Posts Tagged ‘gospel’

            Although this is in all likelihood not news to you, we theologians are odd birds.  After all, how many people come away from a delightful day-after Valentine’s dinner with a beautiful wife thinking about the possibilities of a new type of culture—a culture of cooperation and not competition? Read the rest of this entry »

            The strong, visceral horror at the slaughter of little children in Newtown, Connecticut is universally felt in America.  This natural human reaction has led to serious questions about gun control, mental health and security.  Without a doubt these concerns are justifiable, but they fail to address a fundamental question: What is it about modern society that has produced a series of these types of mass murders that are unprecedented in human history? Read the rest of this entry »

In asking how Christian is the History Channel’s miniseries Hatfield & McCoys I do not mean that it was done by a Christian production company, that it has Christian actors and certainly not that it is a series without sexual immorality, crude language and terrible violence.  What I am saying is that the story line concerning the two leaders of the feud has a profoundly Christian message. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I was struck by Paul’s description of conversion.  “… You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who saves us from the coming wrath” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

We evangelicals claim to be biblical.  Indeed, the very name “evangelical” is derived from the Greek word for “gospel.”  Nevertheless, our gospel proclamation emphasizes the benefits of receiving forgiveness or personal healing.  Now, forgiveness and healing are part of the gospel, but Paul’s preaching centered on challenging people’s idolatry, the need to serve God, and hoping in the coming of Jesus Christ. Read the rest of this entry »