Brian J. Lee
Civil religion is thick in America. “God” is on our money, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Declaration of Independence. We regularly ask him to bless America at ball games, and every session of the U.S. House and Senate opens with a prayer. A few years ago, the question of civil religion became very concrete […]
In A Shepherd’s Life, real-world shepherd James Rebanks tells of the real-world value of the shepherd’s crook, a vital tool in caring for real-world sheep. The crook remains the best tool to catch a sheep and enables the Shepherd to draw skittish sheep near so he can care for them. How shall spiritual shepherds guide […]
“Calvin’s Political Theology and the Public Engagement of the Church: Christ’s Two Kingdoms” by Matthew Tuininga
In recent years, the “two kingdoms” teaching of the Reformed tradition has been a point of some contention. Speaking broadly, advocates of two kingdoms use it to place a greater emphasis on the spiritual authority of the church and discourage the church from engaging in the culture wars and politics of the civil realm. Practically […]
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) The opening words of John’s Gospel take us back to the opening words of Moses’ gospel—the Pentateuch, the opening words of the Bible. They introduce us to the divine Word who was present at the Creation, […]
What I like most about Stephen Wolfe’s proposal above is that it comes in sheep’s clothing. Seriously. Allow me to say how grateful I am to be having this conversation and to be reading fresh, new, and creative engagement on a well-worn topic. This is saying a lot when you address a debate where the […]
Few issues have generated more heated debate in modern Reformed circles than the discussions currently taking place about two-kingdom theology. Books have been written disparaging learned theologians and pastors for taking the wrong position. Presbytery exams that take up the issue threaten to devolve into shouting matches among elders in the church. Facebook comments on […]
There’s no way I can follow my brother in eulogizing my father, so I’m not going to try. I’m not going to speak as a son on the passing of my father. I do want to tell one story about my dad, but before I get to that let me tell you what I want […]
It is common for Christians to think that there was far greater demonic activity “in Bible times” than there is today, but this isn’t exactly true. It is rather the case that a spiritual clash with demons occurs in a narrow window of time, namely, the early ministry of Jesus between his baptism and his […]
Do you ever feel like you’re more sinful today than you were yesterday or the day before? Me too. Perhaps you feel like your spiritual life never changes, that you’re stuck in neutral and not making any progress. For most Christians, staying still feels like you’re moving backwards. It’s like you’re treading water in a […]
At lunch with a prospective church member, I described the process of joining our church: a six- to ten-week membership class that introduces our church's teaching in its confessions, its worship and life together, and an extensive interview to examine a candidate's profession of faith and knowledge of the catechism. He shook his head and […]
Christ's promise to be with his church until the end of the age’delivered on the eve of his departure’is one of those gospel promises that comes wrapped in a riddle. Once the riddle is understood, it no longer obscures the truth but rather reveals it all the more profoundly. The profound truth revealed by this […]
At a crucial point in Generous Justice, Tim Keller asks us to "imagine a sequel to the Good Samaritan parable": "The months go by and every time he makes his trip from Jerusalem to Jericho he finds another man in the road, beaten and robbed. Finally the Samaritan says, 'How do we stop the violence?' […]
Does your eschatology provide you with Christian comfort? One of the tragic effects of dispen-sationalism on American Christianity has been a speculative spirit with regard to the last things. While the New Testament authors recognized that they were living in the last days and that the consummation of history had already begun in the cross […]
God reveals himself through-out the Scriptures as a covenant-making God: "I will establish my covenant with you" (Gen. 6:18). A covenant is primarily a legal arrangement between two parties, usually established with an oath and defined by the divinely sanctioned commitments involved. There are only two ways in which a covenant may be treated by […]
The kingdom of God as it existed in Eden prior to the fall has often been identified as being governed by a covenant, established between the Creator God and Adam, usually known as the covenant of works, or the covenant of creation. (1) Though "covenant" isn't mentioned in the text of Genesis 1 to 3, […]
