This ongoing Reformed resurgence is an exciting, unexpected development. It has been a joy to watch people from all backgrounds, cultures, and nations discover and delight in those heart-stirring truths. Yet I think many have failed to take advantage of a resource that is theirs by virtue of their newfound theology. Part of the joy…
It’s hardly theological novelty or historical oddity to suggest we should be wary of presenting the immaterial God in physical form. This was the point of my recent article on The Shack movie in which I expressed my concern that its portrayal of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit is a violation of…
Edward Snowden changed the world. His disclosures proved that multinational corporations and the U.S. government have been working hand in hand in an expansive program designed to surveil American citizens as well as vast numbers of foreigners. Working for Dell but assigned to an NSA facility, Snowden gained access to the deepest details of this…
Regular readers of this site will know that for some time I’ve been writing articles under the banner of “Sex on the Silver Screen.” These articles grapple with the morality of scenes of nudity and sexuality in film and television. While there has been a long association between sex and the silver screen, only in…
Lin Bian, a psychologist at the University of Illinois, wanted to understand how and when gender stereotypes develop, and especially the old stereotype that boys are smarter than girls. The results of her study were stark. “Among the 5-year-olds, both boys and girls associated brilliance with their own gender. But among those aged 6 or…
Every afternoon at 3 PM, the house is calm and quiet and orderly. It is neat and tidy, the front entranceway is clear, the coat hooks are organized, the horizontal surfaces are clear. But by 3:30 it is approaching the status of a full-out disaster area. Backpacks, hats, and mitts leave a trail down the…
The day The Shack sold its hundred thousandth copy, it became likely there would be a movie adaption. The day it sold its millionth, it became practically guaranteed. And, sure enough, it comes to theaters March 3, starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and Tim McGraw. For some time, I have been considering whether I should…
Coloring books are all the rage, even in the Christian market. A roundup of 2016’s Christian top-sellers revealed seven in the top one hundred spots. I have written about this phenomenon once or twice in the past, but am returning to it today in response to a significant development in the market. I recently received…
Christians have an interesting relationship with suffering. We follow a suffering Savior who assures us that we, like him, will have to bear a cross. We suffer the consequences of living in a world stained by sin, the consequences of our own depravity, the consequences of our association with Jesus. It is no surprise, then,…
It’s not an easy time to be a six-day creationist. For some time now, the weight of conviction within the Evangelical world has swung toward views that demand an old earth. While few Christians are full-out theistic evolutionists, more and more believers hold to an ancient universe with all the complications that come with it:…
We must be the most entertained generation in all of human history. We take entertainment as our inalienable right. If we work hard during the day, we assume we have earned a few hours of amusement at night. Actually, we can’t even make it through the day without at least a few distractions—a couple of…
I have always been glad that there was one person who brought out her alabaster jar and anointed the Lord before his burial. Most people would have waited. They would have kept the jar sealed until after his death. Only then, when his body was torn and cold, would they have broken it open to…
Crash Course Philosophy has more than 5 million subscribers, making it one of the most popular YouTube channels. They recently shared a video titled “Family Obligations” in which they explain the view of American philosopher Jane English that grown children have no obligation to their parents and should feel no duty to care for them…
I have been to good funerals and bad funerals. In fact, I’ve been to beautiful funerals and full-out dreadful ones. What distinguishes the best from the worst? In How to Finish the Christian Life, Don and George Sweeting offer their observations on the best ceremonies they have attended and officiated. Here are their five marks…
Reading is a solitary pursuit. You grab your book, you kick back on the couch, and the hours roll by. But even though reading is a solitary pursuit, it is not necessarily a selfish one. Reading can actually be an important way to love others. Here are five ways to love others in your reading.…
God hates. Those words may sound foreign to us. They may sound improper. But the God who loves what is good must hate what is evil. The God who loves what honors his name must despise what dishonors it. The God who loves what blesses his people must hate what harms them. It could not…
It’s fun to laugh at the disciples sometimes, isn’t it? Read the gospels and you’ll find them providing us plenty of opportunity. Like in Mark 9 when they have arrived in Capernaum and have settled into a home for a meal and a rest. Jesus asks a simple question: “What were you discussing on the…
It’s one of my favorite tracks from Only a Holy God, the new album by CityAlight. It celebrates God’s omniscience, his complete knowledge. It celebrates God’s omnipotence, his complete power. It celebrates God’s omnipresence, his constant presence in this world. It celebrates the joy of knowing that these attributes make a difference to the life…
We know a big sin when we see one, right? We know the difference between depraved acts and mere peccadillos. We know that while all sin is the same in expressing rebellion against God, some sins show greater evidence of a hardened heart and bring more devastating consequences. In some ways all sin is the…
I love words, and I love to see words put to effective, creative use. Just this morning, as I was reading the gospel of Mark, I was struck anew by Jesus’s ability to paint pictures with words. “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed…” So often he spoke in parables, word…