Category: Christian Life
Character, Skepticism, and Prayer
In the context of a discussion about the method in which God develops a conversation relationship with us – by forming our character – and our appropriate response, Dallas Willard writes of the serious barrier our culture’s skepticism poses to...
As Below, So Above: Cleaning Up After Haggard
We blogged about it a lot at Mere O when it happened. Offered some pretty strong opinions, too, especially about the response by the people at New Life. Ted Olsen at Christianity Today posted this recap of the followup by...
Peter Kreeft at Biola
Christian apologist Peter Kreeft visited Biola University this weekend as a guest of the Torrey Honors Institute. Kreeft has written numerous books in various styles on numerous subjects including apologetics, heaven, prayer, Catholicism and Aquinas. His next work (and the...
Parable of the Talents
Okay, this story from the AP wire is just flat out cool. GROVE, Okla. (AP) — Usually, parishioners offer money to their churches. This time, the church handed out money. Pastor Steve Dyer of the Newsong Church gave $14,000 to...
Transposition and introspection
Lewis in Weight of Glory makes the point that for any higher thing (like a three-dimensional cube) to be transposed onto a lower medium (like a two-dimensional piece of paper) two things must be true: a) the thing must lose...
Christmas
My brother points out that today we celebrate the “Christian appropriation of paganism.” He labels it syncretism, but that’s a tad misleading. Christianity did not just adapt the pagan practices, but baptized them. The celebrations we now understand as Christmas...
The Dead Horse…
I’m bringing it back. I’m not the only one who thinks Gnosticism has influenced evangelical theology. From Peter Leithart (someone who has read, oh, just about everything): “VanderZee, however, does not simply repeat Reformed slogans, but brings in voices and...
Lo, He comes…
Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Traditionally a time of pentitence, Advent affords us the opportunity to look ahead to the second coming of the Christ, before we celebrate His first. As my priest pointed out this morning, the...
Kudos
“I love Gnostic Chess. I just hate the pieces.” Keith, this deserves a post of it’s own.
Gnostic Gambit
My brother’s last move in our game of “Gnostic Chess” was a lengthy and well-reasoned attempt to undercut my original claim that the Evangelical Church (broadly construed) is influenced (implicitly) by Gnostic ideas. Jim attempts to ground the discussion historically...