Much Evangelical teaching on devotional practices is only loosely connected to a robust understanding of the gospel of grace, or worse, leads undiscerning believers into practices more characterized by mysticism, asceticism, and legalism, than the gospel-grounded, grace-oriented piety of which Calvin spoke, namely, “that reverence joined with love of God which the knowledge of his... Continue Reading

John Gray—veteran British philosopher, intellectual historian, and book reviewer—has no intention of converting anybody. But his Seven Types of Atheism is a searching and helpful taxonomy of unbelief ancient and modern, and it has the potential to make the second of these two scenarios disappear altogether.   Imagine a conversation in which well-meaning skeptics try to deconvert... Continue Reading

“People in a victimhood culture are like the honorable in having a high sensitivity to slight. They’re quite touchy, and always vigilant for offenses. Insults are serious business, and even unintentional slights might provoke a severe conflict. But, as in a dignity culture, people generally eschew violent vengeance in favor of relying on some authority... Continue Reading

Believers who come humbly are still amazed by God’s grace, and that off-key singer becomes a delight to their ears. No amount of liturgical excellence or failure can add or subtract from the work of the cross. “It is finished,” is still Jesus’s effectual cry. The lengthy anecdote in the sermon without a real point... Continue Reading

It also exhibits Greg’s confusion. He claims, several times in the book, that his identity is in Christ, yet he keeps coming back to finding his identity in cultural labels. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the word “gay” appears 160 times in Greg’s book. The word “Christian” appears half that... Continue Reading

Stanley’s book is a triumph, above all for its highly innovative structure. Indeed, that structure alone is exceptionally valuable both to readers and as a model for educators seeking to frame the ever-expanding Christian story worldwide. Of course (we are relieved to learn) Stanley is not offering any kind of exhaustive and exhausting encyclopedia of... Continue Reading

“How often people say something like, ‘I think God is like this or that,’ without any consideration that they ought not to think anything about God unless He has first told them.  Wisdom reminds us, ‘A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion’ (Proverbs 18:2).”   I’m enjoying this book... Continue Reading

Perhaps more than a few Christians were heartened as much by Schrader’s path to success as by the early films to which he contributed. Part of Schrader’s legend was his strict Calvinist upbringing—it is said that his parents did not allow him to watch movies until he was 18. A graduate of Calvin College, his... Continue Reading

Harry and Meghan formed a covenant through the making of vows. Jesus Christ forms a covenant relationship of marriage with his bride, the church. The covenant unites not only the man and woman but also their families. Harry and Meghan made covenant vows before God and witnesses that united them in a one-flesh union. That... Continue Reading

I remember in junior high school science class seeing Ernst Haeckel’s embryo drawings that supposedly prove common descent, and hearing that the Miller-Urey experiment showed how life could emerge from non-life. In Zombie Science: More Icons of Evolution, Jonathan Wells shows in this excerpt, courtesy of the Discovery Institute Press, that such propaganda worked on children... Continue Reading