The pet industry in America is a booming industry. For the past several years, American pet owners have collectively spent nearly 100 billion dollars or more annually on their pets. While much of this can no doubt be accounted for with things like food, vet bills, and the like, there is a rather large market for all sorts of goods that go well beyond the scope of basic pet care. It shouldn’t be all that controversial to posit that the… Read more
One of the more interesting conundrums of our times is the notion of virtue and ethics within progressive circles. The reason I say this is relatively simple to any who have observed what has transpired over the course of the last couple of decades. Progressive ethics are always in flux; they are ever searching for a new, deeper sense of morality that ebbs and flows with the ideological whims of the broader culture. What I mean by that is simply… Read more
It is now clear that broad evangelicalism has largely miscalculated how to engage youths with our evolving, sexualized culture. 30 years of emphasizing purity over faith and repentance, entertainment over meditation, and games over catechisms have left scars. Read more
As a blog, we have never been shy about stressing the importance of having and pursuing good theology. Our beliefs and worldview guide not only our actions, but also our morality. What we believe drives what we do. Every idle word or passive action is an open declaration about how one views God and the world. Moreover, the absence and/or outright denial of a need for theology is in and of itself a bold (if not also occasionally ignorant) theological… Read more
There has been much commentary on the deconstruction narrative of exvangelicals over the past several years—some bemoaning the state of the church—others bemoaning the state of the nation—and many like myself who have been left with the rather bland taste of pseudo-intellectualism left behind after reading the hollow statements of the popularizers of the movement. In one sense, I find the whole phenomenon of the exvangelical deconstruction story fascinating simply because they manage to capture a rather large segment of… Read more
In many ways, I believe the modern church is rife with the error of thinking trite thoughts on virtually every biblical topic under the sun. What I believe lay behind each of these issues is not merely the interpretive maladies many might approach the text with—but the same issues the Reformers ran into in their own time. There is a widespread denial of fundamental doctrines on the nature and character of God, there is certainly much denial of the penal-substitutionary… Read more
There is a difference between accidental plagiarism and willful plagiarism. Accidental plagiarism comes through carelessness—but it is not a deliberate or malicious act. It is cause for concern and the one who commits it ought to certainly be more careful in reflecting the sources they’ve drawn from, no doubt, but it is different. It can likewise reflect a heart of laziness, hastiness, or any variation of similar qualities which need to be addressed—but the inherent difference between accidental and intentional… Read more
There are a lot of Bibles out there. The college that I attended made the translation of the Bible you used a BIG deal. When I showed up on campus as a freshman, I unpacked my trusty NKJV and was quickly informed by one of my senior roommates that what I had just done was tantamount to smuggling contraband. It was not uncommon to be walking through the commons, cafeteria, or dorms and stumble upon a Bible version debate. We… Read more
Year after year, it seems like a never-ending supply of pastors, pastor’s kids, and artists formerly known as Christians are making the headlines in the religious and secular world alike. As a result, many a writer takes up the pen to provide some commentary on the subject, either celebrating the “victory” of winning them over to the secular cause, or bemoaning the state of the church, or the state of apologetics, or the state of the family. While those bemoaning… Read more
In this article, I share 3 books that I have found extraordinarily helpful in navigating America’s Culture Wars. I would go as far as to say they are almost indispensable for any Christian who wishes to survive this woke, “brave new world”. Read more
