Author: S&P

When people want to harp on the impractical nature of theology, there’s one “go to” analogy that shows up more than any other: the medieval debate about how many angels can dance on the point of a needle. After all, could there be a better example of theological time wasting? Who really cares? Even if we knew the answer, would it help us feed starving children? Would we be better prepared to share...

The resurrection of Jesus (alongside his crucifixion) is the central historical event in the Christian faith. Without the resurrection there would be no Christianity. “If Christ has not been raised,” wrote St. Paul, “then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). I am a Christian because I believe in the resurrection. I am convinced that after dying a violent death...

The Meaning of the Cross What do the cross and resurrection mean for us? First, let’s look at the cross. Historically, Christians use seven major words to summarize the Bible‘s teaching on what happened when Jesus died. They help us to understand how spiritually poor we are by nature and how rich we can become by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Substitution The basic meaning of ...

In the late 1990s, a group of scholars assembled to evaluate whether Jesus actually said the things attributed to him by the Gospel writers. Although they employed remarkably subjective criteria in their evaluation of Scripture, members of the self-appointed “Jesus Seminar” were widely quoted by the media as authorities on the Christian faith. Marcus Borg, a Jesus Seminar leader, said this of Chri...

As a boy I spent a lot of time in my dad’s truck— a mobile office/workshop that smelled of oil, metal, and Doublemint gum. He would take me with him to various jobs, and I went as his assistant. This usually meant I carried his tools and he installed water heaters or retiled bathrooms. But the truck. That’s where we talked in depth about life. I had a lot of questions and he had a lot of thoughts....

Why did Jonah run from God? Some would argue that we have no clear explanation, but I believe that Scripture interprets Scripture, and in chapter 4, we get a window onto Jonah’s heart: Jonah ran from God because Jonah didn’t share the heart of God. There are three areas of divergence between the heart that motivated God and the heart that motivated Jonah. 1. Grief God looked at Ni...

A few years ago, I was reading Gretchen Rubin’s New York Times bestseller, The Happiness Project, where she narrates a year of trying to become a happier person through implementing the research findings of positive psychologists (“happy scientists” as they are sometimes called). As I read this fascinating and helpful book, I couldn’t help thinking, “Surely Christians can do better than ...

It’s difficult to do anything on social media without bumping into a “Which _____ are you?” quiz. “Which Disney princess are you?” “What state you actually belong in?” “What mental age are you?” “Which pet should you actually have?” “What period of history do you really belong in?” “What food matches your personality? And my personal favorite: “What arbitrary thing are you?” Similar “personality q...

As a writer, admittedly, I’ve been somewhat distracted lately. I scroll through the feeds of my social media and it is filled with a plethora of “hot topics.” Every day, there is a new onslaught of blog posts, rants, and editorialized articles. It’s enough to make me want to write an open letter to all of the people that write open letters. Much has been written about the distraction that social m...

American culture fosters discontentment and all the miseries and heartaches that go along with it. Discontentment is coveting what we do not have, longing for it, believing that if we have it, then we will be satisfied. I’ve been reading Jeremiah Burroughs’ classic book, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, and wanted to share a bit of it here. If you haven’t read this book, let me encourage y...