Showing posts with label TULIP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TULIP. Show all posts

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Saints and Ain’ts

“The Father loves the Son.”

Are there any better words in all of scripture than this? Personally, I don’t think so.

Many people have a fondness for John 3:16, or Romans 8:35, or Ephesians 2:8-9 … all very great passages, I’ll admit; but for me, nothing anywhere comes close to the freedom, joy and consolation of the words above.

Maybe today I can tell you why.

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Mean Girls and Mean Theology

The teen film Mean Girls (2004) is sort of a cult classic with the kids at the school where I teach. Everyone knows the story, even though the film is getting a bit old now. The star (Lindsay Lohan) is certainly no teenager anymore, as any number of her recent escapades in the press will attest. But somehow the plot line still works. On April 28th, the anniversary of its release, the Toronto Sun, that bastion of fine journalism, proudly proclaimed it “still the ultimate teen movie”.

I sure hope not.

Thursday, October 07, 2021

Hooray for the Hypocrites

One of my Neo-Calvinist friends wrote to me yesterday. He said that I should like a favorite preacher of his (David Platt). He said that this preacher “holds to the Reformed theology”. Then he added, “People who truly understand the Reformed theology have a passion for lost souls.”

His first statement is probably true.

If the second one is true, the first one is certainly false.

If a Calvinist loves the salvation message it might make him a nice person but it also makes him a bad Calvinist.

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Finally! An Elected Official We Can Believe In

When I was a little kid, I have to admit I wasn’t much of an athlete. Having been raised with different games and sports than were popular in the country to which my family had returned, I had only opaque knowledge of the rules, and little practice at executing the conventional skills. So I was equally lousy at football, baseball, basketball, soccer and even volleyball, and only marginally competent at hockey.

It would be years before I caught up to my peers who had been raised with those games. Nevertheless, I tried. And I played, whether I was good or not.

Thursday, September 16, 2021

How Depraved Can We Be?

That’s a good question.

Our society is clearly messed up. It can be sick enough to think that promiscuity is normal, debauchery is freedom, and that homosexuality is love. It can be twisted enough to call killing the elderly “dignity” and butchering infants in utero “choice”. Morally, things look pretty bad.

That’s what the dictionary definition of “depraved” is. It means “very morally bad”.

Thursday, September 02, 2021

Neo-Calvinism: Rotten TULIPs

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

I’m a no-point Calvinist.

I used to think I was a “three-pointer”, but that was only because I didn’t really understand what Calvinists actually thought their points meant. Now that I do see it, I’m a no-point Calvinist … as in “the neo-Calvinists have no point”.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Saints and Ain’ts

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Thursday, August 09, 2018

Mean Girls and Mean Theology

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Thursday, August 02, 2018

Finally! An Elected Official We Can Believe In

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

How Depraved Can We Be?

 The most recent version of this post is available here.

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Calvinism: Rotten TULIPs

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Hooray for the Hypocrites

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Monday, June 22, 2015

How Depraved Can We Be?

[Originally presented April 24, 2014]

That’s a good question.

Our society is clearly messed up. It can be sick enough to think that promiscuity is normal, debauchery is freedom, and that homosexuality is love. It can be twisted enough to call killing the elderly “dignity” and butchering infants in utero “choice”. Morally, things look pretty bad.

That’s what the dictionary definition of “depraved” is. It means “very morally bad”.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Saints and Ain’ts

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Mean Girls and Mean Theology

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Hooray for the Hypocrites

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Sunday, May 04, 2014

Finally! An Elected Official We Can Believe In

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

How Depraved Can We Be?

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Calvinism: Rotten TULIPs

The most recent version of this post is available here.