When evangelical Christians think about God’s purpose for the church and for their lives, they often think almost entirely in terms of evangelism. Growing in personal integrity and holiness of life also fits in, but sharing the Gospel is frequently seen as the single most important thing we
Your body is central to your spiritual life. In fact, to say it’s the locus of your spiritual transformation is not an understatement. Lately, I’ve noticed an odd disconnect, though. A growing emphasis on healthy lifestyles is leading to a fitness revolution, especially among young people in North
The Protestant Reformation was triggered by a conflict over the issue of justification, that is, how our sins are forgiven and how we obtain salvation. To resolve this issue, it was necessary first to address the question of theological methodology: what is your final source of authority in
In the first article of this series, I argued that modern American Evangelicalism has misunderstood the teaching of the Reformers that we are saved by faith, not works, and with it the Biblical text that we are not under law but grace. While it is certainly true that our
Although there were many streams of Protestant thought during the sixteenth century, nearly all of them agreed on three key ideas summarized by three Latin phrases: sola fide, we are saved by faith alone; sola gratia, we are saved by grace alone; and sola scriptura, scripture alone is
Lately, I can’t stop thinking about Jesus asleep in the boat. The storm is surging; the vessel is filling with water; the disciples are scurrying. This is a historic scene, not some vivid illustration, but let’s pause for a moment to acknowledge its fittingness as a metaphor for
W.H. Auden says, “All the judgments, aesthetic or moral, that we pass, however objective we try to make them, are in part a rationalization and in part a corrective discipline of our subjective wishes.” It is therefore incumbent on critics, maintains Auden, to spell out clearly their version
Speaking metaphorically, the apostle Paul describes our ministry efforts in terms of planting and watering seed (I Corinthians 3:6-9). In the recent past, we’ve focused a great deal of those efforts on the presentation of our planting and watering to the exclusion of depth. Cultural relevance was the
A Cryptic Thought According to Peter Kreeft, God in his mercy struck Blaise Pascal down at a young age before he could turn his “pensees” into a dry academic tome. Instead, we have the brilliant sketches that fly off the pages like sparks. Once when I was a
The “With-ness” of God in the Midst of Pain It overtakes my entire body. The discomfort typically begins with my neck and quickly creeps up the back of my head. Nausea usually follows, along with sensitivity to light and smell. Sometimes I experience flashes of light in my
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