‘I believe the most powerful champion of the Pharisees is not the man who bids you honestly and openly come out and join the Church of Rome: it is the man who says he agrees on all points with you in doctrine …..all he asks you to do is to add a little more to your belief, in order to make your Christianity perfect….

‘I consider the most dangerous champion of the Sadducee school is not the man who tells you openly that he wants you….to become a free-thinker and a skeptic. It is the man who begins with quietly insinuating doubts…..whether we ought to be so positive in saying ‘This is the truth, and that falsehood,’ doubts whether we ought to think men wrong who differ from us on religious opinions, since they may after all be as much right as we are….It is the man who always begins talking in a vague way about God being a God of love,and hints that we ought to believe perhaps that all men, whatever doctrine they profess will be saved.’

Although this came from Ryle over a century ago his points are just as relevant and poignant today, perhaps even more so. It is more honest for a Roman Catholic to (more…)

The first will be Mark Mittelberg’s latest offering Choosing Your Faith: In a World of Spiritual Options (2008; Tyndale House Publishers, $19.99). Mark has done a service to believers and non-believers in laying out and analyzing criteria by which we can and should examine our world view and embrace the beliefs which pass the test. Although an Evangelical himself the criteria he discusses can and should be applied to the Christian claims as well. The book isn’t an apologetic for Christianity directly as much as it is a call to ask the hard questions, understand relativism, pragmatism, tradition, authority, reality, intuition, knowledge, mysticism, logic, evidence and science. Each of these can be helpful or, if not properly understood, harmful. (more…)

Sadly no. When I started reading the NY times article I soon discovered that I was a victim of an Orwellian switcheroo where words have new meanings but the “Ministry of Truth” has not changed the dictionary. According to the paper of record, (more…)

First, I would have a great conversational style, interrupting myself multiple times for pop-culture and movie references to show (perhaps incidentally) how trendy and hip and with-it I am. Secondly, I would be very well-read and adept and making seemingly complex ideas lay-level and understandable. Oh yes, and thirdly, I would subtly undermine concepts of orthodox Christian doctrine and the very idea of claiming to know objective Truth. Instead, I would offer a custom-cooked stew of warmed-up leftovers from old and molded heresies, such as Pelagianism, extreme postmillennialism, liberation theology and Jesus-died-to-set-a-good-example-for-us-ism.

Alongside all that, I would maintain a demeanor of humility, yet suspicion and intolerance (more…)

One thing that is very obvious in all of McLaren’s writings is (more…)

The Wisdom of God

Craig Keener connects the notion of the way to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament:

“The LXX of Isaiah (30:11, 21; 33:15; 40:14; 42:24; 48:17; 58:2; 63:17; 64:5) and other biblical tradition [sic] (e.g., Exod 18:20; 32:8; Deut 8:6; 9:16; 10:12; 11:22, 28), especially the wisdom tradition, also apply the image of the ‘way’ to the way of righteousness and wisdom. In both biblical (e.g., Isa 55:7-9; 56:11; 59:8; 66:3) and early Jewish sources, ‘ways’ refer to behavior, as in the rabbinic use of halakot. ‘Ways’ as behavior represents a usage that would be understood in John’s circle of believers (Rev 15:3).”1

Keener continues, (more…)

In order to clarify what Jesus meant by His statement, McLaren correctly suggests that we must consider the context in which the statement was made. He says:

“One of the most basic and widely-accepted principles of biblical interpretation says that to interpret a text out of context is a pretext. In other words, if you pull a verse out of its setting, you may unwittingly (or intentionally) twist it to make it say things it was never intended to say.”1

Of course, considering the context does not guarantee that one will, as a result of studying the context, interpret a passage correctly. In fact, if McLaren is wrong in his understanding of the passage, he could equally be wrong in his understanding of the context. The various aspects of context must also be interpreted, and if you start from the wrong assumptions, you are certainly likely to end in the wrong place. Be that as it may, McLaren contends that Jn. 14:6 is often: (more…)

It is rare that Brian McLaren directly answers questions which may shed light on whether he is orthodox or heretical in the essentials of the faith. His article reading of Jn. 14:6 is a case in point.

For purposes of clarity, I will reproduce the verse in a word-for-word translation in the following table. For ease of reference, I have included the definite articles with the nouns to which they are connected.

Table #1: Jn. 14:6

The context of this statement is the dialogue between Jesus and His disciples in the upper room preceding His crucifixion. Jesus is preparing the disciples for the fact that He will be leaving them for a while. (more…)

Pastor Randles’ title comes from Jeremiah 5:31 but I will quote it starting with verse 30:

An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?

This is a picture of people run amok. It is also an apt description for the cry-baby boomer generation. Victor Davis Hanson describes how the cry-baby boomer generation solves problems in ,All About Me. Frankly, I am not all that surprised when non-Christians (more…)