Two Testaments, One Soul
Essay by Matthew McAffee What hath Greece to do with Israel? On many levels, modern critical scholarship would be comfortable with a negative response to such a question. They would argue that the Greek ideas of the first century have so influenced the writers of the New Testament that they no longer resemble their Hebrew predecessors theologically. We might say that they have simply moved on with the times. This trajectory poses...
What Is Worldliness?
“Don’t drink, don’t smoke; don’t cuss, don’t chew; don’t go with girls who do.” This humorous mantra is not so foreign to the ears of some conservative Christians. While its origin is unknown, it is often attributed to fundamentalist preachers of the mid-late twentieth century. The aim of this saying was to combat the problem of worldliness. Nearly everyone reared in a religious setting has encountered some mode of engagement with the...
Living in Light of the Kingdom: Reframing Our Eschatology
Among the many doctrines in Scripture, eschatology plays a vital role for the believer’s perseverance. Knowing what life holds for tomorrow helps us to live faithfully today. It provides hope for the hopeless, justice for the oppressed, and joy for the sorrowful. Without any knowledge of the “last days,” the Church’s trials and troubles would be unbearable and would make her task seemingly impossible to accomplish. And though this...
Intentional Sanctification
What makes the difference between the person who simply fills their spot in the pew on Sunday morning and the person who takes the next step? Let’s answer this question by asking another: Is sanctification inevitable or intentional? In short it’s both: we receive it at conversion, and we progress in it. While most agree that we receive sanctification at conversion, many disagree as to how precisely we progress in it. Because we focus...
America’s Founding and Christianity (Part II): Fundamentalism, Neo-evangelicalism, and Today
In last week’s essay, I explored the Protestant Reformation’s impact upon America’s founding. Articulating his two-kingdoms doctrine, Martin Luther paved the way for religious liberty, or the separation of church and state. The Puritans paved the way for constitutionalism, democracy, limited government, rule of law, and the separation of powers. In this essay, I will examine why some still question Christianity’s role in America’s...
Are We Really Together for the Gospel?
We live in an age of conferences, seminars, and mp3 downloads. Evangelicalism bulges with an excess of venues for pastoral education and encouragement. In the past, the majority of these events focused on new tools or particular programs that a pastor or pastoral staff might implement in their church. And while some of these suggestions were helpful, an awareness of their inability to solve our problems grows [1]. Partly because of...
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