You and I were born in an age shaped by scientific thinking. We find it hard to accept that there might be ways of knowing other than through science — the proof of hypotheses through experimentation. It is a sort of cultural mythos, this devotion to science. It is a religion without a temple. We […]
What Is and Isn’t Reformed Theology? (Heidelberg Catechism Q. 23)
When I teach about Reformed theology, I often start by showing a pyramid of three layers. Like that one on the far end of the row of Queens Pyramids at Giza. Just picture the bottom layer a lot thicker. The big foundation layer is core Christian teachings — Things like our understanding of God — the […]
The “YES!” that Changed Everything: The Annunciation of the Lord
There are a few moments on which the history of the world swings like a hinge. People my age remember exactly where they were when the Twin Towers fell. For Christians the real hinge moments are long before our own lives: Jesus’ death on the cross on Good Friday; his rising from the grave Easter […]
Vocabulary Lesson: “Lent,” “Ash Wednesday”
Today is “Ash Wednesday,” the beginning of the most serious season in the Church’s year: the forty days, not counting Sundays, leading up to Easter. We call the season “Lent.” For non-native speakers of Christianity, here are a couple of vocabulary lessons: Lesson 1: “Lent” comes from a medieval English word meaning “Spring,” from source […]
Courtroom Drama: Why You Need Jesus to Be Human (Heidelberg Catechism Q. 16)
When you go to a movie you play a little trick on yourself. It is called “suspension of disbelief.” For about an hour and a half you watch in terror as asteroids smash the earth, or dolls transform themselves into monsters. You cheer for the hero — even when that hero is striving to do […]