A visit to Bethlehem by famed Boston preacher Phillips Brooks inspired him to write a carol for a Christmas Sunday school service. Would you believe it was exactly one hundred and fifty years ago on the nose that folks in 1868 sang his carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” for the very first time? This…
In a previous post I discussed Marcion, the false teacher who jettisoned the Old Testament. What about an opposite extreme? The “Jewish Roots” movement has recently exploded, requiring believers to carefully follow the Sabbath laws (on Saturday), the feasts in Leviticus 23 and other Jewish expectations. They contend that the church has lost its way…
That was the headline on cbsnews.com introducing a story, also broadcast the night before on the network’s news program, On Assignment.1 The rest of the headline read, “Inside the country where Down syndrome is disappearing.” The CBS News Twitter feed advertising the broadcast stated, “Iceland is on the path to eliminating Down syndrome through abortion.”…
November/December 2018 | VOLUME 28 | NUMBER 6 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. Job 12:23–24 The year 1919…
I spoke too soon. In commenting in September about the abuse accusations within the Roman Catholic Church, I said that there have not been accusations about wide-spread abuse among independent Baptists. I was wrong. In a series of articles in the Dallas Star-Telegram, Sarah Smith delineates a number of accusations. Most in the articles are…
Promotional emails and full-color mailers for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holiday sales are coming your way, and so are the urges to buy more things, a lot more things. But step back and inhale a nice, slow, deep breath. Don’t let the tidal wave of holiday marketing and cultural pressure engulf you in…
In the very earliest days of the New Testament and hardly before the ink was dry, the church already faced a pernicious error. Marcion of Sinope felt that the Old Testament presented an angry, condemning God, not at all like the gracious God of the New Testament. Accordingly, he proposed that there are two gods—the…
Some time ago, I attended the funeral of a Christian gentleman who served his church as both deacon and choir director. Eulogies from family and friends attested to the strength and consistency of this man’s Christian testimony. He was at home and in private exactly what he professed at church. Without exaggeration, his life was…
The internet changed the topics I dip into. Some are more eclectic than others are. A recent e-zine I discovered has an article about the Incas of South America and their non-written language. The article comments on the success of the Incan empire without a written language. You will have to read, “How the Inkas…
The old timers called it melancholy. Some today call it depression. Modern vernacular calls it the blues. Many face feelings of extreme sadness and melancholy during the Christmas season and Christians are not immune. It might be helpful to understand some reasons why you might feel this way and take biblical steps to address it. Physiological…