How are we to relate to culture? There are two equally bad approaches: the first is to fall in love with our particular cultural moment,and the second is to reject culture. The first causes us to syncretize the gospel.
Blessed are the pure in heart;
For they shall see the Lord.
(Matthew 5:8)Your prayers will all be answered. But it is not that you will receive every last thing that you ask for. Much better, your answer will be
There is a drumbeat that runs throughout the Scriptures from the first page to the last. Light. Light. Light. The dawning of a great light is the Bible's central theme.
I was recently meditating on the passage in Leviticus that tells us not to harvest the edges of our fields:
People these days get their boxers in a wad at the slightest and most insignificant things. Then there are other people who lived through the invasion of Normandy or survived POW camps and never lost their inner happiness.
I recently commented on Facebook that we have no ground for trusting in reason on the basis of naturalism. A couple folks asked me to elaborate. The basic line of reasoning is a bit too long for a Facebook comment so I lay it out here.
A good friend recently asked me to address the question, “Why do conservatives call themselves conservative”. Below is a quick explainer of the title:
Often, what we think are instincts are actually intuitions. The difference is you are born with your instincts; your intuitions you can practice, polish and improve with practice and effort.
A good friend posted the Craig Biddle video below to Facebook recently. I commented that unfortunately Craig does a very poor job representing what advocates of the is/ought dichotomy are really saying.
“God, the maker of everything is so abounding in mercy that whatever size grace cup of faith we are able to hold out to him, we shall undoubtedly have it filled.”
- Bernard of Clairvauxr
Joan Baez, put it simple and straight when she said, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. Nothing ain’t worth nothing, but at least it’s free.”
We sometimes use practical strategies to work ourselves out of the challenges that God led us into to refine our faith, expose our shortcomings and the limits of our character. God put us in that situation to grow us.
If you’ve ever prayed for a friend, you should understand the Trinity. See, you stood in between God and your friend. And the three of you were one, the love of God binding you. See, God also stood between you two, loving you both.
I’m just stopping in the shadows of Castle Craggs to eat a late lunch, read a bit, and write a blog post. Here’s what’s on my mind. We accept that God knows things we don’t know. And we wish to do his will.
Here’s a great Spurgeon sermon preached on my negative 118th birthday.
There are two faults of the Church which appear to me periodically to manifest themselves.
I just read this Wikipedia article regarding the scuttling of the German fleet of WWI at Gutter Sound.
In the shower just now to think. (I do that a lot.) And after a moment I said out loud to myself, quite surprised at what I had realized, “Why should I believe anything I’m thinking?
Jeremy Taylor tells a story of Diogenes, the famous street philosopher who is said to have slept in a tub in the streets of Athens. Late one night Diogenes saw a man stepping out of the dark doorway of a notorious tavern.