“Ulrich pressed his family to his heart for as long as he dared. As he pulled away, he forced his best smile before donning his helmet to shroud his tears and his contorted face. As horse and rider turned the corner of the street Ulrich turned back for one last look and a wave.”  ... Continue Reading

The “Ninja rule” and “Mike Pence rule” do have their downsides for the women around them, but there is also an upside. No one can accuse any of them of the wrong-doings bringing down so many in so many other fields. Their marriages are protected not only from sin, but even from the appearance of... Continue Reading

Newton’s story is a beautiful scandal. Like Paul, he increasingly woke to the nightmare of his sin personified by the beautiful black faces of his victims. But God’s grace had introduced a new reality: undeserved pardon. The man who should have died a thousand deaths for his sin died at peace in the hope of... Continue Reading

The long-serving pastor encouraged fellow Catawba River Baptists to devote the day to prayer and meditation, reading the Scriptures in the family circle, and keeping “our children in subjection and order, as much as in us lies,” as an integral part of devoting oneself to God on the Lord’s Day. The admonition was regardless of... Continue Reading

Much has been written about work and vocation from a theological perspective the past few decades, and there have been plenty of conferences about work, but as this article in Christianity Today points out, it’s not janitors and fast food workers – or even machinists –  who frequent Christian conferences about work.  And they’re not reading books... Continue Reading

He died because of Reformation debates surrounding the Lord’s Supper—a Christian practice that believers today too often relegate to secondary importance, at best. Frith rejected the belief that Christ’s body and blood exist literally within the elements of the Lord’s Supper—that is, within the bread and wine. And for this reason, he burned.   “Amongst... Continue Reading

While her life is mostly remembered as a bitter-sweet love story, Anne, as other female rulers of her day, had a great influence on European thought. For example, she arrived in England not only with books, but with a team of Bohemian illustrators who left a strong influence on English art. Conversely, her presence in... Continue Reading

Susannah continued to package the books in her own home.  Every two weeks a full cartload of volumes left for the railroad station en route to many different destinations.  Susannah sometimes carried out this ministry in weakness and pain. But she felt more than compensated by the rich blessings the ministry brought both to her... Continue Reading

Domestic violence is a serious problem, which I have tried to address here. Abusers need to be disciplined ecclesiastically and punished by civil authorities. Invoking centuries old caricatures of evident theological opponents (Boston University was founded as a Methodist school) hardly contributes seriously to addressing the problem.    Few bogeyman frighten Moderns as much as Calvin... Continue Reading

In heaven we will have new, perfect, physical bodies that can be tangibly nourished by the perfect feast that God has in store. For my non-Christian friend, hearing this seemed like a missing puzzle piece in making sense of eternal life. Never before had she conceived of eternal life as a tangible, physical reality and it seemed... Continue Reading