by Peter J. Leithart At the center of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about three duties of Jewish piety – alms, prayer, and fasting. Regarding the last, He says, “when you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites, for they render their faces unrecognizable in order to be seen fasting by men. . . . But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, so that you may not be seen... Read more
by Bethany Weaver It was Christmas Eve, and I was in the thick of depression. I sat alone in my house, depressed that I wasn’t able to see my family and contemplating numbing my mind and spirit with hours of Netflix. “How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” the lines from “Hamlet” clamored through my mind the way they always do when I’m struggling to navigate what I call my “gray days.”... Read more
by Mike Holmes Most people use the term “covenant” and “testament” interchangeably. They’ll say things like, “THAT was for the old testament and we’re new testament believers.” Not realizing there is a vast difference between “covenant” and “testament.” There are two Hebrew words which carry the idea of “covenant.” The first word is “berith” which sometimes carries the idea of a one sided promise of grant; or in other words, it’s a guarantee which a more favored person gives a... Read more
by Nick Barden A prosecuting attorney sought to compel Fr. Jeff Bayhi, a priest in the diocese of Baton Rouge, to testify in court concerning a confession. According to the prosecution, the priest both violated his obligation as a mandatory reporter and told a fourteen year-old to forget about the sexual abuse she had suffered from a family member. If the latter allegation is true, as Dr. Ulrich Lehner noted in his recent article at First Things, this action is... Read more
According to Forbes John D. Rockefeller heads the list of the wealthiest Americans in history. His life was a bit of a mystery. He was the head of Standard Oil, the largest oil refiner in the world. He was vilified as a monopolist because he integrated the entire oil industry under his leadership. Yet at the same time he helped define the structure of modern philanthropy. What most people don’t know is that he was a deeply religious man devoted... Read more
Ellen Painter Dollar recently shared her struggles with tithing. According to her, when she was in her 20’s she was a faithful giver. Now that she and her husband presently make 4 times what she used to make she doesn’t tithe. According to her: “We give away about 5 percent of our gross income every month, divided between a pledge to our church, a monthly gift to an organization addressing global poverty…and smaller donations to charities we support. And I... Read more
by Colby May A few years back I took my family to Home Depot to buy some materials for a side project we were doing for the house. I remember clearly, that it was a typical hot and Austin day. As a matter of fact it was too hot to take the kids outside to play, so we had a lazy day watching movies. We actually let our 2 and 4-year old kiddos watch the Chronicles of Narnia. We had... Read more
I love this imperfect organism called the Church (and her arms and legs which take the form of local churches) and I take issue with the way millennials relate to it today. Why have the words “church” and “churchy” became derogatory terms? Read more
by Tyler Kirkpatrick If anyone has ever told you that their marriage is perfect; they are either lying or not human. I understand there are some couples that “agree all the time and never fight,” but for those of us who don’t—husbands, know your wife. For the little time I have been married, I have learned a lot. I have learned that my wife needs my time and attention. You see I am not a very “affectionate” person by nature.... Read more
by Nick Barden I was born Catholic and have been trying to get back ever since. My family tells the story of our exodus – of my disrupting the Mass as a caterwauling infant, and of the cold, implacable judgment of the parish priest. I spent the majority of my youth batted about from one Baptist or Pentecostal church to another. Baptists, it was said in those days, continued the gift of prophecy, Pentecostals, the gift of tongues. The holy... Read more
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