Issue
Literature and the Christian Life
Vol. 30, No. 1 • Jan/Feb 2021
Nearly four-hundred feet inside a sandstone mountain on the far northerly Norwegian island of Spitsbergen lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Housing four-hundred-thousand seed samples, the purpose of the vault is to provide a storehouse of plant species in case of loss of agricultural biodiversity. Literature curricula have served similar purposes in history. One thinks, […]
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Letter from the Editor
Nearly four-hundred feet inside a sandstone mountain on the far northerly Norwegian island of Spitsbergen lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Housing four-hundred-thousand seed samples, the purpose of the vault is to provide a storehouse of plant species in case of loss of agricultural biodiversity. Literature curricula have served similar purposes in history. One thinks, […]
The Boxing Match of Faith: Could You Be a Contender?
(PART ONE OF A FIVE-PART SERIES) My grandfather was a boxer. He was never good enough to be a professional, but he did a good deal of amateur boxing when he was a young man and always loved “the fights” (as he called boxing matches) throughout his long life. The biggest compliment he ever paid […]
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: What Are They and Are They for Today?
The doctrine of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is a Pauline emphasis in the New Testament—the major passages being 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, Ephesians 4, and Romans 12—but key passages are also found in Peter’s and Luke’s writings (1 Pet. 4:10; Acts 2). Much concern over this topic has been aroused in this […]
Introducing the Reformation Resources Column
Something is afoot today in the Protestant theological world. Thirty-five years ago in his JETS article, “Giving Direction to Theology: The Scholastic Dimension,” Richard Muller noted that much of Modern theology—and, I add, a good deal of evangelical theology—witnessed the rejection of what it considered to be an “outdated” traditional school theology (i.e., Scholasticism) for […]
Reading, Thinking, Speaking
by Herman BavinckTRANSCRIBED BY GREG PARKER JR. The following piece was found written on a scrap of paper (dated March 6, 1906), on the back of a death announcement (dated July 22, 1908), and on a list of American cities (e.g., Hotel New York, Asbury Park, Boston, Cambridge) and people (e.g., Longfellow and Emerson). (1) […]
The Place of Imaginative Literature in the Christian Life
We have more leisure time today than in any period in history. We also have more options for spending that leisure time. For most people (unless you are an English professor, like me), reading fiction is easily seen as purely a leisure activity. And for many, watching sports, streaming movies, or scrolling Twitter seem like […]
Ethics and Culture
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Reacting to Viral Dechurching & Exvangelical Stories
“Here’s what I love about Jesus. Jesus actually knows that the church is broken and imperfect and falls short. But the difference between us and Jesus is we see that and we use that as a justification to abandon the church. Jesus sees the church, as broken as she is, and on the way as […]
Nine of the Most Notorious Heretics
The word heresy is closely associated with the idea of schism, breaking off from the church, and theologians have made a distinction between formal and material heresy. Formal heresy is a stubborn denial of vital Christian doctrine—those who have heard the truth and then rejected it. Material heresy is what happens when a person embraces a false doctrine out of ignorance.
Why Poor Stewardship of the Body Can Be an Act of Unfaithfulness
The beautiful thing about this [sixth commandment] requirement is that it highlights that God cares about you. He cares about your body. He knows you’re made of dust. He knows that we need a good night of rest. We don’t have to feel guilty for getting it. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead shows […]
Imputed Righteousness and Self-Made Identity: The Crisis of Justification in Our Church Culture
This presentation analyzes the crisis of justification in today’s church, tracing its biblical foundations, reformational clarity, and modern challenges.
