The Danger of Leaving Tradition
In my last post, I discussed some of the dangers of tradition. In the attempt to maintain points of doctrine or practice, it’s easy to lose sight of the Biblical reasons we hold our beliefs in the first place. Even when issues are correctly understood, they can be militantly defended … Read More
A Fundamental Philosophy of Fun
“ So, I know this isn’t the right question to ask, but… what is actually wrong with it?” The question, which came from one of my eighth graders, was about an activity that another authority in his life had forbidden. I don’t remember exactly what the activity was or who … Read More
4 Ways Tradition Can Be Dangerous
It would be nice if life were simple. There are so many paths we can take in life, so many conflicting ideas. Choosing to seek for truth doesn’t make the journey easy or self-evident. In a complicated world, it’s hard to know who we should trust. That’s why there is … Read More
Seeking Death Over Preservation
The phrase might strike you as strange at first glance, but those familiar with the teachings of Jesus will quickly realize that it’s merely a different way of saying “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but … Read More
A Call to Technophiles
Socrates, considered to be the first moral philosopher and the founder of Western philosophy, lived at a time when the alphabet was first being introduced to Greece. He famously declined to write anything down, so all of the teaching we have from him is lectures or debates that were recorded … Read More
Diversity, Cultures, and God’s Love for the Nations
Two Worship Scenes A few weeks ago, I caught a tiny glimpse of what worship will be like in heaven. The ending song for the praise and worship time was “Behold our God.” The chorus states, “Behold our God, seated on His throne, Come let us adore Him. Behold our … Read More
More Than “Just Friends”
The term “friendship evangelism” means several different things. It can mean deliberately waiting to share the Gospel with someone until a relationship has been established. The friendship evangelism label is also used to reference the idea that we should live righteous, godly lives, and wait to say anything about the … Read More
Hard Lessons in Success
I started out the year a bit foggy-brained. It wasn’t because anything was going seriously wrong in my life. Just a few months before, I had quit my office job to become a music teacher. That was a big deal. I had dreamed about doing something like that for years. … Read More
Taking the Way of Death in a Hostile America
It seems to me that American Christians are really scared. We have been used to being in a greenhouse, a historic watershed of persecution-less peace, an era of peaceful prosperity for those who love Christ. Frankly, Christians kind of ran the show for a while in this country. Can you … Read More