“It is often said that the day of Confessions is past, and that the Christian world as a whole has become, or is fast becoming, anti-Confessional.”[1] Written in the early 1900s, this quote captures the anti-creedal mood that was carried into at least the mid-20th...
Legalism is an attempt to win God’s favor apart from the finished and sufficient work of Christ on behalf of sinners. This is a doctrinal legalism that undermines the gospel. There also exists a practical legalism that is often ignored or misunderstood—a legal root...
Frame of reference is a key concept: the apprehension and appreciation of which is of practical help both in the science classroom and in daily life. When I ask my Earth Science students why the geocentric view of our planetary system endured for so long, with some...
Religious “Legalism” with a capital “L” is heresy. It's the belief that one's personal virtue and obedience to religious norms or standards merit God's favor and/or salvation. This “do-it-yourself” religion is antithetical to the gospel of Christ and the Bible's...
A hymn based on Ecclesiastes Sung to the tune of Wayfaring Stranger Verse 1 Beneath the sun my soul is sighing: how brief a vapor is my life! My gain is gone, my days are dying. I chase the wind and stir up strife. Why is my life, O God, not fruitful? Will nothing...
What came first, the chicken or the egg? We’ve been considering this classic conundrum since the Greek philosopher Plutarch first posed the question.[1] Plutarch responds that they are both first, which is almost as convenient of an answer as Aristotle’s, which is...
A Theological Distinction to Engage God’s World Theologians of old often give us categories and distinctions that equip us to apply Scriptural truths in a more consistent and balanced manner. Calvin’s twofold knowledge of God as Creator and as Redeemer forms the...
In John Bunyan’s classic tale, The Pilgrim’s Progress the main character is a man named Christian and he meets many people along his journey. One of the men he meets is a man named Faithful. Faithful recounts to Christian something that happened to him when he found...
We’ve all seen someone who has never done something before do it very well the first time they try. It’s called beginner’s luck, which can be defined as “unexpected success experienced by a person who is just starting a particular activity.” But inevitably, after...
How to Read the Bible Without Feeling Like a Fraud The Psalms have been described as the songbook of God’s people – so why do we so often feel like we can only sing them with our fingers crossed? The “blessed man” of Psalm 1 is constantly captivated by the law of the...