fisher of men

Ever come to the end of a book and felt like you were still in the middle of the story? Maybe you were. Some of the longer biblical writings were divided into parts over time. But the overall literary patterns remain. That’s why we sometimes don’t get a sense of an ending when we reach the end of a book. In order to get the book’s full message, we to need read all the parts as a single work. Some editions of the Bible, like The Books of The Bible, actually put the pieces back together in the text. Luke 1 and Acts 1 for example, are actually a two-volume historical study written by Luke. As Luke Timothy Johnson observes, Luke the evangelist “uses geography to structure his story and to advance his literary and theological goals… In the Gospel, the narrative moves towar...

All Christians believe the doctrine of the Trinity. If you do not believe this—that is, if you have come to a settled conclusion that the doctrine of the Trinity is not true—you are not a Christian at all. You are in fact a heretic. Those words may sound harsh, but they represent the judgment of the Christian church across the centuries. What is the Trinity? Christians in every land unite in proclaiming that our God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those who deny that truth place themselves outside the pale of Christian orthodoxy. Having said that, I admit that no one fully understands it. It is a mystery and a paradox. Yet I believe it is true. I can think of at least three reasons for believing in the Trinity: The Bible teaches this doctrine. Christians everywhere have a...

The answer to that question is easy and straightforward, and it is “no.” Nevertheless, even as the question is clear, the answer requires some explanation. The issue is clearly framed in this case. Christianity is rightly defined in terms of “traditional Christian orthodoxy.” Thus, we have an objective standard by which to define what is and is not Christianity. We are not talking here about the postmodern conception of Christianity that minimizes truth. We are not talking about Christianity as a mood or as a sociological movement. We are not talking about liberal Christianity that minimizes doctrine nor about sectarian Christianity which defines the faith in terms of eccentric doctrines. We are talking about historic, traditional, Christian orthodoxy. Once that is ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from God Is Great, God Is Good: Why Believing in God Is Reasonable and Responsible edited by William Lane Craig and Chad Meister (IVP). This chapter by Alister McGrath. IS RELIGION EVIL? In October 2005, the World Congress of the International Academy of Humanism took place in upstate New York. Its theme: “Toward a New Enlightenment.” To judge from the conference publicity, its organizers had no doubt of the urgency of their theme. Religion is regaining the ascendancy! We are facing a new dark ages, a new evil empire! Only a return to the Enlightenment can save us! Yet perhaps quite contrary to the intentions of its organizers, the conference offered a fascinating glimpse of the crisis of confidence which is gripping at...

November 1st is All Saints Day! This ceremonial event is a day that we praise all the saints — known & unknown! To honor All Saints Day, please join us in reading or saying this quick devotion:  Dear God, praise you for giving us the glorious example of the Saints. I aspire to meet their company, praising you forever in Heaven. Please help me to follow in their footsteps, and yours, Jesus Christ. Please help me to submit myself to Your call, seeking Your order in all things, just as the Saints did. Please help me to commit myself to Your glory, and to the service of my neighbors. Amen.    What is All Saints Day? All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day, or Hallowmas, is a Christian celebration in honor of all the saints from Christian history. In Wester...

Have you mastered prayer? I haven’t. I suspect few Christians would report having mastered this great privilege and discipline. In fact, I suspect that most Christians may even feel burdened by their lack of prayer and the seeming ineffectiveness of prayer. We read “pray without ceasing” and it becomes “guilt without ceasing.” If that happens to us, we’ve lost our grip on justification by faith alone apart from any works of our own. If our failures at prayer leave us feeling condemned, we’ve probably began to think of prayer as one of those spiritual duties that keeps God happy with us. To be clear, prayer pleases God (1 Timothy 1:3). Christians ought to pray. But many of us need to learn how to pray as well as fail in prayer in light of the good n...

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 that people are saved by grace through faith. But what does that really mean? A common answer is that we’re saved from going to hell when we die. But the truth is, salvation is so much more – as is the grace by which we receive it through faith. Salvation is God’s righteousness at work in us when we say yes to His plan. Saying yes is how we demonstrate faith. We get saved by grace through faith, but we also live by grace through faith. Salvation by grace through faith is not a difficult thing, in that it’s not a formula to follow but rather a miracle to believe and receive. What Is Salvation? Salvation is an amazing miracle we watch unfold in our lives. The view of salvation as a ticket to heaven or an escape-hell card ignores life here on earth. The salva...

Ever since Karl Marx penned his denunciatory statement on religion in 1843 (that religion is the “opiate of the masses”), secularists, social progressives, and other opponents of religion have worked to convince us that religious faith is an outdated relic of the past whose inexplicable (in their view) existence remains only by means of a stubborn, unenlightened, and uneducated lower class. Indeed, there appears to be an abundance of data supporting the claim that religious belief in America is—generally speaking — in a state of free fall. In 2009, ABC News, citing a recent study by the American Religious Identity Survey, reported, “In one of the most dramatic shifts, 15 percent of Americans now say they have no religion — a figure that’s almost doubled in 18 years....

  Americans are heading for the voting precincts today as the 2012 election is at hand. Already, millions of our fellow citizens have voted through early voting options. Millions more are soon to be headed to polling places across the land. In any event, millions of citizens will participate in the first duty of freedom — the freedom to vote. There is so much at stake. We hear every election cycle that the stakes have never been higher. In one sense, this is usually also true. There is always the sense that there is more at stake this year than last, and, given the way issues unfold, that perception often seems validated by the times. Christians face the responsibility to vote, not only as citizens, but as Christians who seek to honor and follow Christ in all things. But, beyond the v...

I read a story recently about a church who had just received a new young pastor. Intent on visiting every Sunday School class, the eager young man began his first Sunday on the job by visiting a boys’ class.  While meeting with them, the young pastor asked the boys, “Would you tell me please, who knocked down the wall of Jericho?” The boys immediately fell silent and began to look at one another, saying, “I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it!” Shocked and dismayed by their lack of biblical knowledge, the pastor called a parish council meeting the next week to discuss the incident. After hearing what happened, an elder of the church stood up and said, “Minister, let’s just get some money out of the repair and maintenance fund and fix the wall and get...

Imagine that your feet are straddling a crack that is increasing at the rate of an eighth of an inch a month. By month 6 it’s only a small gap, less than an inch.  But after 16 years you’re looking at 2 feet and after 40 years the gap will have widened to 5 feet. It won’t be long before you will either fall into the gap or be forced to decide which side to stand on. Now let’s make things a little more perilous by saying that because the gap is increasing at such a small annual rate, you hardly notice it. That’s a crude analogy regarding our position as Christians living in societies in which Judeo/Christian values are steadily eroding. For most people change is difficult, agonizing even. But one exception to that general rule might be cultural changes, some of which occur stealthily a...

I come from a cavalry family, as in horse soldiers. My great-grandfather was a cavalry scout in the frontier West. My grandfather commanded the Army’s last horse cavalry regiment (in 1938, believe it or not). At that point, our family switched from horses to tanks, and both my father and I served as tank officers. Suffice it to say that I possess a fair amount of cavalry paraphernalia. In fact, I am writing this chapter at a desk beneath a print of a horse cavalryman firing from his saddle. Of all the great cavalry movies, none holds a dearer place in my heart than John Wayne’s classic, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Portraying Captain Nathan Briddles, a grizzled Civil War veteran who is facing the end of his career, the Duke is a walking cornucopia of manliness. When I was a young ...