Do not dishonour the Gospel of God by harshly condemning others. While Jesus railed against religious hypocrites, he was patient with sinners. And so I think we can categorize two sorts of opponents: those who genuinely disagree with us and those who hypocritically gainsay sound doctrine for greedy gain. I am thinking of the first category here, and 1 Peter provides ample instruction for how we should engage people in this first category. [Read more…] about How to Engage in Gospel Polemics
Life
A Partial Response to Bruxy Cavey’s View of Biblical Authority
Bruxy Cavey is an author and influential Canadian pastor, leading the third largest church in Canada and nineteen regional sites. One of the ways that he uses his influence is to argue for a way of reading Scripture, which includes non-violence and a Jesus-focused faith. In his most recent article, he argued, for example, that Jesus, not the Bible, should be the ultimate authority for Christians.
I don’t find Cavey’s arguments for this position to be convincing. And while I am not responding to his entire argument in this article, I would like to highlight three of his points and consider whether or not they are persuasive. [Read more…] about A Partial Response to Bruxy Cavey’s View of Biblical Authority
Our Gnostic Problem
Evangelical Christians have a problem with Gnosticism. No, I don’t mean that some outsider is trying to persuade evangelicals of a secret revelation. I mean that conservative Christians have (sometimes) adopted a view of humanity that approximates the ancient and variegated philosophy of Gnosticism.
Here’s what I mean. [Read more…] about Our Gnostic Problem
Three Reasons Why We Can Trust the Old Testament
Can we trust the Old Testament? Recently, a number of Christian leaders have argued in ways that depreciate the value of the Old Testament. Most recently, Andy Stanley called his church to unhitch themselves from the Old Testament. Greg Boyd has also argued that the Old Testament does not truly portray God because the Old Testament presents God as Israel thought him to be (and they were wrong). Bruxy Cavey underscores how Jesus and not the Bible is our authority, shifting authority away from the Old Testament to Jesus.
Stanley, Boyd, and Cavey want to clarify the Bible and help their people live the Christian life. Yet I believe that they are doing just opposite for the following three reasons. [Read more…] about Three Reasons Why We Can Trust the Old Testament
On Memory
Memory brings light and darkness. It brings light by evoking images of joy, happiness, and intimacy. But there is a dark side to memory. It accuses, suffocates, and overwhelms us. Between light and darkness floats a murky cloud of unsure or false memory.
The role that memory plays in our lives is nothing less than comprehensive. It guides you in the morning to make breakfast, to drive, to work. It helps you react to life (I remember that heat is hot, so I don’t touch the pan). Memory forms our identity. We are who we remember ourselves to be, whether that is a Father (I have children whom I love) or a business person (I run a business).
Memory must be ours or we have no identity nor could we function normally in life. And yet memory bears a sword. It cuts or protects. It brings light or darkness. It brings clarity or cloudiness.
And this cloudiness or vagary of memory creates a particular problem for us. Can we trust our memory? [Read more…] about On Memory
How Should Christians Think about Unjust Governments?
God appoints governmental leaders to do good (Rom 13). And the Bible instructs Christians to pray and obey their leaders. Yet a tension exists between God’s appointment of governing leaders to good and what they actually do. Some leaders simply do wrong and are unjust.
So how do Christians manage this tension? The biblical answer is that Christians follow a middle way as the salt of the earth and as those who pray for rulers to protect these rulers from the devil’s monsters. [Read more…] about How Should Christians Think about Unjust Governments?