Reformation21

For many men of a certain age, the mid-life crisis is just that: a mid-life crisis, a time for despairing that youth, good looks and perhaps hair have gone, never to return. For me, however, the experience has been pretty positive so far: not only have I been able to hand on my old banger of car to...

A friend of mine recently asked me when I was going to get back to writing on church history. You've done the Christianity and culture thing with the Jesus book and the blues book, when are you getting back to church history? I didn't have a good response, just mentioning that I am getting back to...

Under-Powered Preachers Last year a member of my congregation gave my wife and me tickets to the U2 concert in Boston. The seats were amazing, and the concert was even better. Bono and company did not disappoint. But almost equally incredible was the staging. The band performed on two stages: one a...

None of the systematic theologies I own include `being as thick as two short planks' in their treatments of the divine attributes; but it appears that there is a trend today to rectify this neglected aspect of God's being. Bear with me while I explain. I remember while at Cambridge in the mid-80s,...

[The following article is taken from the book, Should Christians Embrace Evolution ? (ed. Norman Nevin and published by IVP -UK, 2009). The book it to be published soon in the USA by P & R. Permission to republish was kindly given by both IVP-UK and P&R.] Evangelical Christians have...

The great Danish theologian and philosopher, Sǿren Kierkegaard, is probably best known in Christian circles for his haunting reflections upon God's command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. While I am guessing many of us would question the theology that underlies some of Kierkegaard's...

INTRODUCTION Reformed Christians are indebted to the Puritans for a variety of reasons, not the least of which for their contribution to preaching. In many ways, Puritan preaching was the very heartbeat of the Puritan movement. It would be no exaggeration to say that without Puritan preaching there...

Some months ago, a Presbyterian magazine criticized a response I had made to comments about me by a certain well-known writer in a popular Christian publication. My response, the writer declared in good, contemporary fashion, was unfortunate because it contained `jesting, which is inconvenient' and...

In days gone by when the smoke of countless coal fires curled into the winter air, Edinburgh had the nick-name "Auld Reekie," which being translated is 'Old Smokie' - not to be mistaken for some eponymous but indeterminate Appalachian mountain famed in song. But, thanks to clean air acts, there is...

I felt like a kid in a candy store at this year's Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) annual meeting held in Atlanta, GA. Deeply discounted commentaries, well-known biblical scholars, bible college friends, and discussion about justification--what more could a bible nerd ask for? Although I could...