Theology

A Vestige of Holiness: Why I Am an Evangelical

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Evangelicalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity which arose from the eighteenth-century revival movements of John Wesley and George Whitefield. Committed to historic Christian orthodoxy, evangelicalism has four main characteristics: biblicism (affirming the supreme Authority of Scripture), conversionism (affirming the need for personal conversion to following Jesus in order to be saved), activism (affirming … Read more

The Triumph of the Therapeutic and the Subversion of the American Church

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“Verily there is that which is more contrary to Christianity, and to the very nature of Christianity, than any heresy, any schism, more contrary than all heresies and all schisms combined, and that is, to play Christianity.” – Soren Kierkegaard Over 50 years ago, sociologist Philip Rief’s insightful work The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses … Read more

The Church Should Be Welcoming But Not Inclusive

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At one of my previous churches, the congregation held a lengthy discernment process regarding whether we should change the church’s moral teachings about a particular sin. Throughout this process, the two words that people repeated again and again were the words “welcoming” and “inclusion.” In spite of the fact that no one was able to … Read more

The Western Church’s Conflict Over Same-Sex Marriage: What is at Stake

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The ethical status of homosexual behavior continues to be one of the most controversial theological issues in the Western Church. Some denominations adopt an “affirming” position and give their blessing on same-sex marriages, other denominations hold firmly to the traditional position, and other denominations divide and split over the issue. I have already discussed the … Read more

Christian Ethics and Homosexuality: The Teachings of the Old Testament

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This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Christian Ethics and Homosexuality

Before examining what Jesus and the apostles have to say about the topic of homosexuality, we should first examine the teachings of the Old Testament on the topic, since this provides the background for understanding what the New Testament authors have to say about it. There are two Old Testament texts which explicitly forbid homosexual … Read more

The Importance of Apologetics

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Apologetics is a reasoned intellectual defense of the reasonableness and coherence of the Christian worldview. God’s word tells us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet 3:15), and apologetics is an attempt to do this in a … Read more

The Christian Response to Persecution

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As American society transitions to being a post-Christian culture, it is inevitable that Christians will experience increasing levels of persecution. America has never been a Christian nation. However, as American values drift even further away from Christian values, and as explicit rejection of Christian faith increases, the fact that America is not a Christian nation … Read more

Christian Ethics and Indirect Participation in Sin

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Christians are called to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-15). Although our citizenship has been transferred from the kingdoms of this world to being citizens of heaven, we still live within the kingdoms of this world. Although we have been sanctified and set apart from the world for God’s use, … Read more

Proclaiming the Gospel in the Age of Show Business

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Over thirty years ago, educator Neil Postman warned of the detrimental effects of television on society in his insightful book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.[1]Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (Viking Penguin, 1985). Postman convincingly argued that the medium of … Read more

Proclaiming the Gospel in a Post-Christian Society

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The earliest Christians were sent out to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in a pre-Christian society. Their message about the crucified and resurrected Messiah of Israel being Lord and Savior of the whole world was entirely novel and strange in the ears of the pagan Roman society they were trying to convert. Because their … Read more