Having undergone redemptive-historical modification, the law very much has a home in the New Covenant. The law continues to provide the moral standard that binds all people, not just Christians. It is this understanding of the law that helps us to grasp what the prophet meant when he looked to the day when God would... Continue Reading

Hollingworth takes us back to the pre-Socratic philosophers of ancient Greece and the beginning of classical civilization. We cannot understand how Augustine was trained to think unless we master the origins of Platonism, and that means returning to the world Plato addressed and transformed. To say this isn’t to argue Augustine was a Platonist, but... Continue Reading

Whereas classical music embodies order, law, structure, and beauty, punk rock embodies–not the world as it should be–but the world as it is. Also, punk music has a social awareness that would put Beethoven and his ministry to the deaf to shame.   Punk rock music is the true Christian art form. I know it’s hard to... Continue Reading

As the old Italian proverb goes, “Translation is treason.” The treasonous nature of all translation work consists in the inability to accurately convey the nuance of meaning when moving from the original text to the receptor language. While the translator may be able to convey the bulk of meaning found within a text, he will unlikely communicate... Continue Reading

A pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Brown deftly deals with the issues that are involved in lay evangelism. He correctly tells his readers to begin with God, telling us who He is with regard to His attributes, why mankind is alienated from Him by sin, and how we can be reconciled to... Continue Reading

It is amazing to contemplate the wonder of the condescension of God to man. The almighty God has humbled himself to assume human properties so that he can reveal himself to us, to even ”relate to us in a way that would be suitable to who we are” (212), and he ultimately humiliates himself beyond... Continue Reading

Finally, worriers are immune to reason. As worry is added to worry, as anxiety compounds and leads to irrational behavior, loved ones try to help. They explain that worry has never accomplished anything or ever made a situation any better; they show and explain that worry is more like astrology than prophecy. When nothing else... Continue Reading

God can save people immediately. He has done it in the past and he will continue to do so. However, there are times when he chooses to plant seeds over an extended period of time. It may take months, even years–it requires time. Are you willing to spend the time it takes to befriend unbelievers, plant the seed... Continue Reading

Not surprisingly, this episode ends by casting doubt on the resurrection itself.  However, I was disappointed by the trite (even flippant) alternative explanations given for the empty tomb. They are just not sufficient to explain the early Christian belief in the resurrection. For example, James Tabor argues that the tomb was empty on Sunday morning... Continue Reading

The book attempts first to characterize and classify the movement of new Calvinism. This in itself is a chore, I’m sure. And after he helps readers have a better sense of what he is talking about, he begins by pointing out several good qualities and positive effects of the movement. He then rounds out the... Continue Reading