Reformation21

December. 'Tis the season for Christians to argue. Over the years in ministry, I’ve run across some interesting claims about the nature of Christmas. Santa is just a secret word jumble for Satan. The Christmas tree is actually Thor’s oak tree and when you put presents under it you’re offering...

I share this letter to brethren in the PCA with some trepidation. With Prov. 26:17 in mind it is arguably foolhardy to get involved in another denomination’s ecclesial debates — especially one on the other side of the Atlantic! However friends in the PCA have suggested it may be helpful to you if I...

Statistics indicate that scientists are three times less likely to attend weekly religious services than non-scientists. [1] Less than ten percent of American scientists believe in a personal God. To atheist Richard Dawkins these statistics prove “that the more intelligent, rational, and...

I realize that there is a spectrum of opinion and conviction amongst the readership of Ref21. There are those in the Reformed orbit who are entirely opposed to singing hymns in corporate worship, to say nothing of any sort of acknowledgment of anything even vaguely approximating the liturgical...

December can be a hard month. It does not lack for jolly opportunities. People hang cheerful lights to brighten the early nights. Families gather together. We are surrounded by reminders of Christ’s birth and the blessing that he brings. We might sing special songs in church. We listen to Handel’s...

Thanks to social media, everyone that has an opinion can post it as authoritative without any thought to who is on the receiving end. Many times, those without any education (formal or informal) on a particular topic are the ones who hold the strongest convictions. Too often, sites like Twitter and...

The people of Israel were starving. Their land was rich, but their enemies devoured the produce (Judges 6:4). A young man named Gideon summed up the crisis: “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (6:13). That is the problem of evil. And it is one of the most obvious...

"The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it." – Proverbs 22:3 Our children are some of the first to grow up in what is indisputably a post-Christian American society. Their peers are overwhelmingly likely to indulge sexual immorality, and unlikely to succeed...

You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. — Augustine As James K. A. Smith reminds us in You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit , Augustine’s prayer reveals several aspects about the human condition. First, human beings are made by and for the...

Apologetics requires certainty and confidence. Its basic purpose is conquering doubts cast on the Christian faith. But what about the doubts of Christians? How do we defend a faith that we are not always certain of? Doubt is not a virtue; it is a serious problem. Doubt is dishonorable. God wants us...