Category: Church
the need to recover tradition I
It’s now old news that Francis Beckwith has returned (converted back?) to the Roman Catholic Church of his youth. His change of denomination does however provide the oppurtunity to continuing discussing a few of what I am coming to believe...
Mary for Evangelicals
How ought evangelicals to think about Mary, the mother of Jesus? I am a born-and-raised protestant. I grew up in a “non-demonimational” Vineyard Christian Fellowship church. I have since spent a lot of time in Episcopalian parishes, but I have...
Canonical Communities: Ash Wednesday and Christian Communities
Today is Ash Wednesday, and though this is going up late, I think it appropriate. The Lenten season is one of the most difficult periods of the Christian year. It is a time of reflection and repentance for our sins....
Christians by Faith, not by Genre: Sufjan, Swithfoot, and the Nature of the Artist
I received a great many presents this Christmas. I almost felt guilty about this. But then my philosophical training saved the day. I began to think about the nature of giving gifts to celebrate Christmas and I could hear my...
The Community of the Word: Ecclesiology and the Perfection of God (Part Two)
In the first essay, I attempted to summarize John Webster’s essay where he locates evangelical ecclesiology under the perfection of God. His moves, of course, raise questions about the nature of the visibility of the Church, as it is the...
The Community of the Word: Ecclesiology and the Perfection of God (Part One)
As discussions about the nature of evangelicalism have been prevalent around Mere Orthodoxy in the last few years (see here, here, and here), I turned to The Community of the Word with more than an academic interest. As I am...
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...
More About Evangelicalism
Matthew L. Anderson linked to an article by Dr. Matt Jensen of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola a few days ago, which sparked some fruitful discussion in the comments section. I emailed Dr. Jensen to see what he had...
Essays to Live By: Smart Guys on Diverse and Sundry Topics
I spent the last hour reading a few very, very good essays and interviews. I was only intending to spend 15 minutes or so, but the more I read the more I was edified. Steven Pinker has come under fire...
Emphatic Evangelicalism: A Gem by Fred Sanders
A recent discussion here at Mere-O ended with questions about the essence of evangelicalism. Enter Dr. Fred Sanders, theologian extraordinaire, who offers this dandy of a post on “Emphatic Evangelicalism.” Dr. Sanders was a professor and remains a hero, so...