Recommended Books (Winter 2019)
Many people find reading a difficult task. Their challenges often arise from unfamiliarity and lack of practice. However, time constraints and the constant demands of modern life also play a part in raising barriers to the practice of reading. With these things in mind, it is important to devote what little time and energy we can spare for reading to good books. We would like to recommend some of our favorite selections from the past...
Thomas Helwys, Roger Williams, and Pre-Enlightenment Arguments for Religious Liberty
In a fascinating chapter entitled “The Evangelical Encounter with the Enlightenment,” Catherine A. Brekus details early evangelicals’ relationship with Enlightenment principles. To be sure, evangelicals did not imbibe Enlightenment ideas and ideals wholesale. As Brekus explains: On the surface, the Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason, and evangelicalism, with its heart-centered piety, seem to have stood in stark opposition to...
The Reformers View of Religious Liberty
It was time for the believers living in Rome to stop arguing. Some Jewish Christians were reluctant to give up some ceremonial aspects of their faith, but others were not so reluctant. One disagreement involved the food they ate. Paul spoke into this unstable dispute, “I know and am convinced in the Lord that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean” (Rom. 14:14).[1] Paul was not...
President Donald John Trump: Now What?
By now, we’ve all heard the surprising results of the election: Republican Donald John Trump will be the forty-fifth United States President. With all of the dissatisfaction and controversy, who would have thought that he would win the presidency? Yet, call it what you will—rural v. urban, nationalist v. populist, or whatever—here we are. Sizing Up the Situation In the history of our republic, we’ve only had five other presidents with...
Homosexuality in Legal Perspective (Part III): Reclaiming Religious Liberty
This piece will conclude the Helwys Society’s emphasis month on the topic of homosexuality. Having approached it biblically, historically, and pastorally, we’ve turned lastly to considering it in legal perspective. In Part I, we considered our past and present legal environment. In Part II, we looked in particular at the doctrines of due process, equal protection, and privacy. In this last piece, we’ll consider the important doctrine...
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