Exploitation Fatigue and Chick-fil-A
Are you tired yet? News of shootings, bombings, acts of terrorism, racism, and senseless violence are barely minutes old before it begins. The hucksters of new and old media alike mount their hobby...
View ArticlePrayer Is Not a Placebo
It’s become an all-too-common trope, especially in my own Reformed circles, to say that “the purpose of prayer is to change us, not God.” I really dislike this statement. On one level, it’s true, of...
View ArticleJim Dobson and Rusty Red Vans
A few days after Jerry Falwell, Jr. was photobombed by Trump’s prized copy of Playboy Magazine, Dr. James Dobson, who’s on Trump’s faith advisory committee, claimed that The Donald has “accepted a...
View ArticleAdam and Christ – The Parallels
The New Testament calls Jesus “the last Adam.” The Apostle Paul repeatedly sets up the parallels between the two, as covenantal heads of the human race. Adam failed to obey God, and brought death on...
View ArticleTrump, Dingoes, and the Pro-Life Judges Argument
As some of you will already know, I’ve consistently refused to support or vote for Donald Trump on moral grounds, even now that he’s secured the GOP nomination for president. I’ve heard very few...
View ArticleFaith Is Not the Gospel
When I was growing up, I thought that Romans 10:9 was the Gospel: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”...
View Article14 Reasons Why Christianity Is True (Guest Post)
My friend, Seraphim Hamilton, has prepared an outstanding list of reasons he believes in Christianity–not just as the true faith, but as the story of reality. He’s given me permission to reprint them...
View ArticleColin Kaepernick, Korryn Gaines, and the Most Powerful Oppressor
What shapes our fate, most? For many people in world history, the answer was unarguably outside forces. For the hundreds of thousands brought to North America in chains from Africa, it was the will of...
View ArticleAgainst Evangelical Victim Culture (Stop Blaming Josh Harris for Your Problems)
Like probably most of you, I read Josh Harris’ “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” as a rite of passage when I entered my teenage years. Harris, a single young adult at the time his book was published, became a...
View ArticleEmpty Buildings, Empty Faith: ‘Lifestyle Christianity’ Has Been Tried and Failed
It’s tough to express how strange it is seeing pastors and columnists hawk theological liberalism as the solution to Christianity’s troubles. Why? Because we’re standing in the ruins of theological...
View ArticleHalloween and the Aesthetic of Evil
A while back, my friend Steven Wedgeworth wrote an outstanding essay over at The Calvinist International on the origins of Halloween. It’s an annual must-read. The gist is that Halloween is not some...
View ArticleIf You’re Going to Condemn the Reformation, Do It Like a Man
“Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop. Fortunately...
View ArticleFour Reasons You Should Stop ‘Voting Against’ Candidates
Faced with two of the most despised presidential nominees in modern American history, the temptation to play the electoral equivalent of Vizzini’s battle of wits from the movie “The Princess Bride” is...
View ArticleAfter the Election, Remember: You Reap What You Sow
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” I want to challenge us to meditate on this verse of Scripture in the aftermath of the 2016 election. All of us. For a lot of...
View ArticleJacob Marley, the Rich Man, and Lazarus
A while back, it hit me that Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” may be an alternate ending for Luke 16:19-31 (the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus): “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send...
View ArticleThe Real Reason Evangelicals Don’t Baptize Babies
Friends (especially those expecting children) ask me with surprising frequency why I believe in infant baptism. For a couple of years, I replied by giving what I think the best biblical reasons are....
View ArticleHow Narnia Should Have Ended: Why ‘The Last Battle’ is My Least Favorite...
I am a lifelong Narnia fan. I treasure these books, constantly refer to them, and still mysteriously get something in my eye when Aslan explains the Deeper Magic from Before Time. C. S. Lewis was...
View Article15 Years Later, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ Film Is an Allegory of Power and...
Fifteen years ago, the naysayers ate their words. As the folks at TheOneRing.net document in an insightful little anthology, “The People’s Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien,” many had concluded prior to the...
View ArticleJesus Has a Physical Body Forever (And So Will We)
“’Now, Bree,’” he said, ‘you poor, proud, frightened Horse, draw near. Nearer still, my son. Do not dare not to dare. Touch me. Smell me. Here are my paws, here is my tail, these are my whiskers. I am...
View ArticleHead Scratcher: Could Jesus Have Sinned?
This is one of those theological dilemmas that floats around the pews and causes a great deal of head-scratching. It’s also one of those topics on which pastors never seem to preach. The affirmation of...
View Article