I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. This is the final clause of the ancient confession of faith which is commonly known as the Apostles’ Creed. It is the earliest complete confession of the Christian … Continue reading Catholicism or catholicity?
Faith and life
Contagious holiness
“True evangelism is the result of a contagious holiness. Untrue evangelism is simply marketing or recruiting.” -Doug Wilson, from Blog & Mablog, http://www.dougwils.com Doug Wilson writes from a Calvinist / Reformed point of view, therefore we differ on some very fundamental issues of the Christian faith. Yet a lot of what he writes about the … Continue reading Contagious holiness
The faith once delivered to the saints
Jude 1:3 — Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Jude felt that he needed to send this exhortation to the saints … Continue reading The faith once delivered to the saints
Christian celebrities
Can someone please tell me how it is a validation of the saving grace of Jesus Christ to extol well-known public figures who are Christians as testimonial evidence? What does it do to the public’s perception of Christianity when these people stumble? It’s not that it is impossible for people in the public eye, such … Continue reading Christian celebrities
Relevant to what?
Relevant to what? Everybody talking about the decline of Christianity in the Western world says that it is because the faith preached over the pulpit is no longer relevant to our society. What they cannot agree on is in what way it is no longer relevant. For over a century now, many churches have struggled … Continue reading Relevant to what?
Circling the wagons is not an option
The Western movies of my boyhood often contained a scene where Indians attacked a wagon train of settlers. The settlers would draw their wagons onto a circle to form a protective wall, then try to fend off the attackers with rifle fire. This would go on until the ammunition was gone and their doom appeared … Continue reading Circling the wagons is not an option
Power outage
We were moving from one farm house to another, with the help of friends. I hurried to connect the kitchen stove so my wife could bake a pizza for our helpers. This was in the day when kitchen stoves did not plug into the wall, but the wires from the stove had to be individually … Continue reading Power outage
Dementia
There are things that I wish that I would have understood better when my parents were suffering with dementia. Above all, I wish I could have understood that even though their personalities had changed and their memories seemed to be gone, the father and mother that I had once known were still there, though unable … Continue reading Dementia
Anorexia of the soul
I once knew a Christian lady whose husband was self-centred, domineering and prone to uncontrolled fits of rage. She, on the other hand, was unselfish, capable and self-controlled. At some point she developed an interest in fasting. After a time it became apparent to brothers and sisters in the faith that she had become extremely … Continue reading Anorexia of the soul
Homeopathic dilution of Christianity
To put it very briefly, homeopathy is a branch of alternative medicine that treats diseases with natural substances that are diluted well past the point where any trace of the original substance can be detected. Some call it quackery, others say that it works where other methods fail. It does have this much going for … Continue reading Homeopathic dilution of Christianity
