Diversity and the Sliding Ethical Scale
Essay by Tim Campbell Diversity has always existed in the Church. There have always been issues about which people have disagreed. However, the conventional use, understanding, and application of varied opinions has undergone a radical alteration in relation to ethical relevance. Historically, persons recognized a standard of evaluation. Yet in the present age, such a standard has been thrown to the wind. A Framework for Ethical...
Consumerism and the Church Today
Over the last several decades a consensus has emerged among the market-driven and seeker sensitive, that the “traditional” church is like a product now rendered obsolete by the passage of time and the onrush of innovation [1]. Traditional churches are stuck with too few choices and products – and the products are those they have always offered. Indeed, liturgical traditions have their most public products and choices prescribed for...
The Need for Theology in the Fight for Hope
In a world filled with grief and tragedy, the gospel promises hope for the hurting. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3 ESV) [1]. Yet many faithful Christians wrestle daily with the fact that this hope does not coincide with their reality. Regularly, faithful believers find themselves battling emotions of despair, anguish, and suffering. It seems as if the gospel they were called...
Caught Between ‘Try Harder’ and ‘Trust Christ’: Keeping Christ Central to Biblical Teaching
If you happened to grow up in an evangelical church during the past fifty years, it is likely that you are familiar with stories such as Abraham and Isaac, David and Goliath, Moses and the Exodus, and Jonah and the whale. Such lessons are usually accompanied by a flannel-graph that makes any child feel as if he is right in the midst of the story. This adventure is often concluded with the “moral of the story” (similar to what is found...
Reclaiming a Holistic Approach to Christian Calling and Vocation
The institution of work affects everyone. No matter the job, we must engage in it to make a living. Yet it is more than a job. It is a vocation. It is a calling from God wherein He has created and equipped us to minister to the lost and to effect cultural change. Many Christians who have secular jobs fail to view their work as from God; or else make a distinction between those vocations that are sacred and those that are secular,...
Iconoclasm, Yesterday and Today
For centuries the Church has debated the use of icons in worship. Proponents who champion the use of icons believe that they are teaching tools and enhance the act of worship. Opponents make note of the fact that icons are often venerated if not worshipped. Many of the denominations that were born in the Reformation of the sixteenth century opposed the use of icons in worship for these very reasons. Despite their heritage, icons have...
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