Bible, theology, culture, etc.
Social media platforms do not care about what is good, true, or beautiful--all they care about is engagement. They want to curate content that is perfectly tailored to our own tastes so that we will spend as much time as possible on their platform. When you hop on Instagram or Facebook, you aren't seeing the … Continue reading Social Media is Dangerous For Your Soul
If the government requires you to be vaccinated for you to continue working at your job, what should you do as a Christian? While everything having to do with covid/vaccines/masks/mandates has always been controversial, the new mandate taking effect very soon has put many Christians into an even more tense and divisive spot. What are … Continue reading What Should Christians Do About Vaccine Mandates?
On these shows, the preacher is tops. God comes out as second banana.Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, p. 117 Neil Postman wrote his classic, prophetic work, Amusing Ourselves to Death, a jeremiad on the consequences of television on American society, over 35 years ago. He details how TV has permanently altered not only how … Continue reading Your Church Livestream Isn’t Neutral
God has decided that He would display His creativity through making many different kinds of people: gender, ethnicity, age, etc. Image bearers are a diverse people. But God's image is not the only source of diversity in humanity. Sin also affects us all uniquely leading to a diversity of depravity. Some people's sins look different … Continue reading Good Diversity, Bad Diversity
"Both the commands of the Law and the thunderings of the prophets spread out before us the gigantic truths of God, the metanarrative that makes sense of everything. But we need more. We live day by day where 'there are details of character small enough to escape the mesh of the law and the broadsides … Continue reading What is Wisdom?
Previously I discussed the distinction between creational norms and cultural norms in regards to gender. There are some things we can do or embrace in our particular culture that accord with God's intention for manhood or womanhood, and others that contradict it. In 1 Cor. 11:2-16 we saw that men should not adorn themselves or … Continue reading Boy-Stuff, Girl-Stuff: Four Questions
In a sermon I recently preached on the innateness of gender and its connection with our physical bodies, I referenced 1 Cor 11:14-15: "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair … Continue reading Nature and Gender: 1 Cor. 11:2-16
One doesn't need to be an expert in cultural analysis to recognize that there is a growing hostility towards any notion of traditional gender roles in society. The recent centralization on stories of abuse and oppression have made all of us highly sensitized to stories of individuals (and groups) with power who have used their … Continue reading Gender Roles Aren’t Just True, but Good
In Carl R. Trueman's seminal work, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, he details how various thinkers over the last four hundred years have shaped how we currently form our identities. In one chapter titled, "The Emergence of Plastic People" he examines how the works of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Charles Darwin … Continue reading The Power of “Science” in Forming Our Beliefs
I just put my four and half year old and two and half year old down, and I am exhausted. I know complaining when others have many more--or more tragically, none at all--is really lame. I know, I know, I know. But everyday, the end of the day feels like a finish line, and not … Continue reading You’re Going to Miss This
Marc Sims 