It is becoming more and more common for people to point to Hebrews 13:17 as giving pastors and elders in the church an almost unlimited authority to tell other Christians what to do — not just in affairs of the church, but also in their personal lives. This is a complete misunderstanding of the passage. […]
God's Immediate Authority
I was reading recently some of Ludwig Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, because I seek to understand other theological traditions (in this case, Roman Catholic) from their own primary sources and best teachers. In the section on the nature of the authority of the Pope, he states that the pope has immediate authority. “[The authority of the pope is] […]
How Do Paul and Jesus Fit Together?
In contrast to those who argue that Paul’s theology and Jesus’ teaching are at odds, the answer to the question is this: Paul is showing us how to interpret Jesus — especially Jesus’ hard sayings. Consider one example: Jesus’ command to the rich young ruler to sell all that he has. “One thing you still lack. […]
Why Christian Bale is Wrong About Moses
Christian Bale, the actor who plays Moses in the upcoming Exodus: Gods and Kings, reportedly said this of Moses: “I think the man was likely schizophrenic and was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life.” That is quite something to say about one of the greatest figures in […]
Why Do People Like John Piper Put an Emphasis on Being Radical, Rather than Ordinary?
I’m still looking forward to reading Michael Horton’s Ordinary. As I’ve mentioned before, the title makes me wonder a bit, but I am expecting Horton to get the balance right between the “ordinary” and “radical” themes in the Bible. I tend to gravitate more to the “radical” theme, because I think the Scriptures do. However, the affirmation […]
What Does the Reformation Mean for Today?
I believe the need for the Reformation, which began on this day in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Church of All Saints, continues today. It continues on at least two fronts. First, the need for the Reformation continues because the Roman Catholic church has never turned from […]
Luther's 95 Theses
In honor of Reformation Day today, here are Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, which sparked the Reformation. Here are also twol posts by Justin Taylor and one from Ligonier Ministries: Calvin on Why God Raised Up Luther to Reform the Church 497 Years Ago Today: An Interview with Carl Trueman on Luther’s 95 Theses What is […]
Advice on Prayer from Tim Keller
Tim Keller’s new book on prayer comes out next week, and it looks excellent. When I was at Catalyst a few weeks ago, I saw him doing an interview on the book and he made a very insightful point. In talking about how to become better at making time for prayer, he said this: “If […]
The Pastor's Kid
Last July, Barnabas Piper came out with his fantastic book The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity. Barnabas writes, obviously, as a pastor’s kid. Unique to any other book on the subject is that the foreword is by his dad, pastor John Piper. He is not writing this book as a memoir or some sort […]
Teach Us to Want
Jen Pollock Michel’s book Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition, and the Life of Faith is one of the most well-written books I’ve read in the last year. Jen writes for Christianity Today’s her.meneutics blog. You may remember her from last spring when she wrote a review of my book that pointed out that I didn’t do […]
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