I became aware of the declining interest in theology on the part of most churches shortly after my conversion and marriage. Both happened in 1970 and I mention my marriage because it was only after we were married that my wife and I began to attend church and look for spiritual fellowship. The Western Canada … Continue reading Is your church a theology-free zone?
Faith and life
The great and terrible God
In order to reduce Christianity to moralistic, therapeutic deism, we must reduce God to a warm fuzzy, namby-pamby therapist whose only desire is to help us find relief from the emotional and existential complexes that befuddle our lives. That is not the way that the Bible describes Him. Nehemiah twice speaks of God as being … Continue reading The great and terrible God
Confusion about the Gibeonites
Today I want to write about how the story of the Gibeonites, beginning in the ninth chapter of Joshua, is commonly misinterpreted. For generations, Bible story books, reference Bibles and Sunday School lessons have selected one portion of the story of the Gibeonites and used it to make a big thing of how the Gibeonites … Continue reading Confusion about the Gibeonites
Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism
Moralistic, therapeutic deism, a term first used by Christian Smith, seems a fitting description of much of what passes for Christianity in North America. This philosophy leads people to believe in a God who wants them to be good, wants them to feel good about themselves, doesn’t need to be consulted except in case of … Continue reading Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism
Fast food Christianity
Since I started this blog almost ten years ago, I have attempted from time to time to point out the fallacies of what passes for evangelical Christianity in our day. Perhaps this is a good time to repeat some of those posts. Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay We are told, and it is obvious if we are paying … Continue reading Fast food Christianity
Scriptural use of the sacramental signs
The Bible instructs us to observe two sacraments: baptism and communion. They are the essential means for gathering a church of born-again believers and for maintaining the unity of that church. There is a lot of confused thinking about both of them. As a boy, I learned from the Anglican catechism that a sacraments is … Continue reading Scriptural use of the sacramental signs
Pure doctrine
Doctrine: a word of Latin origin meaning a teaching, or collectively, a set of teachings. Pure Christian doctrine then is a set of teachings whose sole source is the Bible. In accepting the Bible is the Word of God, this means that its teachings come from our Creator, who has a full understanding of the … Continue reading Pure doctrine
Confused churches
Louis Riel, the 19th century Métis leader, was troubled by the things he experienced from the churches of his day. He read in the Bible about a Church of Jesus Christ that was characterized by love and peace. What he saw in both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches was oppression and pride. The churches … Continue reading Confused churches
The presence of God
The funeral was in the church that was the city's most famous landmark. Inside, there were vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows on each side and tiered rows of seating. The music from the Casavant Frères organ that filled the east wall, its largest pipes stretching from floor to ceiling, completed the atmosphere of reverence. The … Continue reading The presence of God
Antichrist
The following passages are a brief summary of a writing entitled Antichrist which is at least 900 years old. It originated among the Albigensian Christians of southern France, around the time of Pierre de Bruys, and was preserved by the Waldensians. Readers who have a copy of the Martyrs Mirror will find a brief excerpt … Continue reading Antichrist
Flatlander Faith 