Blog - Page 240 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Paybacks and Hypocrisy in Washington

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 16th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

Democratic Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylavania,
a Vietnam veteran, is also the chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He also happens to be one of the biggest hypocrites in Washington D.C. today. A staunch enemy of the war in Iraq, and a man whose opposition comments have bordered on being so ludicrous at times as to be beyond belief, Congressman Murtha will have a dinner for defense contractors on February 27 at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Virginia, across the Potomac from Washington. Yes, you read that correctly. I have to say that as skeptical as I am of many of these long-term career politicians this one actually surprised even me. I thought of Murtha as honorable and completely decent, even if his record is not one I would support. But this did it for me.

John Murtha, also a […]

It's Important That They Know Who You're Not

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 15th, 2008|Categories: Evangelism|

My friend Steve Brown is big on being real, on being authentic. The cool thing is that he is that in real life, unlike so many religious professionals I’ve known. Steve sometimes says that most Christians think it’s very important that other people think you’re mature, pure and spiritual. He says it’s far more important that people know that you’re not. We’re so worried that our Christian witness will be harmed by our lack of total obedience and near perfection but this is not the reality of the situation at all. Our witness will be hurt more by our pretense of being holy and obedient. Steve says, "I don’t think I’ve met a person who found Christ because a Christian was pure and righteous. More often it makes them think that this thing is only for good people."

The famous Indian Christian D. T. Niles, in an oft quoted statement, said evangelism was one beggar telling another where he found bread. If this […]

The Real John McCain Has a Clear Fiscal Record

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 14th, 2008|Categories: Economy/Economics|

Various conservatives have attacked John McCain as if he were a tax-and-spend liberal economically. Nothing is further from the truth as Ken Stach proved beyond serious doubt in today’s Wall Street Journal.

You can certainly disagree with the Reagan-McCain approach to taxes, and many fine godly people do. Different views of the role of government in economic matters is an open debate that we ought to be able to have in this country. I think we will have it before November and if Obama is the nominee I think it will not turn into a bitter partisan debate. I, for one, welcome this honest discussion about how government should act with regard to monetary policy and budgeting. I believe this election will thus be one that will allow us to have a real debate about this subject.

But if you do not like John McCain, and I still respect you if you do not, please do not spread the […]

The Former Archbishop Speaks About the Current Archbishop

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 14th, 2008|Categories: Islam|

It is quite rare that a former Archbishop of Canterbury will speak about the comments and practices of his successor. But the words of Archbishop Rowan Williams about sharia law brought a very thoughtful and weighty response from his predecessor, Lord George Carey, in the Sunday edition of The Telegraph, a British newspaper. Carey, an evangelical, understands the serious danger of Rowan Williams’ comments in the context of modern Britain.

The Telegraph

Lord George Carey

The storm of criticism that greeted the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lecture on sharia law in Britain will no doubt have disappointed him but, in fact, he may have done us a great favour by airing this whole area of controversy. He might even be regarded as prescient for discussing sharia, even before demand builds among Muslim communities for special provision in British law. Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, says there is no Islamic consensus on the application of sharia

Indeed, […]

5K for Charity in Florida

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 14th, 2008|Categories: Personal|

The ninth annual Walt Disney World National Kidney Foundation 5K event happens on March 8, at 7:00 a.m. I plan to be there and walk/jog the 3.1 miles. Why?

For starters my daughter is a runner. She ran two half-marathons in the past seven months and stays on my case daily about taking better care of my body. Since my physical condition, with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, makes me low on energy I need a lot of pushing and tugging but Stacy provides it. When I was in my thirties, like Stacy, I enjoyed running. Then I got a bad case of pneumonia and had to quit. (I also had constant shin splints!) Walking is a bit more realistic for my age and physical condition.

My second reason for this run/walk is that I want to enjoy a week in Florida and see some Braves baseball too. […]

The Future of Justification: A Response to John Piper's Treatment of the New Perspective on Paul

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 13th, 2008|Categories: Justification and the New Perspective|

John Piper

The Future of
Justification:

A Response to N. T.
Wright

Wheaton, Crossway, 2007

A Review by Don Garlington*

Dr. John
Piper’s new book, as its subtitle indicates, is a rejoinder to N. T. Wright’s
take on justification in the letters of Paul. The volume consists of eleven
chapters and six appendices, all endeavouring to lay bare what Piper considers
to be the shortcomings of Wright’s understanding of justification and related
matters. In his Acknowledgements (11), Piper informs us of his intentions and
expectations in a quotation from Solomon Stoddard: “The general tendency of
this book is to show that […]

Lunch with My Son

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 12th, 2008|Categories: Missional Church|

My son, Matthew John, will be 35 this March. Hard to believe that all these years have passed since I first looked at my little firstborn as an infant at Central DuPage Hospital on a cold March day in 1973. Life has a way of passing us all by, or so we feel when we are in the middle of our own story and nearing 60. My second born, my precious daughter Stacy, came into the world four years and one day later. Anita insisted that our children would not share the same birthday so she endured labor on Matthew’s fourth birthday in hopes of making it, somehow, to the next day. Sure enough she delivered Stacy the next day via c-section, and our kids have ever since had "their own day." (In our household birthdays are big. Anita is my party girl!) Good girl, that Anita, planning ahead as much as possible for our kids to be unique and to have their own special date in the family story. I would never have been so brave or thoughtful.
[…]

Evelyn: A Flim the Whole Family Will Enjoy

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:17-05:00February 11th, 2008|Categories: Film|

Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas.The film Evelyn is the story of Desmond Doyle’s attempt to keep his family together. It is a wonderful family film based on a true story in the early 1950s in Ireland. It sparkles with joy an touches your deepest feelings about family, justice and hope. Directed by Bruce Beresford, the director of Driving Miss Daisy, this heartwarming story came about through the meeting of the real Evelyn, now in her 60s, with writer Paul Pender in Scotland. Evelyn was determined to tell the story of her late father, and of how he fought for his three children all the way to the Supreme Court of Ireland. In Paul Pender she discovered a script writer who wanted to tell her story faithfully. In Bruce Beresford the right director got the script and began his magic.
In lead actor Pierce Brosnan, most famous for his roles in James Bond films, the director […]

Ideological Sclerosis

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:18-05:00February 10th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

Ross Douthat, senior editor for The Atlantic,
generally an excellent and fairly non-partisan magazine, wrote an op-ed in today’s New York Times that deserves a careful reading by all who consider themselves political conservatives. He endorses neither McCain or Huckabee but expresses an opinion that I think is very accurate. He believes both men have been unfairly attacked by rabid ideologues on the right and argues that "the greatest danger facing the contemporary Republican Party
is ideological sclerosis, rather than insufficient orthodoxy."

This is similar to the very point I made about the talk-show hosts a few weeks ago. One thing seems clear now. These talk-show hosts have influenced very few people seriously in these primaries. Perhaps this will be one way […]

Rowan Williams Answers His Critics

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:18-05:00February 9th, 2008|Categories: Islam|

Archbishop Rowan Williams has expressed real dismay that his comments made yesterday about Britain legally supporting certain aspects of Sharia Law has already created a considerable storm of protest both in the UK and abroad. While the British Muslim Council
has praised him a number of Christians, as well as UK politicians, have expressed profound concern, even calling for him to step down as head of the Anglican Church. His response, as well as that of various critics, can be read and even seen on video at today’s news on the BBC.

Christians in the West need to engage this conversation very carefully. Williams seems to go further than wisdom dictates, at least to me, but I hope we will not stop this conversation. I have my doubts about Williams, both about his leadership of the worldwide Anglican communion and his […]