Unexpected English Idioms (Video)
I always enjoy these little, short videos from Bill Mounce on interesting translation issues. This one is about accidentally reading an English idiom into something the Greek might not be saying at all.
No word for grace
This one looks at the problem of not having a word for an important theological concept in missionary settings. How do you meaningfully share the gospel when there is no word for grace? This one looks at various possible answers.
Learning lessons from scandals close to home
Tim Challies: ‘In recent months the news around these parts has carried stories of a number of highly-publicized scandals, some of which involve professed Christians and some of which do not. And while none overlap my life or social circles in any significant way, I’ve still found myself pondering the public facts to consider what lessons I can draw from them.’
Split or stay: some encouragement for Anglican pastors
‘I was born into, grew up in, and was ordained by the Episcopal Church. But years ago, I (along with our congregation in Washington, DC) wrestled through the decision to stay or leave. Much more troubling than our denomination’s embrace of the contemporary sexual ethic was their clear retreat from historic Christian orthodoxy. In the hardest, most expensive decision we’ve ever made, we withdrew and joined many others in forming the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). For any pastor who understands Christ’s prayer for our unity in John 17, a decision like this is absolutely awful.’
There are an infinite number of wheels in God’s providence
This is certainly true!
Have I failed my children?
I think there is so much more one could say on this. I’m not convinced this article goes nearly far enough. I am convinced a lot of Christian parenting advice is basically gospel-less, culturally determined, neurotypical stuff that *might* work for some (and wonderful if it does) but often doesn’t work for others (and is disastrous when implemented). The point this one gets right is there is a long, strong streak of Prosperity Parenting that we would do well to expunge from our midst.
From the archive: Let’s be honest – Sometimes we are just boring
‘Plenty of us have sat in lectures, meetings, voluntary groups or whatever, as somebody drones on and on. All the while you sit there wondering, ‘what is the point of this?’ We’ve all sat in plenty of church services where it has been hard to avoid that same question. Even seasoned believers, who know in abstract why being in church matters, struggle to see the purpose of sitting in this particular service because, as we endure it, no answer arrives as to just what the point of listening to this really is.’