The three most common errors concerning the Sabbath

1 The Sabbath is a day of rest and refreshment for the mind and body in preparation for work the following week. 2 The Sabbath commandment calls people to gather for worship. 3 Christians changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. EXPLANATION: 1 We may think that God instituted one day of rest per week, … Continue reading The three most common errors concerning the Sabbath

Letter from Menno Simons to the wife of Leenart Bouwens

The year is 1553, the Anabaptists in the Netherlands are being fiercely persecuted and Leenart Bouwens has just been elected to the ministry by the congregation at Sommeldyk. His wife fears for his life and writes to Menno Simons, hoping that he can relieve her husband from such a frightening responsibility. This is his replay. … Continue reading Letter from Menno Simons to the wife of Leenart Bouwens

Allergies – to peanuts and to doctrine

Some years ago an alarm was raised over the drastic increase in the number of people suffering from peanut allergies. Mothers panicked at the threat posed by peanuts, which led to peanuts being banned from airline flights and from many schools. What is going on here? Peanuts are a healthy and nutritious food. In recent … Continue reading Allergies – to peanuts and to doctrine

Christian doctrine is the most exciting story

Somehow or other, and with the best intentions, we have shown the world the typical Christian in the likeness of a crashing and rather ill-natured bore–and this in the Name of One who assuredly never bored a soul in those thirty-three years during which He passed through this world like a flame. Let us, in … Continue reading Christian doctrine is the most exciting story

Why does it matter?

After announcing my intention to write a book entitled Wells Without Water, I have posted a number of articles that might be called the raw material for the book. Which is to say that most of them will need a major rewrite before I am satisfied that I have said what I want to say, … Continue reading Why does it matter?

Echoes of invention

[First posted 10 years ago.] The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) gradually began to downplay some of the distinctive teachings of Daniel Warner, leading some of those who believed strongly in those teachings to leave the church. In 1980, Daniel Layne left the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and assumed the leadership of those who … Continue reading Echoes of invention

A disinherited generation

Many people are disturbed by the disorder in the world today, but we have very different ideas about the cause and an even sharper difference in our ideas about a remedy. As mentioned in my last post, the decline in our society did not begin with the Humanist Manifesto. That manifesto was merely one step … Continue reading A disinherited generation

Wells Without Water

For the past few days most of the posts on this blog have been articles that will find a place in a book I plan to call Wells Without Water, a title taken from 2 Peter 2:17. The book arises out of a concern that many people who are converted in their youth haven’t taken … Continue reading Wells Without Water

How to read the Bible

I grew up in a home where the Bible was read every day; my father often talked bout things he read in it. We attended the Anglican Church of Canada, where every service had a reading from the Old Testament, another from the New Testament, and several other passages from the Bible were spoken in … Continue reading How to read the Bible

He is not the show-off Spirit

Some years ago my wife and I were in another city and attended a Pentecostal worship service. It was a large church and the congregation was multiethnic, with many black faces scattered throughout. It has been said that the most segregated place in North America is a worship service on a Sunday morning; this congregation … Continue reading He is not the show-off Spirit