One thing you would sooner or later realize about the Good Shepherd (orphanage) was that it had no neighbors. Like (I think) most institutions, it was turned inward, trying to be a world in itself. It stood at the edge of the little town of Canefield, which it looked upon as a threat to its morals. In his many chapel talks and sermons, Brother Whitespade suffered over the possibility that some of the Canefield merchants might sell cigarettes to the Good Shepherd children for some of the tiny allowance of spending money we received, and over the possibly regrettable results of mixing between o ..read more

Usually in conservative Protestant contexts when we talk about the difference between the evangelicals and the mainline, the differences in view are theological. Often they are actually more or less the differences articulated a hundred years ago in Machen's Christianity and Liberalism, even though today's mainline, particularly its younger members, tend to not really map well onto those debates. The errors of the contemporary mainline often (though certainly not always) have far more to do with anthropology than they do theology proper ..read more

‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.’ Ro ..read more

I. I read with great interest Carl Trueman’s recent post on the need for protestant ethicists to assist the church in its confrontation with contemporary moral challenges.  I myself have been involved in this work since about 2011. I taught Christian ethics first at a seminary and then a liberal arts college for the better part of eleven years. I’ve published books and articles on a wide range of moral questions. For several years I chaired the Christian ethics unit of the Evangelical Theological Society. I have skin in the game, as they say.  To begin with, let me simply affirm the ..read more

“The reason there is such a thing as value in the world is that there are in the world beings who matter to themselves: who experience and pursue their own good. Were there no such beings, there would be no such thing as value. Were there no such beings, nothing would matter. But we are not the only such beings. We are the beings who create the order of moral values, the beings who choose to ratify and endorse the natural concern that all animals have for themselves. But what we ratify and endorse is a condition shared by the other animals. So we are not the only beings who matter. We are th ..read more

Worldview metaphors, and the term “worldview” itself, usually imply that the problem is one of vision. If we can just see everything properly, we will be fine. Education becomes the process of clearing the fog, cleaning the window, or selecting the correct glasses; we can fix our worldview by fixing our perspective. There is some truth to this idea, but it is deceptively simple to suggest (a) that we might grasp reality, or view the “world,” comprehensively and (b) that the problem is one of our “view” of things. These two implications of the optical imagery of worldview should be set aside ..read more

In a recent article, Phoenix pastor Erik Coonce critiqued the idea of a rule of life, with particular attention paid to John Mark Comer’s articulation of the idea. Unfortunately, his article is an excellent example of why the Gospel-centered movement actually needs concepts like a rule of life as articulated by someone like Comer. As I said in a previous piece ..read more

In the film Birthgap, filmmaker and demographer Stephen Shaw interviews many people in their 20s and 30s about whether they want to have kids. There is a common refrain: “Yes, but not yet ..read more

Wolfhart Pannenberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century. According to Chulho Youn, “His theology surpasses that of any other theologian in its depth, scrutiny, and comprehensibility.” The late Stanley Grenz asserted that the renowned German theologian “must be included among the most creative thinkers of the 20th century,” adding that “his program has continued to influence the theological conversation not only in Germany and North America, but throughout the world ..read more

Most all Christians have heard of “Doubting Thomas.” They can tell with ease the well known story of his refusal to believe the disciples’ claim that Christ had appeared to them. It may not always be used with an air of condemnation, but Thomas’ doubt remains the defining mark of this particular disciple ..read more