Trying Not to Remember
I’ve been thinking a lot about self-deception and the lies we tell ourselves. Sometimes we lie to others so that we can advance ourselves. Sometimes we lie to others so that we can gain a foothold to a place where…
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Never stop raging against death
Phillip Jensen has written a powerful reflection on the appalling ugliness of death and the hope of the life to come. The essay was written in light of the death of Jensen's 16-year-old grandson Nathan. We expect old people…
Reducing the Risk of Child Abuse in the Church (1)
Once again many of us are talking about the dread evil of child abuse. As recent history proves, churches are vulnerable to predators and must, therefore, take serious measures to protect their children. This means churches must heighten their…
Praying Through the Scriptures: Joshua 23
Over the years it has been my practice, learned from others, to offer up praises and petitions framed by a passage of Scripture. Some of these passages were read in preparation for preaching, others offered material for meditation in daily…
Striving to Escape the Fall
Marathons, mud runs, CrossFit, Yoga, diets, non-GMO and gluten-free foods, Christian financial programs, anti-vaccination and homeschooling have–each in their own way–taken over the driver’s seat of the lives of so many in the church. While all of these things, in and of…
Oh, Why Must this Drivel He Sells Still Be Heard?
Sometimes people ask what kind of emails we receive here at Mortification of Spin. Well, I have to say that we do have quite a smart bunch of readers. Some especially have a good sympathy and understanding of what Todd…
Nailed It
The devotions section of the Christian bookstore is usually a place I avoid. While there are some good ones, I’ve always preferred just reading Scripture or working through a commentary. I often think of the devotions section as the checkout…
Proverbs 8:23, the Eternal Generation of the Son and the History of Reformed Exegesis
The debate that raged last year concerning intertrinitarian relations fueled my desire to go back and revisit Richard Muller’s volume on The Triunity of God in his Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics (a volume that I cannot commend strongly enough). In doing so, I…
A Spiritual Reality Check
What is reality? That question is one that is already wide opened in our culture. From television shows about artificial intelligence gaining consciousness to virtual reality devices, 2017 is already being declared the year that virtual and augmented reality will…
Inevitable Side Effects of a Church Growth Ministry Model
Some athletes, fascinated with body growth, employ “biological steroid enhancement.” Why? Because they know that it works…at least for a while. They will get bigger, stronger and faster…for a while. But soon they discover injected steroids also bring the side…