Responding to Todd’s Question on Carl Lentz
In responding to Todd, I am tempted to make a comment about the church dying from the death of a thousand cliches. 'The story is not the clothes people wear. It's the lives they lead' is almost as good as…
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Read MoreResponding to Todd’s Question on Carl Lentz
Carl Lentz and Hillsong go Hollywood
It was bound to happen. Actually I feel quite stupid for missing an opportunity to prophesy this rather unsurprising event. It seems that Carl Lentz and his New York Hillsong franchise are now going to be managed by the William…
New lenses
Returning from labours overseas, especially with limited internet access (and most of that devoted to communication with the family), means returning to Reformation21 with a somewhat fresh perspective. A survey of the material over the past couple of weeks reveals…
Luther on God’s “Hardening” and “Softening” of Human Hearts
In scholastic theological discourse, ‘moral suasion’ and ‘physical influence’ represent two different ways of getting someone to do something. If my goal were, say, getting my four-year-old daughter to the dinner table, I might employ ‘moral suasion’ by promising her…
Race and the Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America, no. 5
As I mentioned in the first post under this title (the other posts: no. 2; no. 3; no. 4), this series was a way of breaking up a paper that I gave at a pre-General Assembly conference sponsored by the…
Simul Justus et Peccator Or, What We Talk About When We Talk About Two Kingdoms
The two kingdoms. Few phrases so short could be lobbed with such devastating effect into a parlor conversation at a Reformed theology conference these days–or a few years ago, at any rate, though perhaps new topics have now succeeded it…
A Good Man IS Hard to Find
Have you ever thought about what your dying words would be? Well, I have, and I asked that question to my Bible study gals as we were studying the faith of the patriarchs. In Hebrews 11:20-22 we see faith that…
Boyhood
It is rarely possible to predict with any certainty which of today’s crowd-pleasers or critic-pleasers will secure for themselves a place as classics in the annals of film history–which will be taken as the defining films of their era, not…
‘Mindfulness’ or the mind of Christ: A false dilemma
“Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Oh, the beauty of Jesus’ invitation. Who has not known the weariness that Jesus evokes, and the almost palpable relief in…
‘Mindfulness’ or the mind of Christ: A false dilemma
“Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Oh, the beauty of Jesus’ invitation. Who has not known the weariness that Jesus evokes, and the almost palpable relief in…