Category: Theology
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Christianity Today? Redeeming Evangelical Relevancy
Read more: Christianity Today? Redeeming Evangelical RelevancyThis week Christianity Today ran a short article commemorating the 100th birthday of its deceased founder, Carl F.H. Henry. Henry is worthy of memory; aside from the aforementioned magazine, he gave us Fuller Theological Seminary and he was a key signatory on the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy. He was passionately engaged in both doctrine and…
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Are We God’s Pawns?
Read more: Are We God’s Pawns?A pastor once told me that God’s people are simply pawns in his ultimate plan to glorify himself. Seriously. He said “pawns.” That would be a great metaphor if chess players actually loved their pawns, but they don’t. The world’s greatest chess player never loved his pawns, much less died for them. So when I…
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Jesus, Mr. Nice God
Read more: Jesus, Mr. Nice GodWas Jesus always nice? OK, so it’s not the deepest theological question we’ve ever tackled here at The Two Cities. But it’s an important one. Because, above all, the world expects Christians to be nice. Forget about holiness, evangelism and social justice. Just be nice. But if Christians bear any resemblance to Christ (and we…
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Sociology: A Litmus Test of Theology
Read more: Sociology: A Litmus Test of Theology“You know, I think every pastor should study sociology,” suggested Daniel[1], “that’s what I studied in college: if you really knew about communities and how people work, you could… well, pastors are leading groups of people- they need to know this stuff!” Such was the opinion of a customer of mine from last week as…
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Osteen’s Big, Big Tent (Guest Post)
Read more: Osteen’s Big, Big Tent (Guest Post)If “aw shucks” inclusivistic sincerity were enough to commend a soul to heaven, hell would starve. Unfortunately, Joel Osteen’s “gospel” is enough to populate hell. Recently, the pastor of the nation’s largest church, Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” Blitzer asked Osteen whether or not Romney, a…
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A Reflection: Checking Scholastic Habits with Orthodox Thinking
Read more: A Reflection: Checking Scholastic Habits with Orthodox ThinkingThis Labor Day, under the touching glow of a setting pacific sundown, invest some time reading a little primer entrusted to be by a dear friend- A Biblical Case for Natural Law, by Westminster Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics David Van Drunen. You’re probably thinking this post is a review of this book….
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I’m A Calvinist (And That Hardly Matters)
Read more: I’m A Calvinist (And That Hardly Matters)Without knowing it, I grew up believing in a quasi-Wesleyan form of Arminianism. When I went to college, and was exposed to Calvinism for the first time, I was very hostile. I was undoubtedly the most obnoxious Arminian on campus my freshman year. Eventually I came to a point where I decided to be open-minded….
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The Idol You Were Made To Be
Read more: The Idol You Were Made To BeWhether you know it or not you’re an idol. Many people have role models and they call these people idols. At the moment the world is watching the greatest athletes competing in the Olympics. Many of these athletes are ‘idolized’ in their home countries. This year American television audiences are gearing up for the tenth…
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Scared Straight… Now What?
Read more: Scared Straight… Now What?Last week I watched a few episodes of “Beyond Scared Straight,” the reality show that follows a group of rebellious teens to prison, where they get a taste of life behind bars. Aside from being thoroughly entertained, I learned a lot about false hopes and society’s view of redemption. The show introduces us to fresh-faced…
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Who Cares About Kant?
Read more: Who Cares About Kant?My wife took her first philosophy class at her southern California high school. Along with many other historical figures in philosophy, her teacher lectured on Kant. Unfortunately, the only thing that she can remember about Kant is the phrase, “Kant was a real pisant.” To be honest, I have found that this sort of reaction…