I recently came across a fascinating book entitled The Handbook of Palestine by H.C. Luke and E. Keith-Roach. Produced in 1922 by the British Mandate government which had just taken control of the country after a long Ottoman Turkish rule, it’s a fascinating snapshot of the Holy Land beginning its transition to the State of …
My Reply to Glendon Hermanus on the Tithe and the Authority of the Church
A few of you will remember my exchange with Russell Earl Kelly on the tithe. Given the way the tithe is generally presented in full-gospel churches, I'm surprised that I haven't gotten a great deal of blowback on my position. That has finally come from one Glendon Hermanus from South Africa, who commented on one …
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Ten Things She Doesn't Get About Christians: My Reply to Emily Stone
I found Emily Stone's list of ten things she doesn't get about Christians intriguing. So I set myself to answer these as follows: The Tipping Business. That goes back to Finney, who made a very big deal about Christians tallying every monetary transaction they made to be exact to the penny, which has given rise …
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It's Hard to Explain the Desire for Freedom to People Who Have Never Had It
It's conventional wisdom that we are a deeply divided nation these days. And the conventional wisdom, for once, is right: we are. Where things diverge is the explanation for same. Although day-to-day politics are one thing, the divides we experience these days run deeper that "go along to get along" or the horse-trading of patronage …
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Taking a Position on Yoga Isn't Simple
It's getting complicated out there: A spate of unsavory controversies in the United States is cracking up yoga's wholesome image, with accusations of financial fraud, sexual misconduct and copyright issues involving asanas (positions) plaguing the community. As a result, India, the land where the physical, mental and spiritual discipline of yoga began in ancient times, …
The Blowback: The NAE and the Church of God, the Baptists, and the Constitution
It's been an active week at this blog, so it's time to catch up on the "mailbag" so to speak. Did the NAE Really Ruin the Church of God? It's been a long time since a piece I've written has gone so viral as this one. Based on the response I've been able to see, …
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Did the NAE Really Ruin the Church of God?
Now that Holy Week is done, I'd like to turn to a very thoughtful piece by Jonathan Stone about the future of the Church of God written as if that future had passed. For superannuated hippies such an approach suggests the Moody Blues, and indeed the piece has an artistic ring to it. There are …
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Failure Requires More Than Just Being Ineffective
My attention has recently been drawn to an item in Christianity Today on "Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Leaders."Â Having spent proportionately as much time in ministry work as anyone dealing with leadership issues and leadership training, I can say that the whole issue of leadership has become something of an obsession in Christian circles, …
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Is Evangelicals' Cultural Influence Collapsing?
David French at NRO thinks so: During my years in the pews, I’ve witnessed a moral collapse — and a corresponding collapse in positive influence over the real lives not just of our fellow congregants but also of our fellow citizens in need. Of course it’s difficult to present a compelling witness when our own …
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Just to Reiterate: My Thoughts on Women in Ministry, and About Being a Snob
I received an intriguing comment from Desmond on my 1662 Book of Common Prayer page. He was taking issue with my comments about women in ministry, but he did so in a odd way. Since he hit on subjects that I have talked about before and probably need repeating for newer visitors, I'll take his …
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Positive Infinity 