Blogs by Rick Phillips

As Phil has noted, we enjoyed a particularly satisfying ordination service this past Sunday evening at our church, as the Rev. Andrew DiNardo was entered into the gospel ministry as a teaching elder in the PCA.  It is always fun... continue

My visit to Covenant PCA in Fayetteville, NC to speak at the "Bearing the Sword" conference provided some quite edifying conversations and incidents.  A high proportion of the church members are active duty soldiers stationed at nearby Ft. Bragg, many... continue

While fearing that this continued discussion may start to seem, well, tortuous, I want to respond to some mail that asked for an exegetical defense of my claim that Christians should oppose torture.  Let me give a brief one, which... continue

Jason,Thanks for linking to that excellent symposium.  I attached a long comment to the original blog site that presents my full argument against torture, which readers can find here.Also, I had the great privilege a month or so ago of... continue

Another op ed piece in the Wasthington Post today (I'm visiting my mother in D. C. this week) was written by Eugene Robinson.  This one was titled "Torture Is Torture."  He first gives practical reasons why America should not sanction... continue

The tiff over Pope Benedict's anti-Islam remarks, and his subsequent quasi-apology, presented an interesting interplay between supposed papal infallibility and political pragmatism.  Of course, Benedict was not speaking ex cathedra during his visit to the University of Regensburg, but that distinction is... continue

I just saw that this week's TIME magazine cover story is on the Health and Wealth Gospel.  Of course, it makes it look like this is what evangelicalism is all about.  But we deserve it.  In my view, whenever we see... continue

Thanks, Phil, for the happy birthday.  Yes, you got the date right.  Actually, it was my 46th birthday -- the big five O is coming fast.  (When I turned 40 it was a relief -- but I'm not so sure about... continue

I think the key to approaching Kalifungwa's concern about racial division among Christians was his qualifyer "in our churches".  There are many forces outside of our churches that shape us along racial lines.  For instance, the composition of a church... continue

My wife and I recently spent a week at the Rafiki Foundation enrichment week, where I taught on the miracles of Christ and Dennis Johnson from Westminster Seminary in California taught on Hebrews.  (Dennis' teaching was tremendous, and it was... continue