Every spring the Lent debate erupts anew in Protestant circles, and we go another round arguing about the church calendar and the utility of spiritual disciplines.[1] The Daniel Fast, and Rick Warren’s looser Daniel Plan for dieting, are regular guests in the fasting discourse as well.[2] More recently, intermittent fasting diets have entered the public […]
Following what turned out to be a momentary respite, recent spikes in COVID-19 cases have reminded us that we are not yet in a post-pandemic world, and it’s not so certain that such a thing will ever exist. Either way, “life after the virus” musings abound, most of which will have a short shelf life. […]
Mixed-gender theology classes should be taught by men. It is illogical to say a woman should train men to be Bible teachers and pastors when she shouldn’t be one herself. If women shouldn’t be pastors or elders in churches, then they should also not have that role in other contexts.[1] Should women teach theology to […]
The other night, I called my sixth-grade son from work to check up on him. "Um, actually I'm chatting on Skype right now," he confessed, "with one of your Albanian friends, Marko." Knowing fifteen-year-old Marko, I realized he was probably witnessing to my son. Nevertheless, maternal concern won out: "Miro, it's midnight in Albania. Marko […]
When you walk into almost any store, you’re immediately overloaded with sights, sounds, smells, and various things to touch. This barrage on your senses is hand-picked for one goal: to make you spend more. Here’s what’s going on. No matter what type of store you walk into’from the Apple store to Wal-Mart’you’ll find all types […]
Three decades of data have revealed near systemic evangelical ignorance of the Scriptures, ignorance of theology, church history, Christian art, architecture, and iconography and, correspondingly, ignorance of Christian deportment, both social and practical. (1) Ignorance abounds with the information superhighway literally at our fingertips and Kindles glutted with books. This ignorance, however, has little to […]
We recently interviewed David Tarus, executive director of the Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA). Born and raised in Eldoret, western Kenya, Dr. Tarus earned his PhD in Christian theology from McMaster Divinity College in Canada. He also earned an MA in theology from Wheaton College Graduate School and a BTh from Scott […]
Introduction to the Conversation The question ‘Who am I?’ is deceptively simple. On the surface, we think we can immediately answer the question, but upon further reflection we discover we actually need a tremendous amount of help to understand our ‘selves.’ We need each other. Not just in order for our communities to function well, […]
Three decades of data have revealed a near-systemic evangelical ignorance of the Scriptures, theology, church history, Christian art, architecture, and iconography and, correspondingly, of Christian deportment, both social and practical.1 Somehow, despite the information superhighway literally at our fingertips and Kindles glutted with books, ignorance abounds. This ignorance has little to do with intelligence or ability, […]
Michael Horton:Hello and welcome to a special discussion on the Emergent Church movement. In this discussion, we're not analyzing the movement and offering critique and solutions. We're going to be discussing our own churches and some of the challenges that the Emergent folks have offered to us and maybe also some things that are already […]
I recently posted a question on Facebook: “If you saw the term ‘apatheism,’ what would it bring to mind?” Without knowing the definition of this relatively novel term, many commenters suggested it had to do with apathy toward God. When the title of your book invokes something familiar but unexplored in the public imagination, you […]
Ask any Sunday school scholar why Jesus died on the cross, and you’re likely to get the same answer: “For our sins!” There’s no question that penal substitution and propitiation get a lot of air time in confessional Protestant circles. If there’s one thing the reformational church is known for, it’s a keen awareness of […]