Kingdom People

  In the current (June) issue of Christianity Today, I have two articles detailing the current debate over the doctrine of justification between John Piper and N.T. Wright. The first article is a summary of Wright and Piper’s positions. Many laypeople have heard about this debate, but are not familiar with the actual arguments employed [...]

When living in Romania, I always looked forward to the arrival of World magazine at the mailbox in our apartment building. Back then, the magazine was printed and mailed weekly, but international postal service slowed things down. I usually wound up with two or three copies at the same time (and several weeks late). But I didn’t mind [...]

Yesterday, I summarized the brief debate between Jurgen Habermas and Pope Benedict XVI regarding the role of reason and religion in secular society. (The two papers are included in the book The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion.) Today, I’d like to follow up with a few comments about this dialogue. My Take on the [...]

Many people may wonder why a small book like The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion matters. After all, the authors, Jürgen Habermas and Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), discuss the nature of ethics in secular society by appealing to highly sophisticated arguments that include long sentences packed with meaning. But these kinds of [...]

He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he [...]

Whenever I drive north towards Louisville, I inevitably get caught up in the road construction on I-65 that is being conducted right as you cross over into Kentucky. All over the place, you see signs that say, “Men at work.” That sign lets me know that the going might get rough for a time. We’re going to have [...]

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” [...]

Are you looking for one book that encapsulates the most important moments and people in Christian history? Look no farther than The Story of Christianity  (2007 Hendrickson Publishers, 1984-85) by Justo L. Gonzalez. You can purchase this book in either one volume or two.  The Story of Christianity is just that – a story. Gonzales has written an [...]

“That book of systematic theology is just a bunch of crap.” I was sitting across from a bright, young college student, who was telling me why he was enamored with the Emergent movement. (Ironically, just before expressing his disdain for a popular theology book, he had told me that it was the humility of the [...]

Do you ever feel you are failing to teach your children to pray? The days are hurried. The more kids you have, the more difficult it is to gather everyone together for family prayer. When your child does start to pray, it’s the same prayer every night. You wonder how much he or she is praying from [...]