In the past couple of years there have been a few books written specifically to challenge the teachings and assumptions of Rick Warren’s mega-seller The Purpose Driven Life. Some of these have also discussed other Purpose Driven material and the man who has produced this successful franchise. These books have sometimes been criticized for being…
My neighbors to the South are celebrating Thanksgiving today, an event we celebrated six or seven weeks ago in Canada. Thanksgiving is a much more important celebration to Americans than it is in my country and that is something that makes me just a little envious. Americans know how to celebrate; I wish Canadians would…
A few years ago I was handed a copy of The Purpose Driven Life and told that I really ought to read it. I knew almost nothing of Rick Warren or his Purpose Driven material, so decided I would read this book that, judging by the shelf space it had been given at the Christian…
This week’s King for a Week award goes to Rebecca who posts her Everyday Musings at Rebecca Writes. A year or two ago I said of Rebecca’s site, “…if I could recommend one, and only one, blog to people that would edify them the most, I would have a difficult time choosing any other than…
This week’s King of the Week honor goes to a newcomer to my blogroll. I actually met Marc, proud proprieter of Purgatorio when I was at the Desiring God conference last month but did not realize at the time that Purgatorio was his project (I’m a bit dense that way). With tens of thousands of…
This morning I began to read the book of 1 Kings. Earler this year I had read through the Old Testament up to the end of 2 Samuel and, after spending some time in the New Testament, I decided to pick up where I had left off. As you know if you read this site…
The Passion of the Christ was a major marketing success. But it was more than that. It was an astounding, shocking success that few people felt was possible. It was, after all, a movie filmed in a dead language focusing on a dead man whom most people in the world hate. It was overtly Christian…
Before church began this morning I was thinking about exegetical fallacies. I’m not sure why this topic was on my mind but I was trying to think back to which of these fallacies I have written about on this site. I came up with three and promptly forgot one of them. I thought I’d collect…
As you have probably noticed, I’ve added a King of the Week section to this site. This section allows me to highlight the contributions of other bloggers and to pay tribute to people who have blessed (or even just amused) me through their efforts. Doug from Coffeeswirls was there by default from the beginning of…
Yesterday I wrote about Bible translations, hoping to stir people to at least investigate the issues surrounding what has become a hot topic in the church. I believe that an influx of poor translations is beginning to erode the confidence Christians have in their Bibles, and unfortunately, this erosion of confidence happens with good reason.…
Imagine, for a moment, that you woke up one morning to find the front door of your house wide open, the brisk morning air blowing into the room. Your first thought, of course, is for your family. You race upstairs and throw open the door of your son’s room. He is lying peacefully asleep. Breathing…
“A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined” (David Hume). That quote, taken from David Hume, the Scottish…
OneTrueGodBlog is, at least in theory, a great idea. The format is simple and unique. Hugh Hewitt asks a weekly question and encourages a panel of prominent Christian bloggers to post a response. Unfortunately there are often few responses given. Last week Hewitt asked the following question: “Please recommend the five books you would have…
Over the past few days I have been reading The Benefits of Providence, a newly-published book written by James Spiegel. It is a deeply challenging book that is filled with weighty subject matter. It has given me a lot to think about and meditate upon. I look forward to attempting to summarize this book in…
I was about eighteen years old the first time I saw a dead person. Just a few days earlier my grandmother had unexpectedly suffered a massive heart attack and had died nearly instantly. The family was given the opportunity to say “goodbye” to her before the funeral. We were ushered into a room in the…
In my reading of early church history this past week I came upon a passage from Justin’s First Apology in which he describes the worship of the early church. “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles…
My morning reading today took me to the fourth chapter of Ephesians. This is a chapter that deals primarily with the topic of unity within the body of Christ. Through the first three chapters of the book Paul has been laying the theological framework for the life of good works he describes in the final…
When Doug McHone and I were chatting (something we did an awful lot of) at the Desiring God Conference, he swore that he would not discuss Halloween this year. I made no such promise to him, and today would like to discuss it, even if only briefly. In my further defense, I believe this is…
As you may have heard, and definitely have heard if you read this site with any consistency, the band Petra has decided to retire. “After 33 years of music and ministry, Christian rock pioneer PETRA will come to a close. December 2005 will mark the end to a ministry that has boldly and consistently proclaimed…
As you may know, Richard Abanes was in town on Friday on a whirlwind promotional tour for his new book, Harry Potter, Narnia, And The Lord Of The Rings. The book, which I have not read, is a comparison and examination of the magic (and magick) in the Harry Potter, Narnia and Lord of the…