In us we trust
‘Christian Nationalism represents a dangerous distortion of both Christian faith and democratic governance. It threatens religious freedom, enables authoritarian tendencies, and compromises the church’s witness to the gospel. The way of Jesus is characterised by self-sacrificing love, concern for the marginalised, love for enemies, and the relativising of all earthly powers. All of which stands in fundamental tension with movements that seek cultural dominance and political control. Conservative political ideology, whilst held sincerely by many Christians, cannot be simply equated with the gospel without doing violence to Scripture’s holistic vision of justice, peace, and human flourishing. Christians across the political spectrum must resist the temptation to baptise their political preferences as divine mandate.’
A Proverb on Donkeys and Dumpster Fires
‘As believers, we know that no mess is so intractable that God’s perfect grace and justice can’t eventually untangle and remake it, both now and in the coming resurrection. There is a real, if heavy, hope in that. This means we can confidently get down in the mud and begin digging. But we are right to lament the mess at the same time.’
Are Raised Hands in Worship Just Showing Off?
I think this is a great question and John Piper offers a really helpful answer.
On Boredom
‘That we human beings experience boredom seems like a kind of sick joke on us creatures. We have the exhilarating gift of life and all the colours, tastes, and sounds of the universe, and yet we are so often stuck, not quite knowing what to do with it all.’
Business Meetings at the Urinal
‘Standing in an uncommonly long line that snaked out the exit, I soon became aware of a man next to me speaking loudly into the air in front of us. Of course, I haven’t been living in a hole for the last five years, so I divined almost immediately that no, he wasn’t crazy; he was just on a phone call on his AirPods. But then, I thought again—of course he was crazy! After all, who has a full-volume private business phone call standing in a dense crowd at the entrance of a men’s room? I watched curiously to see whether he would pause the conversation once his turn came for the urinal…but of course he did not, instead shouting cheerfully to the wall about how they could reel the client in with their next presentation. Here was the very model of a modern multi-tasker: taking care of two kinds of business at the same time.’
Just Waiting
I can relate to this one.
From the archive: Everything is a matter of conscience, isn’t it?
‘If you have had a discussion with anyone about pretty much anything, you will no doubt have run into people citing the importance of conscience. Conscience does, of course, matter. As Luther said, ‘to go against conscience is neither safe nor right’. His conscience wasn’t his ultimate authority. He was certain that his conscience was captive to the Word of God. To go against what his conscience believed God’s Word to be saying was neither safe nor right. And on that, apparently, he stood and he kann nicht anders. But there is another way in which conscience is often invoked…’