around one shoulder. It’s as if the God who had... Continue Reading
Does Alzheimer’s Justify Divorce?
But a husband giving his care and attention to his suffering wife, regardless of her cognitive abilities, is precisely what real marriage is about. He must love her and care for her as she slips into the unhappy world of Alzheimer’s. He must hold fast to her even though she is unresponsive. He cannot insist... Continue Reading
Old Life Yeast
To be sure, the history of the OPC is strewn with believers who still want the church to be more than the church, to be at the forefront of maintaining and promoting social righteousness. But just as important to the OPC’s history has been a growing contentment with the church as simply the church The... Continue Reading
Kevin Bauder’s Eight Characteristics of Hyper-Fundamentalism
Hyper-fundamentalism is not fundamentalism. It is as a parasite on the fundamentalist movement. For many years it was simply a nuisance, largely ignored by mainstream fundamentalists. Ignoring the problem, however, permitted it to grow A new book forthcoming from Zondervan includes a chapter from Dr. Kevin Bauder of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minneapolis. I... Continue Reading
My Advice to Young Pastors
The church is hard and if you are going there for any other reason than the fact that He calls you there, you will be beat up and disappointed. In fact, you are going to get beat up if He has called you there, but the difference is the status of your heart as He... Continue Reading
Something-ism
Though theological liberals present their latest view as “new,” it is the same old option of the worship of creation rather than the Creator. The priceless Gospel of Two-ism is under attack, just as it always has been. In once very Christian Holland, a “new” kind of Christianity has appeared, called “Something-ism.” A theologian in... Continue Reading
Why Pray For A Husband?
Of this I am supremely confident: When we see our Savior and Redeemer face to face, we will not regret being thankful for trusting Him, even in circumstances we could not control and would not have chosen. Over several years of ministering to single women, I’ve heard one question asked repeatedly: “Should I pray for... Continue Reading