I’ve been reading Jerry Bridges (1929-2016) for nigh on four decades. Ever since the release of The Pursuit of Holiness by NavPress in 1978, I have eagerly awaited each of his new books. I’ve never been disappointed. Indeed, he became one of the chief influences on my life. It was really difficult to choose, but Here is my selection of the best of …
Religion Externalized
Culture is simply a worldview made evident. It is basic beliefs worked out into habits of life. It is theology translated into sociology. Culture is a very practical expression of the common faith of a community or a people or a nation. Culture is, as Henry Van Til famously quipped, “religion externalized.” What a person thinks, what he believes, what …
An Umberto Eco (Ex Caelis Oblatus) Eleventary
“I love the smell of book ink in the morning.” “There is nothing more wonderful than a list, that instrument of wondrous hypotyposis.” “A democratic civilization will save itself only if it makes the language of the image into a stimulus for critical reflection—not an invitation for hypnosis.” “Only publishers and television people believe that people crave easy experiences.” “I …
A Justice Scalia Eleventary
“Day by day, case by case, the Supreme Court is busy designing a Constitution for a country I do not recognize.” “The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie.” “To allow the policy question of same-sex marriage to be considered …
A Dr. King Eleventary
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole …
December 25
Christians have celebrated the incarnation and nativity of the Lord Jesus on December 25 since at least the early part of the third century—just a few generations removed the days of the Apostles. By 336, when the Philocalian Calendar—one of the earliest documents of the Patriarchal church—was first utilized, Christmas Day was already a venerable and tenured tradition. Though there …
Laudetur Jesus Christus
O Lord, You are our Savior and Redeemer, our Hope, and the Captain of our Salvation. You are called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. You are our Advocate, the Almighty God, the Alpha and Omega, the Ancient of Days, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, and the Great Amen. You are the Only Begotten of …
The Ninety-Five Theses
On this day in 1517, German theologian Martin Luther carefully recopied the scroll of his soon to be revealed Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences—a document that would be popularly called the Ninety-Five Theses. The next day he would post the scroll, consisting of a series of propositions that established a theological basis for opposing the sale of indulgences. Though written …
Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920)
On this day in 1907, the entire nation of the Netherlands celebrated the seventieth birthday of Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920). A national proclamation acknowledged, “The history of the Netherlands, in Church, in State, in Society, in Press, in School, and in the Sciences the last forty years, cannot be written without the mention of his name on almost every page, for …
A Martin Luther Eleventary
“Hier stehe ich; Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen!” “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every part of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where …
A John Calvin Eleventary
1. “We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown.” 2. “There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own intelligence.” 3. “If it seems …
Chalmers and the Solas
Thinking about the “Five Solas of the Reformation,” during this Reformation anniversary week, I couldn’t help but also think of the reformational way Thomas Chalmers has shaped my thinking about life, grace, mercy, the Scriptures, and the beauty of the faith that the magisterial reformers bequeathed to us. It struck me that like them, Chalmers’ influence has also produced a …
Antediluvian Man
“A sharp antithesis cuts a wide swath, Across the whole fabric of space and time, It’s divide sets kith and kin on separate paths, It’s jagged serrated edge altogether divides, With Cain to one side, and Seth to yet another, ‘Tis the tale of two cities, two destinies, two ways, Enoch and Enosh twin sons of different mothers, Till mighty …
The Song of Jenny Geddes by J.S. Blackie
‘Twas the twenty-third of July, in the sixteen thirty-seven, On the Sabbath morn from high St. Giles the solemn peal was given; King Charles had sworn that Scottish men should pray by printed rule; He sent a book, but never dreamt of danger from a stool. The Council and the Judges, with ermined pomp elate, The Provost and the Bailies …