Materialist Interpretations of the Modern Papacy

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/nx-s1-5307022/jesus-wept-author-chronicles-the-debates-roiling-the-catholic-church

I'm afraid this episode of Fresh Air typifies the increasing divide in American news coverage. No sober thinking person (let alone a Spirit-filled one) can possibly appreciate the manipulative and superficial quality of Right-wing media outlets such as FOX and Newsmax. And yet this episode of Fresh Air (which had every reason and opportunity to be interesting) proved tiresome and I became more fixated on the liberal materialist assumptions of the interviewer and guest than the actual issues being discussed.

Confused Jurisdictions

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/27144/evangelical-church-in-rome-that-takes-case-of-unrecognised-religious-building-to-european-court-of-human-rights

This is a case of confused thinking and confused jurisdictions, the result of the institutional mindset that affects the heirs of the Magisterial Reformation.

Presbyterianism's Rejection of the Sufficiency of Scripture

https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc848/

I literally laughed out loud when I reached the 47:00 minute mark of this podcast - an exercise in the torture that is Presbyterian polity. We have committees to exercise oversight of committees.

The Persecution-Industrial Complex Panders to the Right

I must say, this sort of thing just makes me sick. I will explain why. This email appeared in my inbox last fall.

A Few Lessons From Norway

https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/norway/Jehovahs-Witnesses-to-Appeal-Unconstitutional-Ruling-in-Norway/

This unfortunate if instructive article from the Watchtower Society's website reveals that even the Jehovah's Witnesses still struggle with the nature of antithesis. Obviously the group cannot be reckoned Christian due to their glaring unorthodoxy regarding the Person of Christ. That said, they are in many respects more obedient to simple New Testament imperatives than the bulk of the Confessional and Evangelical world. In many respects the Witnesses put them to shame. For this reason, I will from time to time 'check up' on them and read of not just their struggles but how they deal with them.

The Pastor as Upper Middle Class Professional

https://www.opc.org/feature.html?feature_id=504

According to the guidelines provided by the OPC, the pastor is to be 'free from worldly care and employment'. And yet what this translates into is that the pastor should make a salary commensurate with that of an upper middle class professional.

Bulgaria: The New Cold War and Evangelical Status

http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/3626/Bulgaria_evangelicals_worried_about_restrictive_and_discriminative_bill_on_faith_minorities

Bulgaria keeps coming up in the news and it's clear the Balkan state has become a fault-line, a stress point in the great geopolitical game that is Cold War II. I've written about some of the struggles over the Bulgarian state, the tensions between Europe, Turkey, Russia and the US (via NATO). It's a story of weapons sales, smuggling and much more. That struggle is now playing out in this proposed bill that will affect Evangelicals... many of whom are connected to Western Europe and the United States.

Italian Churches and the Struggle Over Buildings

http://evangelicalfocus.com/cities/2556/Italian_evangelicals_fight_to_legalise_their_places_of_worship

First I must say: Shame on the Baptists and Assemblies of God for cutting a tax deal with the Italian government. Lobbying and subsidies are not how the Kingdom of God is built.

Police Protection for the Church: Evangelicals, America and Guns

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/12/523603112/alabama-senate-says-church-can-start-its-own-police-force

A Church, a Church-affiliated campus, with a police force? Why the controversy?

This move by an Alabama PCA is hardly surprising and will even be praised by many. Not a few Evangelicals are confused as to why this would even be an issue. It's normal for colleges and universities to have police forces, so what's the big deal? Why are people so bothered by this?

The United Methodist Church is Apostate

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/29/karen-oliveto-gay-lesbian-methodist-bishop

I continue to encounter United Methodists who pretend their domination is still somehow 'conservative' or has the possibility of being steered back in that direction. Just because the denomination hasn't officially endorsed homosexuality (even though it really has) doesn't mean that they don't accept it. The same is true for most Evangelicals. Even though they continue to largely reject homosexual conduct in accepting homosexuality as a valid 'orientation' they have already lost the argument.

Sacralism, the UMC and an Ex-CIA Agent

The CIA has a long history of infiltrating Think-Tanks and other media type and activist organizations that are able to serve its purposes in the realm of information dissemination.

It's rather interesting though admittedly inconclusive that a character like Mark Tooley, an admitted former CIA agent is heading an 'institute' devoted to influencing the mainline United Methodist Church.

The Politicised Academy

I've told this story before but it helps to make a point. Many years ago while in seminary I wrote a review of JM Kik's "An Eschatology of Victory" and I passed it on to a friend who was attending a congregation with not a few Postmillennialists. They love this book, it's part of their theological canon and I knew my review would not be appreciated.

Denominational Dishonesty and Circularity

When Reformed people like what you write they refer to it as 'scholarly' and when they don't like your content, it's referred to as 'unprofessional' or a 'rant'. Well, I'm not interested in tickling Denominational ears. They can't hear anyone but themselves. Only their internal politics seem to concern them. Unlike many of them I have to work for a living and I don't have time to footnote everything I write, or spend hours on line engaged in dissecting the minutiae. I've attended many of their churches over the years and to their shame most of their congregations bask in ignorance while they fritter their time away splitting systematic hairs and argue over who really is being most faithful to the tradition. I washed my hands of them long ago. First and foremost it would seem that most of them are bureaucrats and that's how they think and operate.

I'm not writing to earn their respect or anyone's for that matter. I just write and if they are inclined to read it, fine. If not, I really couldn't care less.

But when they play fast and loose with the truth, when they distort history, politic the Kingdom and twist Scripture, I will call them on it, even if they're not listening. Maybe someone will hear.

 

Missionary Biographies

Though I have not been writing, I have not been idle.

I'm always reading new books as well as revisiting old ones. I'm not sure why but recently I was inspired to pick up and re-read a few missionary biographies.

The one "God's Smuggler" by Brother Andrew was a delight to read. When I read it many years ago I was still something of a Reformed partisan and thus was a little more critical of him. Now, I was able to appreciate him in a new light and couldn't help but chuckle as he was in part rejected by some of the Dutch Reformed because he wasn't properly 'affiliated'.

A podcast regarding seminary and some comments....

I realize everyone won't have the time or inclination to listen to all the audio links I provide. As I've explained in the past my situation is somewhat unique in that I can utilize my time at work to listen to podcasts and books. There are many that I listen to on a regular basis and the following programme is part of my weekly fare.

http://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc286/