To Church Leaders: Read This Concerning Your Meetings
I came across an article entitled “On Process: Finding Ways to Make Progress as a Community” by Neil de Koning that focused on what Christians should strive after in their meetings. It is so good that I will not make any comment, except to highlight the article’s main points. Instead, just go read it. On [...]
Should We Hold Any Truths to be Self-Evident?
On Monday, I wrote about Common Sense Philosophy, American Democracy, and Total Depravity, but I had to end before I got to the really good stuff–Total Depravity! As Americans, we live with a deep-seated belief that we just know certain things, and that no one should question our common sense knowledge. As Christians, however, we [...]
Common Sense Philosophy, American Democracy, and Total Depravity
I am still reading through Mark Noll’s book America’s God, and my wife was kind enough to buy my own copy for my birthday! (I had been reading a library copy and dropping lots of hints–”I am loving this book! It’s one of the best books that I have read in a long time!” etc…) [...]
How Should Churches Deal with Problem Members?
All organizations struggle with how exactly to deal with “problem” members—those who always seem to oppose change no matter how badly it may be needed; those who “debate” by threatening and complaining; and, most frustratingly, those who command just enough votes to impose their will upon the organization. For churches, this kind of situation only [...]
Jonathan Edwards, Covenant Theology, and American Politics
I have been deeply enjoying Mark Noll’s America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln. (Thanks for the recommendation, Andrew!) The main thrust of the book is that American (Protestant) Christian theology developed uniquely from other theology because of a strong influence of strong philosophical and political influences such as common sense moral reasoning and [...]
C. S. Lewis – "Equality"
Recently reprinted in the Kairos Journal: I believe in political equality. But there are two opposite reasons for being a democrat. You may think all men so good that they deserve a share in the government of the commonwealth, and so wise that the commonwealth needs their advice. That is, in my opinion, the false, [...]
A Biblical Theology of Democracy – Part I
To be honest, the Bible does not say much at all about democracy. In fact, it would probably be accurate to say that the idea of democracy, as we know it, is largely foreign to the overall story of the Bible. When the King comes to claim his throne, no one will call for a [...]
Book Review: The Closing of the American Mind
Allan Bloom’s modern classic, The Closing of the American Mind, opens with an observation of a trend that was all-too-common in the 1980s, but which has only solidified by 2010—namely, that students “are unified only in their relativism and in their allegiance to equality” (25). Bloom’s concern goes beyond the obvious logical problems in relativism [...]