Dead orthodoxy is still dead. It is not worth having. I am serious. A church that takes all the right positions, sings all the right songs, dresses just the right way, but has no true spiritual life might as well be liberal in its theology. In fact, it might be worse. If you want to…
Christian colleges face a growing danger from the tsunami-like changes in Western countries. The danger comes from the moral changes in the wider public and from the personal problems students now bring with them to college. Let me give some examples. An Evangelical Christian college near where I live has almost 2,000 students. 60% of…
During the calendar year of most non-liturgical churches the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem is celebrated longer than any other aspect of his person or ministry, longer even than his death for our sins and his resurrection. [footnote]Editor’s note: We know where we are in the calendar — Christmas is over! However, Dr. Stiekes discussion of…
I’ve said it before. I get some of my most thought-provoking questions from emails. This emailer raised a number of issues about how Scripture impacts our view of women; questions, she says, “that have baffled me all of my life.” They’re valid, sincere questions that deserve scripturally informed answers. If we don’t take the initiative…
What is a helpmeet? Or, for that matter, what is a helpmate? According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “helpmate” is “altered from helpmeet.” It is called a “ghost word, from the Biblical translation of Latin adjutoriumsimile sibi [Gen. ii:18] as ‘an help meet (i.e. fit) for him’ (Hebrew ‘ezer keneghdo ), which already by 1673…
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed (James 1:13-14) I have always had difficulty reconciling this verse with my understanding of…
A recent post by Dr. Bill Barrick brought up the topic of prophets and prophecy. Dr. Barrick’s theme is “The Authority of Scripture in the Book of Jeremiah.” The post is worth reading, I’d like to expand on a few points he raises at the end of the post. These days many Christians misunderstand prophecy.…
“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (1 John 4:3) “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord…
When you encounter a lion in the wild, how should you respond? According to prevailing advice, you should stand your ground. Do not run but retreat slowly. If the lion charges at you, you should remain standing while yelling as loudly as possible and raising your hands. If the lion attacks, you should remain standing…
We tend to make God in our own image—literally. Many conservative Christians find black depictions of Jesus in art as odd, a sort of self-serving reinterpretation of history for personal or ethnic reasons. It is actually. Equally so are the representations of Jesus as white. Jesus was not white-skinned. He did not have brownish or…