It's not clear to me exactly what Harold Camping is predicting, but it is very, very sad. And wrong—though I wish he were right. Mark 13 admonishes readers against attempts at constructing timetables and deciphering signs of the Parousia. Disciples are admonished to...
ChurchLife
Should a Minister Be a “dumme dogge”?
When James I of Scotland acceded to the throne of England in 1603, the Puritans saw their chance to start anew. Ossified Queen Elizabeth was dead; perhaps James would complete the Reformation she did not allow to be finished. Perhaps Catholic accretions could finally...
The Rosary
I read the Sermon on the Mount often as a child—mainly because I thought it was cool that it was the biggest stretch of red letters I could find in the New Testament. But Jesus’ teaching there is so simple and powerful that, despite my inane motivation, Jesus’ famous...
John Newton’s Words of Wisdom on Controversy
A minister, about to write an article criticizing a fellow minister for his lack of orthodoxy, wrote to John Newton of his intention. Newton replied as follows (the text has been edited by IIIM Magazine for archaisms). Dear Sir, As you are likely to be engaged...
Kevin Bauder—A Fundamentalism Worth Saving Takes the Human Condition Seriously
I know this is a bit late, but the breaks were so short at the Preserving the Truth Conference that I had a hard time getting to the gym to post my updates. And then I let this sit… Anyway, here are my notes from one of Kevin Bauder’s plenary sessions, the one at 9 am...
Lane Dennis, the ESV, and the Internet Age
Once upon a time, I was preaching as a special youth speaker in a church in the South. It was my fourth or fifth time there. The pastor was KJV-Only, and I knew this, so I converted all the ESV quotations in my sermon to KJV quotations. I was preaching from my...
Preserving the Truth Almost-Live Blog (Friday, Jan 7)
Instead of writing the last few pages of my dissertation, I’m at the Preserving the Truth Conference at First Baptist Church of Troy. Here are my notes from last night: Breakout Sessions Scott Aniol argued this, if I could boil it down: we can't have a-cultural church...
Another KJV Verse That Is Difficult to Understand
"I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily" (1 Cor 15:31). What does that mean? "I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ"? What? That doesn't make any sense to me, and I happen to speak very well English! Add it to the...
Absolutely Stolen
I will happily take this down if anyone has a copyright, but I couldn't just link to it. I had to put it on the blog. It is too perfect. (And then it sat in my queue so long that I can't find the link to the original...) I won't say that no pastor has the capacity or...
Xmas Is Not in the Bible, So It’s Okay To Quarrel about This Word
So I get this e-mail from a friend: X in Xmas represents Christ. The “-mas” part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for “mass,” while the “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated [Ed.: transliterated...
True, man!
“The truth or superiority of neither Catholicism or Protestantism is to be determined by the parlous levels of ignorance, historical, ecclesiastical, and theological, prevalent among their respective adherents.” —Carl Trueman
Confused by Absolutely Unique Church Website
A new church web site idea: don't let anyone in but members, and greet every visitor with a big "DONATE NOW" button? I truly don't mean to criticize—I want every Bible-teaching church to be successful in advancing Christ's kingdom. But I'm really curious: am I just...