Posts by Joel Arnold
So do you wear mixed fabric?
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…
Read MoreWhy You Should Love the God of the Old Testament
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…
Read MoreWhat’s Happening to American Christianity?
Joel Arnold A recent thorough survey of religion in America told us something we already knew—by pretty much any measure the number of people engaged with religion is dropping rapidly. The study isn’t with fundamental or even evangelical churches—it cuts broadly across denominations, generations, and social groups, measuring religious interest over multiple decades. And the…
Read MoreIt’s Time to Run–FrontLine Jan/Feb 2016
Joel Arnold Like the breath of God that brought life to Adam’s body, every word that God has breathed out is powerful and brings life to the hearer. The result, then, is that all of God’s words are profitable for the spiritual life of the people of God. We need them all. And yet some…
Read MoreOn First Seeing my Child’s Face
Joel Arnold Last week I saw the face of my third child as she came into the world. As with our two sons, we decided to wait on finding out the gender until birth. And when my wife held up our child and announced that we had a daughter, my world turned upside down.
Read MoreSteak, Sexuality and the New Orthodoxy
Joel Arnold One Friday after work, Bill and John went out for steak. They had a great time, and the next week John ran into Bill at the water cooler. John: “Hey, steak again tomorrow?” Bill: “You disgusting, carnivorous animal killer. I wouldn’t let a piece of dead animal get within 10 feet of my…
Read MoreWhy Is the Virgin Birth So Important?
Joel Arnold Few people know that Ben Franklin, the consummate writer, inventor, and politician, descended from Puritans— his grandfather was a Baptist missionary to the Indians and his father was a dissenter. Franklin himself financially supported a Presbyterian minister and attended a few services. But what ultimately turned him away was his mistaken feeling that…
Read MoreShould We Legislate Morality?
Joel Arnold For years I have been perplexed when it comes to religious liberty. Should gay marriage be illegal? Definitely. What about adultery? Not so sure. No question in my mind that heroin should be illegal. But should we outlaw alcohol too? One over-worn stock phrase is that “you can’t legislate morality.” And in fact,…
Read MoreA Christian View of Government Shutdown
Joel Arnold Writing about the government shutdown is automatically controversial. If you’re a conservative, it was the democrats fault; if you lean toward the left, the GOP did it; if you’re a libertarian it should have happened sooner and needs to last longer; if you’re in politics, it might cost you your job. But here…
Read MoreContemplating the Mystery of Evil
We’ll never understand it. But do we have to? Joel Arnold Two explosions, 12 seconds apart. People running to get away from one, only to find themselves in front of the second. Cheering instantly transformed into cries of terror, with a bomb blast punctuating the difference. And a nation reeling to understand, process, punish what…
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