Jesus Creed
We continue our series on the meaning of the word “gospel,” a word I think has been so reduced in meaning that it will take serious efforts to recover a fully biblical perspective. Romans 15:14-20 reads: (more…) Read more
We continue our series on the meaning of the word “gospel,” a word I think has been so reduced in meaning that it will take serious efforts to recover a fully biblical perspective. Romans 15:14-20 reads: (more…) Read more
Adam Hamilton has a way of grabbing his reader’s attention: in his discussion of the truth about the spiritual formation of most of us, he says this: some days are good but somedays are not — on those days you feel like this: “Your faith can’t move dust bunnies, much less mountains” (139). This is the subject of chp. 16 of Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics. Hamilton says something that... Read more
The most famous sermon in American history is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The most famous theologian in American history is Jonathan Edwards, the theologian who preached that most famous sermon. My friend and a Jonathan Edwards scholar, Gerald McDermott, has recently edited a book on Edwards called Understanding Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to America’s Theologian. Just in case you don’t know much about Edwards, this book is for you — though written by experts the book succeeds... Read more
No matter how you read it, the end of Romans 11 is tough stuff: (more…) Read more
Scot having tried his hand at science a couple of weeks ago (here), I (RJS) will step up to bat once again and start to tackle what may be the toughest question in the science and faith discussion. We have been carrying on a conversation dealing with the hard questions in the relationship, sometimes conflict, between scientific knowing, scripture, and the faith. Much of this conversation has centered around books – and there are many good books available to focus... Read more
After a losing fight with a porcupine, this dog is doing fine, and now that we know it’s fine … what does this picture bring to mind? Who is this dog’s analogy in our world? Which Church leader feels like this? Read more
We skip in Romans from Romans 2 to Romans 10 to find the next use of “gospel.” There are two uses of “gospel/gospeling” in Romans 10:15-16 and I have provided additional verses to exhibit the context: (more…) Read more
Some Christians are functional deists: they believe in God but their God has very little to do with this world. He’s the clockmaker God; made this place and then let it run. On the other hand, some Christians are theological determinists: they believe everything that happens is the result of God’s plans and God’s designs and God’s intent. Adam Hamilton, in Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics, addresses this question in... Read more
I’ve recently been brewing a few different coffees, including Strada coffee from Africa and some wonderful new stuff from the great place called Burnsville, Minnesota. They have a fine coffee and coffee shop — my kind of place — called “Jo Jo’s Rise and Wine.” Yes, you guessed it: they sell coffee and fine wines. A very kind student of mine gave me a packet of Mocha Java — Indonesian & Ethiopian — dark, spicy blend with a fine chocolate... Read more
Undoubtedly, the one passage in Romans that doesn’t seem to “fit” the standard Reformation explanations of both gospel and justification is found in Romans 2 and I am clipping a few verses to set our next use of “gospel” in context: (more…) Read more
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