Torrey Gazette is the combined work of everyday Christians blogging on books, family, art, and theology. So pull up a seat and join us. Family Table rules apply. Shouting is totally acceptable.
At somewhere over 50 books reviewed, after starting in the March timeframe, the sheer number of pages and topics are staggering. Admittedly, these are my Top 5. They are controversial, thought provoking, and utterly excellent for what I needed this year.
Each day is filled with "miracles." N.D. Wilson likes to point out that bats really do fly blind, plants really do turn sunlight into food, and caterpillars really do turn into butterflies; these aren't just stories we tell children. If we would heed Christ's admonition to consider the lilies and birds we would be filled with the miraculous wonder that God always intended us to see in His creation.
I did not want to like this Bible. I remain convinced that my reservation for study Bibles and devotional Bibles is valid. But the Duck Commander Faith and Family Bible is worth the price of admission. For individuals looking for more than a simple NKJV text, I find myself surprised to say I can recommend this Bible in its entirety.
"The efficacy of infant baptism principally consists in this that it is to us the certification or seal that God works in accordance with this company provision and fulfills his covenant promises. It is, after all, the Lord's own nurture which infant baptism signifies and seals."
The time was wonderful and the destination, Vancouver BC in Canada, almost perfect and rather inspiring.
Like most parts of the liturgy, a weekly recitation of a Creed or confession of faith doesn’t really make sense to our modern selves.
Stop trying to claim the hermeneutical "high ground" with your literal approach. You don't actually do it. To some degree or
Individuals seeking to purchase a NIV from Zondervan would be better served buying their NIV Skinii Bible which is both affordable and physical/visually attractive.
Yes, God has promised the salvation of our children. Yes, He has promised directly to them to save them. And yes, some of them spurn His covenant of promise and become apostate.
Too often when someone disagrees with what someone is writing they tend to boil things down to silly arguments about the writers moral standing. Developing a an enlarged understanding of how differing mediums and purposes will affect one's form of communication could do much to quell the tumultuous world of social media and blogging. Especially among Christians.
As many of you might know, my wife surprised me in multiple ways on father's day this year. I found out I would be a dad (for the third time) via a cryptic card. I also received a book that I have been craving for a long, long time.
What Christian authors and film makers need to understand is that the Christian faith is not an idea. Christianity is incarnate, creational, embodied. If Christians continue to use physical means (art) to simply say that art is not important (only ideas are) then our contributions will continue to lag behind.
The Authors of the Deuteronomistic History is a surprisingly accessible volume that is brimming with scholastic insight. Even laymen will be capable of understanding Peterson’s arguments and enjoy his insights into the history of Israel.
Encouraging an adjustment to our focus, Leighton Ford dives deeply, uncovering gems. All who walk the path of Christianity would find benefit engaging The Attentive Life.
Baptism serves as a constant reminder that God chooses that which is weak in the world to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27). Whereas the priesthood of the old covenant was available only to a select few based on blood. The waters of baptism open the priesthood to all serving as testament forever that water truly is thicker than blood.
A personal apologia that is not inherently meant for outside readers. It is for me. It is what I have determined the Scriptures to require. A cry that the church should recognize, support, and encourage. The declaration that something is "lawful" does not make it righteous. And only a fool would declare that the recent string of deaths at the hands of police officers has been righteous.
The church cannot afford to sit back and assume that their heavenly citizenship opts them out of reforming/heavenizing the world around them. Because the church truly is the Body of Christ indwelt by the Spirit this means that the church, like its Lord, is the connection between heaven and earth and angels ascend and descend upon her. The church is "a colony of heaven" on earth.
What makes Rainbow's work unique from other volumes on Johannine theology is that it considers all of the Biblical works that are traditionally ascribed to John (the Gospel, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse). Other contemporary works that have attempted to address the breadth of John's theology have tended to do so while not addressing one of those just mentioned.
These are the conversations of experienced people. Conversation flooded with input not for the sake of self gratification or pontification but for an engagement and sharing of life.
In recognizing the ways in which secular liturgical calendars pull on and shape our desires we can more clearly see the wisdom of embracing the liturgical calendar of the church. Following such a liturgical calendar functions as a counter-formation to the liturgical calendars that wish to shape our desires contrary to the Kingdom of God.
