Bible, theology, culture, etc.
In 1984, Soviet Russia was waging war in Afghanistan, leading millions of Afghan refugees to flee into neighboring Pakistan. A young, 12-year-old Sharbat Gula, a Pashtun orphan had fled to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp on the Afghan-Pakistan border. Steve McMurray, a photographer working for National Geographic, was walking through the refugee camp when he … Continue reading Coram Homine: An Ethic of the Face
Face as Presence In the Bible often the word for "face" is a metonymy for "presence." Frequently our English translations actually translate the Hebrew and Greek terms for face (פָּנֶה, panėh; πρόσωπον, prosōpon) just with the word "presence". For example, "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the … Continue reading Coram Deo: A Theology of the Face
"This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper," - T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men How will the pandemic end? Will it be with a "bang" or a "whimper"? Will there be a definitive moment where the sun will shine through the clouds, trumpets blast and the masses emerge … Continue reading A Whimper, Not a Bang
I have spent the past month or so writing about how Christians should respond to the covid vaccine mandate set to take effect any day now. This blog represents my final thoughts on the matter and have been where I have been wanting to go all along, but first needed to make some qualifications and … Continue reading Civil Disobedience for Calvinists
If you are unfamiliar with the term, a "slippery slope" is an informal fallacy that asserts "that a proposed, relatively small, first action will inevitably lead to a chain of related events resulting in a significant and negative event and, therefore, should not be permitted." For an example, here is the always incisive Dilbert: In … Continue reading The (Ignored) Slippery Slope
If Christians are to submit themselves to the governing authorities per Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, if Jesus Himself submitted Himself to governing authorities and taught others to do likewise with His "render to Caesar that which is Caesar's" comment, then is there any scenario where the government can ask Christians to do something … Continue reading The Purpose and Limits of Government
In my previous article I wrote a summary of what I thought were the strongest arguments for a Christian resisting the vaccine mandate. I have argued elsewhere that aside from issues of conscience and health, if a Christian is under the vaccine mandate they should consent and be vaccinated. Many people helpfully responded that they … Continue reading Are Vaccine Mandates Unconstitutional?
A few weeks ago I wrote an article on what Christians should do in response to vaccine mandates, looking specifically at Matthew 5:38-42 and leaning heavily on Mathew Henry, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. From that post I concluded three basic conclusions for Christians under the vaccine mandate: If receiving the vaccine would … Continue reading A “Steel-Man” Argument to Resist the Vaccine Mandate
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
Marc Sims 