Credit and Discredit
Something has been nagging at the back of my mind since the Bell-ruption that flared up a month ago. And no, it doesn’t really have much to do with Bell, his fans, or his opponents. Rather, it is about an...
Knowledge Spackle
So, we had a hole in the wall. I don’t mean the tiny urban apartment we shared in the first year of marriage, but a literal gap in the plaster. We had to call maintenance to patch it up. (I...
Reading the Hymns: The Gospel Brings Tidings
“The Gospel Brings Tidings,” by William Gadsby (1773–1844), was one of my favorite hymns during the Berkeley years. It is, I admit, obscure. It’s not on Cyberhymnal or any of the hymnals indexed on hymnary.org. Far as I can tell,...
Understand Your Neighbor
Today Kevin DeYoung shares some key points from Gary Dorrien’s The Making of American Liberal Theology. DeYoung offers not a critique but a description, reminding us that theological liberalism is a movement and not a bogeyman. A strong critique requires...
The “Great Apostasy” and Personalities (and Rob Bell)
The Great Apostasy is a common concept among Protestants. It comes in part from a true observation. If the old Catholics were not wrong, then we were wrong to break away. And we would need to repair that breach, and...
Literally?
Last week, Justin Taylor highlighted an article on the history of the interpretation of Genesis 1. I almost posted a rapid response, as the history of biblical interpretation is my big specialty. But I feared the appearance of posturing for...
Reading the Hymns – The Sands of Time Are Sinking
This weekend’s hymn is a follow-up to last weekend’s profile. Samuel Rutherford did not, to my knowledge, write any hymns. But in the 19th century, someone wrote one for him. Ann Cousin (1824-1906) was a Scottish poet and the wife...
Know Your Historical Evangelicals: Samuel Rutherford
Name: Samuel Rutherford Born: c. 1600, Nisbet, Scotland Died: March 20, 1661, St. Andrews, Scotland Bio: Samuel Rutherford was appointed minister in 1627 of the parish church of Anwoth, a village near Galloway in southwestern Scotland. He worked hard at...
Armadillos in My Garden
I saw my first real, live armadillo last Thanksgiving weekend. It was not without warning. We visited my sister in Texas for the holiday, and while there I saw an ad for armadillo removal. Being a Los Angeles boy, that...
The Trouble with Triage
There is a certain idea afoot, whose proponents claim that it can help us all get along better. Take almost any energetic debate on Christian faith and practice, and someone will bring up the concept. Even guys like Al Mohler,...