All that glitters is not gold. This is a lesson many thousands of men learned in the 19th century when they stormed California seeking their fortunes. While there was treasure to be found, as evidenced by the wealth many gained from their mining ventures, there was also what came to be known as fool’s gold.…
Writing for a forum as public as the internet provides ample opportunity to receive criticism. While I rarely take the time to respond to people who post on other sites long, drawn-out criticisms of myself and what I write, I always respond to those critcisms when they are directed at me through the forums or…
There exists a surprisingly popular series of books entitled Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. These books are a compendium of quotes, short stories, trivia and jokes that are each just a few lines or paragraphs in length. The book was designed to appeal to the bathroom reader – one who likes to read whilst he is…
Jonathan Edwards: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought by Stephen J. Nichols was at the same time excellent and disappointing. The disappointment was my fault and in no way reflects upon the book or the author, for I had begun reading it with unfair expectations. I had not read the cover carefully and…
In this article I will be reviewing Brian McLaren’s book A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN, known hereafter simply as A Generous Orthodoxy. This is going to be quite a long book review – probably the longest…
Led By The Spirit by Jim Elliff is a short, but well-argued, satisfying and scriptural examination of how a believer can know and understand the will of God. It is also practical, having been based on the author’s own experience in being what he refers to as an illuminist – a person who, when confronted…
When it comes to evangelism, it seems that Calvinists have quite a poor reputation in the church today. Most of the largest and seemingly most successful mission organizations were founded by Arminians and continue to be based around Arminian theology. Arminian churches seem to grow much faster than churches based on Calvinist principles. It seems…
There is any number of books available today that serve as introductions to Calvinism or the doctrines of grace. While some of these leave much to be desired, many of them are excellent and do justice to the topic. One might ask, then, why someone would want to write (or read) yet another one, and…
Since the middle of the twentieth century, dynamic equivalency has become standard practice and the vast majority of Bible translations since then have eschewed a literal format in favor of the less-literal approach. The most popular of these is the New International Version, but other popular translations such as the Contemporary English Version, The Message…
Since its publication in 1986, Chosen By God has become a classic introduction to Calvinism, for it is clearly one of the best introductions to Calvinism available. R.C. Sproul, ever the theologian but one with a gift for making the complex simple, begins with an introduction to God’s sovereignty and then moves to free will…
Putting Amazing Back Into Grace is the first book I have read by Michael Horton. It will certainly not be my last. On the cover of the book J.I. Packer declares the book “a breaktaking workout” and his praise is justified. This book points us back to the Reformation and ultimately to the Bible itself…
While much has been written about the church growth movement and Purpose Driven principles, I believe that Who’s Driving The Purpose Driven Church is the first book-length treatment dealing specifically with this topic. The title is slightly deceptive, as this book deals particularly with Rick Warren’s best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life which has sold…
It takes a brave man to write another book geared towards convincing unbelievers that being good simply isn’t enough to earn God’s favor. There are so many similar books available and most unbelievers have heard the arguments so many times that they simply fall on deaf ears. Andy Stanley, though, wrote How Good Is Good…
Brian McLaren is a pastor and author who is leading the church’s charge into postmodernism and is one of the foremost voices of the emerging church movement. His book More Ready Than You Realize was recommended to me by several people. One called it “the best book I’ve ever read on evangelism” and another went…
While I admire John MacArthur for his doctrinal orthodoxy and his willingness to stand for Biblical truth, however unpopular that may make him, what I most admire about him is his remarkable ability to teach from the Scriptures. I have found few people who are better able to carefully and accurately exposit God’s Word. Because…
“Whatever Happened To The Gospel of Grace?” is exactly the sort of book you might expect a traditional, Reformed pastor and theologian to leave as his final message to the world, for before this book was published, James Boice, long-time pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia went to be with the Lord. This book…
This is part four of our series studying the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. Please note that this is only a brief overview of a vast topic. A thorough discussion of this topic can (and often has) filled many books. At the conclusion of the series I will provide a list of helpful resources should…
This is part three of our series studying the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. Please note that this is only a brief overview of a vast topic. A thorough discussion of this topic can (and often has) filled many books. At the conclusion of the series I will provide a list of helpful resources should…
This is part two of our series studying the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. Please note that this is only a brief overview of a vast topic. A thorough discussion of this topic can (and often has) filled many books. At the conclusion of the series I will provide a list of helpful resources should…
Introduction This seeks to be an introductory study into the differences between Arminian and Calvinistic theology. This study is by no means definitive, but exists merely to introduce the five main concepts in which the two traditions have fundamental disagreements. Scripture verses used as proof texts are provided for each concept and short, unbiased comments…