Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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Somewhere along the way, it seems like the New Calvinism became about everything but Calvinism. Somewhere along the way, we stopped thinking and writing about the very doctrines that brought the movement together in the first place. Maybe we had already mastered them, so it was time to move on to more advanced topics. Or maybe we just began to assume them and then to subsume them to other matters. Either way, I’m delighted to see a new crop of …
It’s ironic and more than a little pathetic that a doctrine as glorious and comforting as Christ’s impending return has been a source of such vehement disagreement among Christians. Though we universally agree that he will return, the timing, circumstances, and sequence of events are all matters of much dispute. Some respond to these disagreements by making eschatology ultimate, the mark of a standing or falling Christian. Some respond by failing to attach any importance to any view of eschatology. …
I get books. I get lots and lots of books. As you well know, once a month or so I like to try and thin the pile a little bit and distill it down to the ones I think may be of most interest to people like you. I hope you find at least some of them worth checking out! Books Featured: Jesus Wins: The Good News of the End Times by Dayton Hartman Too often discussions about the End Times …
One thing that has always been true of this movement labeled “the New Calvinism,” is that it has included more professing charismatics than practicing charismatics. Though from the very beginning many, and perhaps even the majority, of its adherents have been open to the ongoing miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, very few have lived or worshipped in a way that is distinctly (or even vaguely) charismatic. Though many of the theological leaders of the movement like Wayne Grudem, John …
I woke up far too early and feeling far too discouraged. I had spent a restless night trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable through pain. I eventually gave up, slid out of bed, went downstairs, and got my coffee brewing. I knew this would be a day in which my hands would hurt too much to get any significant writing done. I’ve got deadlines looming and words waiting to be typed, but realized I wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything much. …
Are you still looking for that elusive perfect Christmas gift? Or maybe you’re just looking for something to read over the holidays. Here are some of the new and notable books that arrived on my doorstep recently. There might just be something here for you or for someone you love. Here’s the complete list: Reformed Preaching by Joel Beeke The Whole Counsel Of God by Richard Gamble Always in God’s Hands by Owen Strachan In the Year of Our Lord …
I admire any Christian author who is willing to take on the subjects of homosexuality or same-sex attraction, and especially those who choose to take a “traditional” rather than “progressive” view of it. The subject is so raw and so controversial that any serious discussion is likely to generate barrages of fire from within the church and without. This makes me particularly thankful for Jackie Hill Perry and her new book Gay Girl, Good God. You may know Perry from …
We pray. We pray because we believe prayer matters, we pray because God hears, we pray because God chooses to act on our prayers. We pray because we can and we pray because we must. These prayers are not hopes whispered into a void or wishes cast into a cold and empty universe. They are supplications that reach the ear, mind, heart, and hands of God. We pray, and we also teach our children to pray. We teach our children …
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I underwent a significant shift in my understanding and practice of the Christian faith. Though I had spent my younger years in the Dutch Reformed tradition, I found myself increasingly drawn to Reformed Baptist churches. Though that transition was quite smooth, there is one issue more than any other that continued to perplex and concern me—the role and relevance of the Ten Commandments in the New Covenant. This was an …
If you’ve ever seen a photo of a mountain or a waterfall—something grand and majestic—you know how important it is to also capture an object in the foreground. By putting an identifiable object in front of a mountain, you provide a visual cue as to the size of what’s behind it. Based on a photo, that mountain could be large or small, near or far. But when an object is set in front, you begin to understand and marvel at …