Christian Reader

The Scandalous Gospel of Grace

Over the past several months my contributions to this website have dealt with family issues from a biblical perspective: family structure, parenting (disciplining and training children) and seeing the vision of family as a weapon for God to use in great task of extending the rule of Jesus Christ over the earth from pole to pole. However, I believe that foundational to these exciting ideas is a proper comprehension of the full extent of the gospel of the grace of God. Without this understanding these godly principles I have taught become a cookbook recipe when followed by-the-numbers leads to death and not life. For the next few weeks I want to explore what Paul calls this “scandalous gospel.” Continue reading →

1 Samuel 24

Listen to 1 Samuel 24 from the 1599 Geneva Audio Bible Continue reading →

What’s Wrong with Catholicism?

A few weeks ago I caused quite a stir. In an article entitled “Positively Discouraging K-Love,” which was about the increasingly shallow teaching of Protestant churches in America, I made a passing but strong comment about Catholicism. In that article I listed several things you’ll rarely hear on Christian radio (and, by extension, from the average pulpit). One of the bullets I wrote said this: “Non-politically correct issues: Homosexuality, false religions like Mormonism, Catholicism, and Islam, and most of the other items on this list.” I expected some aggressive comments regarding my critique of Christian radio, but I didn’t anticipate the pushback on this brief phrase. Continue reading →

On Patience

Patience is better than wisdom: an ounce if patience is worth a pound of brains. All men praise patience, but few enough can practice it. It is a medicine which is good for all diseases: therefore, every old woman recommends it, but it is not every garden that grows the herbs to make it with. When one's flesh and bones are full of aches and pains, it is as natural for us to murmur as for a horse to shake his head when the flies tease him, or a wheel to rattle when a spoke is loose. Continue reading →

1 Samuel 23

Listen to 1 Samuel 23 from the 1599 Geneva Audio Bible Continue reading →

Paper vs. Pixels

Some readers may wonder why a website called Christian Reader has taken the time to discuss movies, like we did yesterday. This is a very good question and one that might be better answered by someone else (like Douglas Groothuis in the passage that follows). Like most bibliophiles, I am always in the middle of at least four or five books at any given time. One of the books that is currently on my desk is Douglas Groothuis' book, The Soul in Cyberspace. Although I bought this book a few years ago, intending to read it for a project that I was working on, I never actually read it. It wasn't until I moved my office a few weeks ago that it resurfaced and I became interested once again. Although the book is a bit dated in its discussion of the internet technology which was "cutting edge" ten years ago, the philosophical questions that it asks are still very relevant, perhaps more so with the popularity of "social networking" sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. Continue reading →

Happy are They…

Happy are the poor in spirit. Luke (Happy are ye poor, Luke 6:20) gives nothing more than a simple metaphor: but as the poverty of many is accursed and unhappy, Matthew expresses more clearly the intention of Christ. Many are pressed down by distresses, Continue reading →

A Terminal Lesson in Christian Activism

Although The Terminal is not a new movie, it has several worldview issues that lend themselves to commenting. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks as Viktor Navorski, this movie received much critical attention in the months leading up to its June 2004 theatrical release due to the reunion of the dynamic duo that brought Saving Private Ryan to the silver screen. While viewers will leave this movie less emotionally impacted than Ryan, it does leave an impression nonetheless. Continue reading →

The Diabolical Dealer

Study Satan's tricks, and acquaint yourself with his tactics. Paul takes for granted that every Christian understands them in some measure: "We are not ignorant of his devices," he says (2 Corinthians 2:11). Can this be said of you? Do you know how subtle and clever your enemy is? What pleasant company he can pretend to be? Continue reading →

The Ages Which Were Before Us

One of the problems with most church history books is that they tend to overwhelm rather than inform. This is largely due to the fact that church history is taught like every other type of history: a long and boring series of names, dates, and events. While this approach is a defeating way to teach any kind of history, it is especially detrimental to church history. Why? Because church history is not primarily the story of individuals, it is the story of Christ building His church on earth. Although individuals are certainly a key (and necessary) component to the church-building effort, they are not the end of the story, they are merely the beginning. Continue reading →