Feeling our bed shake in the middle of the night during an earthquake in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, the Philippines, was a scary and unusual experience for us. We jumped out of bed and rushed upstairs to get our children to the downstairs living room in case of an aftershock. In the light of day, […]
Although this article addresses Canadian politics, it is equally applicable to the United States. The task of government to provide a context in which righteousness can thrive. Times have changed. Canada is now a pluralistic, secular, post-Christian society with people of many dIfferent religious persuasions. Relativism, cynicism, hedonism, and overt materialism are rampant. The notion […]
From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines, Going where I list, my own master total and absolute. (Walt Whitman, “Song of the Open Road”) Whitman’s vision of ultimate freedom, contemptuous of history, boundaries and authority, is the reigning spirit of Western culture. It has even impacted religion and spirituality. Spirituality […]
I have often been asked, “Why did you decide to go to the Philippines as a missionary, leaving behind your relatives, your friends, your congregation?” Obedience to the Great Commissions was the key factor. But the love for missions instilled by professor Dr. J.H. Bavinck, while I was a student at the Free University in […]
If you run out of small talk, you can always talk about the weather. When you get up in the morning, you check what kind of day it is. People have always been fascinated by weather forecasts and climate change. They pay careful attention to weather reports. Some even constantly watch the All-Weather channel on […]
Our Western culture still exists, but as a tottering ruin. Its structures are radically criticized, and many of its traditions rejected. Michael Lind’s rant illustrates my claim. He argues that the Judeo-Christian tradition has contributed nothing to the development of a free, “tolerant, individualist, commercial society” in the West. He also contends that Christianity is […]
“The account of the Ascension is quite useless to the historian, “ wrote the German church historian and theologian Adolf von Harnack. His claim made a lasting impact. Many people, even within the church, deny the historicity of the Ascension. Perhaps one of the reasons for disbelief is the seemingly fantastic nature of the event. […]
“It is easy to be a madman: it is easy to be a heretic. It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one’s own. It is always easy to be a modernist; as it is easy to be a snob.” (G.K. Chesterton. Orthodoxy) In our age […]
Who is a Christian? Can we call those who reject the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith – Christians? Liberal theologians say they believe in God, but what is unclear is why they do so and what they mean by God. They seem to take pride in how far they can push the “theological” envelope, […]
The early church never enjoyed a golden age. According to the New Testament, a Christian is someone who believes, receives, and obeys the teachings of the Gospel (Romans 6:17). He knows that the Church is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Before the New Testament canon was even closed, all major heresies […]