Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). Salvation comes through Christ alone. Human religions are not paths to God and salvation, nor can their adherents be saved and be in Christ without explicitly putting faith in Jesus. The only way for … Read more
According to the Christian Gospel, God is at work through Jesus (and, by extension, His body, the Church) to reconcile all things to Himself. Scripture makes it very clear that salvation for the world, and for each individual, comes through Christ alone (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Thus, while other world religions may contain some true … Read more
Universalism is the belief that every single human being will be saved and will experience eternal life. Some universalists believe that religions other than Christianity are alternative paths to God, and that people do not need to believe in Jesus in order to be saved. This form of universalism is a heretical denial of the … Read more
Modern Christians live in a religiously pluralistic world. The modern establishment of legal freedom of religion has allowed non-Christian religions to grow and thrive in Western societies. Furthermore, globalism has made our world more interconnected than ever, such that interactions between our society and societies dominated by non-Christian religions are unavoidable. In a way that … Read more
In addition to the seven main classical virtues of the Christian tradition, there is at least one other Christian virtue that is vitally important for Christians to develop: integrity. Integrity means being honest, being consistent, being true to one’s convictions, and being true to who you are. For Christians, of course, “being true to who … Read more
Church Discipline and Individualism Along with the preaching of God’s word and the administration of the sacraments, church discipline is one of the three marks of the church. Without it, there cannot be a genuine community of Christian disciples. Both Jesus (Matt 15:18-20) and the apostle Paul (I Cor 5:1-13, 2 Thess 3:6-14) clearly teach … Read more
According to the New Testament, the church is God’s holy covenant people. It is the family of God. It is the community of Jesus’s disciples. It is the body of Christ. It is the redeemed and renewed humanity, the firstfruits of God’s new creation. When we look at the church as it exists today and … Read more
An Emotion Contemporary Christian worship music is typically light on theological doctrine. Rather than focusing on instructing the congregation in theological truth and reinforcing that knowledge, it tends to focus on producing a certain emotional state in the congregation. Music is one of the most powerful influencers of human emotion, and Christian music composers know … Read more
The sixteenth century Protestant Reformation called into question various aspects of late medieval Church teaching having to do with the nature of the Church, the sacraments, and the relationship between the authority of Scripture and the authority of Church tradition. Arguably the biggest issue that eventually divided Protestantism from Roman Catholicism, though, had to do … Read more
Calvinism vs. Arminianism For centuries, Christian theologians have debated the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human freedom. The early Greek Church Fathers tended to have a robust view of human freedom and responsibility, even as they affirmed the need for God’s grace in order to be saved from our sin. The great fifth century theologian … Read more