Reformation21

Death and darkness dominate America's Halloween celebrations. Children dress as ghosts and ghouls, and October is the season for horror films. Many Americans, both Christian and non-Christian, think that this fascination with the macabre must be anti-Christian. They may be then surprised to learn...

On August 19, 2020, Netflix released the film Cuties , billing it as a coming-of-age story that deals with the pressing cultural issue of how social media affects young girls. The director, Maïmouna Doucouré, says that the film comes with “an activist message: we must all together figure out what...

If someone says to you, “The solution to poverty is...,” and finishes that sentence with a single word, or a single phrase that doesn’t include ‘Jesus,’ then it's probably safe to stop listening. Our hunger for tweet-length solutions, for snackable, bite-sized redemption plans has collapsed our...

I declared at the outset of this series that the matter of justification is of essential importance because it concerns the eternal fate of souls. We've spent much time describing and analyzing the Reformed and Roman Catholic positions; we should now consider more fully why this issue matters. We...

Editor's Note: This article has been adapted from the preface of Biblical Patterns and Government . Too many believers take a short-term view and become frustrated or retreat altogether from the public square when setbacks occur. Improvements in government may require generations. Along the way,...

As with so many aspects of the Christian life, the question of contraception requires wisdom. We've already considered different views of contraception , and argued that contraception is only permissible when biblical principles of human flourishing are applied within the context of the biblical...

Author’s Note: For some, this article will not be an easy read. Some readers may take offense, perhaps because of decisions that have already been made. But whatever your view on cremation, know that the Lord is gracious, and he is able to raise the dead. There is not one believer in Jesus Christ (...

I have a confession to make, and it may not be very surprising: It’s hard to pastor people when the government has declared a pandemic. There are a few reasons for this. To begin, there really is a virus going around. A very small percentage of people really are having complications and dying. It’s...

I have spent much time describing the views of the Reformed Protestants and Roman Catholics according to official theological statements and works by influential theologians. But where humans can be wrong, the Word of God never fails. Any theological debate must be rooted in the message of sacred...

Editor's Note: This article has been adapted from the preface of Biblical Patterns and Government . I had been up much of the night watching presidential election returns in November 1992. [1] Third party candidate Ross Perot, along with a moderate Republican, coupled with a charismatic “New...