We’re steeped in a cultural soup of ascent. From religious life framed as the journey upwards, to transcending human limitations through technology, or climbing the corporate ladder, the mentality of ascent is ubiquitous. Career advancement. Personal achievement. The moral arc of history. And so it goes. But as the incarnation of our Lord in the […]
Are the Scriptures clear? Most of us would tend to answer: "sometimes yes, sometimes no." There are passages that seem straightforward and other passages that appear really confusing. What else could we expect of a collection of books written over the course of 1,500 years, by so many diverse authors, in so many diverse styles? […]
*** Eerdmans | 2021 | 368 pages (hardcover) | $45.00 As the title indicates, this book examines Roman Catholic moral theology in the twentieth century and beyond, with a special focus on conscience. (“Moral theology” is roughly equivalent to “ethics,” although the former sometimes indicates a broader range of subjects.) Readers of Modern Reformation, surely […]
The Reviews section is usually reserved for critical engagement with important books of interest to our readers. We're changing gears slightly in this issue by featuring an excerpt of our friend J. Todd Billing's new book Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ (Brazos Press, 2015), which tackles the tough issues […]
Every presidential election cycle produces a fresh round of vitriolic debate regarding the role of conservative Christians in the political process. In a few short decades, evangelicals have been transformed from politically indifferent separatists to one of the most controversial political constituencies in America. As one who has contributed to the debate over religion and […]
Men, I'm told, do not read the Bible. This is explained away by the idea that men do not read, period. Apparently, we're knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who hoot at women, scratch ourselves and laugh at bodily noises. We watch sports (only the violent kind), we watch TV (only the violent kind), but we do not read-or […]
Recounted in part 2 was the close, coordinate relationship between the “Two Twinnes” of church and state in seventeenth century Massachusetts. “In the Cambridge Platform [1648] the clergy claimed the support of the civil power as fully as ever the Jewish priesthood did,” wrote Herbert Osgood. Per the Platform, “The power and authority of magistrates […]
No matter how Jack provoked me, I never ever struck him. When I first began babysitting him, his mother and I discussed corporal punishment, and we both agreed it wasn't an appropriate disciplinary measure for a babysitter to use. Of course, this was before the memorable even-ing I caught him calmly roasting a gummy worm […]
In the spirit of our occasional "Free Space" interview section, the editors offer this piece by U2's Bono on the Psalms, the blues, and the comfort of grace. We make no claims to Bono's orthodoxy, but we find his own words strangely familiar to many of the other sentiments presented in this issue. This piece […]
Within the heart of the Christian faith is an astounding truth. God—who created and sustains the universe—became incarnate. The immortal and perfect Son of God shared our messy, sin-prone death-ridden lives of flesh and blood; he became human, walked with us, suffered with us, and subjected himself to our temptations. Ultimately, he died for us, […]
As noted in part 1 of this series, recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in systematic theology. Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley’s projected four-volume Reformed Systematic Theology is a solid example of an expanding renewal of research and publication concerning properly categorical theology. This post explores Beeke and Smalley’s section on theology proper. […]
Maggie Jackson is an award-winning author and former columnist for The Boston Globe. She wrote Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age (Prometheus Books, 2009) and What's Happening to Home: Balancing Work, Life and Refuge in the Information Age (Sorin Books, 2002). In your latest book you prophesy the coming of a […]