The flexing of national muscle--military, political and economic--we are seeing in the Middle East regarding the Islamic Republic's aspirations makes as good a backdrop as any to consider how things will wind up. In this post we will show it's possible to get a glimpse of two visions of the end, and both in an …
The Sad Case of Gerry McClelland, and My Thoughts on Assisted Suicide
Being the anniversary month of Roe vs. Wade, January is a good month to look at issues of life. Most of the emphasis is on abortion, but we must consider the other end of life, too, when it occurs, and whose decision it is for that occurrence to take place. While doing other research, I …
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Is There a Real Difference Between the Demands of the Modern State and Emperor Worship in Rome?
Maybe not: Since 1789 the United States government has presented its Christian citizens with no moral problem of critical magnitude. This may mean that the moral integrity of the United States is magnificent; it may also mean that Christian citizens do not recognise a public moral problem when they see it. In the morality of …
Lesson from Tim Tebow: Life Is Better When We Focus on the Problems of Others
ESPN's Rick Reilly believes in Tim Tebow, after a long search for faults: I've come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde. No, I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off …
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To Go Back to "The Old Time Religion," You Must First Prove That It Is
Dan Tomberlin's post on the "old time religion" deals with a subject that conveys one thing to one group of people and one thing to another. The whole business of "religion" has gotten a great deal of press thanks to Jefferson Bethke's video and this relates to that in an indirect way, but this is …
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The Real Reason Daniel Was Thrown Into the Lions' Den
Although one underestimates Biblical ignorance at one's peril, the story of Daniel in the lions' den is well known to many. Most Christians would interpret Daniel getting pitched into same den as a result of his refusal to worship a god or gods other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If one reads …
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An Episcopalian's Appeal to Authority Falls Flat
Although I'm sure his Presiding Bishop finds this post suitable for framing, somehow Episcopal minister Frederick Schmidt's appeal to the authority of the church doesn't quite connect. Let's start with the issue he uses to illustrate his point: the proper colour for Advent: In a recent dust-up over liturgical colors, a colleague of mine was …
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…we should prioritize everything on the basis of who will cry at our funeral.
From Patrick Morley's Second Wind for the Second Half: No man can do everything he wishes. Choices must be made...For our personal decision making we should conduct a little civilian triage: Who can't live without you, or you without them? Who would be nice to help if you don't have to neglect the first group? …
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Do We Have Nestorians Teaching in Our Seminaries?
Sure sounds like it: During the first centuries of the church the greatest theological controversy sought to answer the question, “How is Jesus of Nazareth God?” A full discussion of the Christological developments can fill a library with books. I want to briefly address only one issue – the significance of Theotokos, which says that …
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Pentecostal Biblical Studies: Is Going Back to the Source Really All That Bad?
It seems that my friends in the Pentecostal academic world have come up with another interesting link, this time to Jaques Berlinerbau's An Afternoon With the Society for Pentecostal Studies. It's an opportunity for me to opine on a subject that has lurked in the background ever since my brother's unfavourite Episcopal minister taught me …
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Positive Infinity 