At one time Green had apparently intended to be a minister and vestiges of a Christian worldview can be found in the book, but only vestiges. Mostly he teaches—well, I don’t know what he teaches. It’s not nihilism, but neither is it Christian hope and optimism. In a novel about illness and death, he makes... Continue Reading

“Overall, I was quite pleased with the book, though, as with any such collection, the essays vary, not so much in quality, but as in how they affected me. I found C. John Collins’ essay thin and unconvincing. The most helpful is Leland Ryken’s essay “Reclaiming the Psalms for Private Worship.” The essays by Craig... Continue Reading

Mariano didn’t try on a real baseball glove until he was 16. Until that time, he and his friends fashioned together gloves from “a milk carton, a bat from a stick,” and a ball made from wrapping a rock in fishing nets and tape, as they played along the shore. He dropped out of high... Continue Reading

“And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Born again? What is that?’” Langer said. “I hadn’t heard that in all the churches I had been to. … At first I thought, ‘Well, he’s using a different Bible than we use.’” But a few months after that Bible study, he “knew exactly” what he needed. “The Bible says nobody is... Continue Reading

“One device that Satan uses to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition – to make their life hell – is to causing them to constantly muse upon their sin, and to mind their sins more than their Savior, yea, so to mind their sins as to forget or even neglect their Savior. ... Continue Reading

“This list reflects the kind of reading choices I make for a season like summer, when I can devote some time to reading that is not dedicated to some larger writing or research project. There is also an unapologetic tilt toward a reading list for men in this list. These are books that are likely... Continue Reading

“It is significant that when God makes his entrance onto the stage that is the wreckage of Job’s life in the book that bears his name, he comes in the whirlwind. Even after his first speech has induced Job to take a vow of silence, God comes again in the whirlwind. That is a sign... Continue Reading

Although the vast majority of Christians don’t realize it, we are being slowly yet steadily poisoned by virtually undetectable toxins. No, this isn’t about chemicals or biological agents; it’s ideas, worldviews, philosophies, and ideologies that we are unknowingly absorbing into our systems every day of life, and that are eating away at the vitals of... Continue Reading

In his accessible primer on the end times, Christian Endgame: Careful Thinking About the End Times, my colleague at Christ Reformed Church, Kenneth Samples, ably practices the quote “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” In his 3rd and 4th chapters, he describes areas of eschatological agreement among Christian historical traditions, what he... Continue Reading

Some are hasty to claim that preachers who care so much about grace will go light on holiness and sanctification. But a faithful preacher of grace knows that his flock will never be able to fulfill the imperative commands of the Bible without enabling grace. Precisely because he’s so committed to the sanctification of his... Continue Reading