Always Reforming

Is it not now apparent that the American experiment has failed?  Secession seems inevitable as the only path to peace and around totalitarianism.  The multiculturalism of which we are so proud in this nation has proven untenable, as it has in many other nations.  It is the multiplicity of worldviews, not skin colors or social classes, that truly divides us. We have different values, different goals, different expectations.   The United States of America were [note the plural] initially separate sovereign powers coming together for their common good, not indistinct tendrils of a unilateral oligarchy.   Gradually the Federal government encroached upon the autonomy of the States, establishing a national identity.  Instead of viewing ourselves primarily as citizens of our home States, we now view ourselves primarily as  Americans.   This transcontinental identity is simply too bloated to remain stable. We are witnessing the collapse of ...

Vote for Trump  or our economy will collapse!   Maybe we need an economic collapse to cure us of our materialism and effeminacy.   Vote for Trump  or it will be the end of Western Civilization as we know it!   Maybe the demise of Western Civilization will make way in our hearts for the Kingdom of Christ. Vote for Trump or we'll lose our religious freedom!   Maybe the Church needs persecution to purify her and to renew her sense of purpose. Vote for Trump or we'll lose our way of life!  Maybe the American Dream is a house built on sand. Vote for Trump or everyone will suffer! Maybe pain and want will strengthen our weak minds and bodies. Maybe we need to be rid of our stuff. Our distractions. Our idols. Maybe we need our priorities realigned. Maybe what we need most is what we most dread. Our fears define us. Do we fear discomfort more than we fear damnation? Maybe our flesh needs to endure the fire so that our souls do not.

There is a generation of young Christians who believe that their political and social worldview is informed by the principles of Scripture, particularly by the direct teachings of Jesus Christ, but who have actually imbibed the tenets of Humanistic Marxism taught to them in government schools and leftist colleges. Conversely, there is an older generation, Boomers , if you will, who believe that they lay claim to the truly Biblical worldview, but who actually hold to the religious politic (or political religion) of American Nationalism . These views are, of course, not strictly differentiated by generation, but there is nevertheless a large generational divide when discussing political and social issues. The Biblical perspective aligns perfectly with neither of these ideologies, nor with any other political movement.  In fact, devotion to Biblical principles regarding political and social issues does not require adherence to any specific economic, social, or political system devise...

On Sunday August 17, 2020 my wife and I were confirmed as Anglicans at St. John's Anglican Church in N. Canton, OH.   Five years ago I couldn't have imagined that I would ever write that sentence.  Scratch that--one year ago I couldn't have imagined writing that sentence. You see, I grew up in a Reformed Presbyterian church.  I was a Reformed Presbyterian.  Not only were we Reformed Presbyterians, but we believed (and still do) in paedocommunion, which means children partake of the Lord's Supper as full members of the Church.  We spurned the concept of Confirmation.  In fact, we accused our credocommunionist brethren of being Roman Catholics and/or Baptists because they required a form of Confirmation before giving their children the Table. And here I am in 2020 as a confirmed Anglican.  The Lord works in mysterious ways, my friends.  2020 has been a strange year.  It has been a humbling year.  It has been a year of pain and sufferi...

Finishing a long book can be so bittersweet.  If you're like me, you feel accomplished and edified, but you also feel a little sad.  If it was a good book, you may have grown accustomed to the sight and smell of its pages, and closing it for the final time feels like saying goodbye to an old friend.  This is particularly true when the book is as powerful as Stephen Charnock's classic work,  The Existence & Attributes of God .  Today I am going to tell you why you, and every Christian, should read this book. I remember being a young boy and seeing this book sitting on my father's bookshelf.  It seemed so daunting, so out of reach.  I wasn't much of a reader until I reached my 20s, so a book of 1130 pages seemed unattainable, especially a book of such depth and archaic language.  When my father recently discovered that he had an extra, unopened copy, I was quick to claim it.  I started working my way through it sometime last year.  I...