Blog - Page 7 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Hearts and Minds Book Notes

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:11-05:00September 14th, 2017|Categories: ACT 3, Biblical Theology, Books|

One of my good friends is Byron Borger, the owner/manager of Hearts and Minds Books in Pennsylvania. Byron regularly prepares a great review of a wide array of books. I encourage you to read his reviews (which you can get by email) and buy books from him. Yes, you can buy books for a larger discount at Amazon but Byron will help you personally and guide you with a human and thoughtful response about new (and old) books. I know no other resource like Byron Borger if you love Christian books. In a recent review of new books he wrote the following about me and my book:

Costly Love: The Way to True Unity for All the Followers of Jesus, John H. Armstrong (New City Press) $15.95. I will tell you more about this later but I truly wanted to list it here. This is one of the most provocative and thoughtful and thorough studies of the Biblical teaching about love I have yet seen. It is serious and well researched, drawing on writers both […]

A Sleepless Night and a Gentle and Powerful Morning Reminder

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:11-05:00August 21st, 2017|Categories: Biblical Theology, Discipleship, Faith, Friendship, Jesus, Love, Personal|

In Matthew 19 Jesus welcomes little children to himself, (gently) touches them and prays over them. The disciples, in contrast, seem too stern and busy to feel the is important kingdom work. The story tells us:

¹³Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; ¹⁴but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” ¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

It is easy to rebuke the disciples in this story. But perhaps we have this wrong. Could it be that love made them desire to protect Jesus and seeing he was tired and drained (they had seen multiple miracles of healing, great teaching, etc.). It is likely they were concerned for his well-being. After all, he was now talking about a cross, which puzzled them. I think the tension in his heart […]

A Sermon on Trinity Sunday: “The Great Commission”

By John Armstrong|2017-06-24T19:04:27-05:00June 24th, 2017|Categories: ACT 3, Discipleship, Evangelism, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Lordship of Christ, Missional-Ecumenism, Sacraments, The Church, The Trinity|

How Does Jesus Speak to Our Modern Religious and Social Context?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:11-05:00April 25th, 2017|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Culture, Current Affairs, Economy/Economics, Kingdom of God, Lordship of Christ, Love|

I am currently reading, rather slowly I confess, through the Gospel of Mark. It is a fast-paced narrative a rooted in oral tradition, something easily forgotten by modern readers. At the beginning of the second century CE this Gospel was affirmed in several texts as the work of Mark. It was also attributed to Peter, who was his companion. Because this writing was based on oral texts it was rooted in stories about Jesus passed around from community to community. But Mark wrote for a definite type of community: Christians of non-Jewish and pagan origin. He desire is to show them the mystery and glory of Jesus. His way of doing this is to relate the words and deeds by which Jesus revealed himself as the “Son of God” to humankind.

Mark’s Gospel does not include an infancy narrative nor does it relate Jesus to Jewish scripture or tradition the way Matthew does. It begins: “This is the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). Boom! Here it is: the […]

War: The Most Dreaded Enemy of Liberty

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:11-05:00April 19th, 2017|Categories: America and Americanism, Culture, Current Affairs, Ethics, History, The War on Terrorism|

During the course of my lifetime (b. 1949) America has fought many wars. In fact, we have been engaged in foreign struggles and combat for almost the entirety of my lifetime, with the exception of the four years of President Carter’s administration (1977-1981). This simple fact got me to thinking recently about an anniversary of a historic document in American history that is 222 years old tomorrow, April 20.

This statement goes as follows:

Of all the enemies of true liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.

War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.

In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people.

The same malignant aspect in republicanism may […]

How Could Tyranny Destroy Our Democracy?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:11-05:00April 12th, 2017|Categories: America and Americanism, American Evangelicalism, Books, Culture, Current Affairs, Free Speech, Freedom, History, Ideology, Philosophy, Politics, Pope Francis, The Future|

Political scientists and historians are increasingly expressing profound concerns about the future of democracy in the West. I have been asking, as an amateur historian of America, “How and why do democracies die?”

The study of democratic backsliding, though around for a long time, is becoming more urgent as we watch events unfold so rapidly it creates deep concern in many of us. In the mid-2000s, the global spread of democracy, after 200 years of expansion, clearly began to stall. Perhaps it was the Iraq War and the events in the Middle East but however we understand what happened since 9/11 populist movements in the West began to arise and grow in number. This new form of Western populism, joined with a growing passion for nationalism and a seriously distorted form of exceptionalism, are now impacting America on a daily basis. This feels a lot like something we’ve seen before, in other places, but I do not think mosts of us are paying attention.

This new expression of Western populism bears more than a passing resemblance to Latin American populist waves that turned authoritarian very quickly. (Perhaps this […]

Pondering the Syrian Context on the Day After Our Nation Launched Fifty Tomahawk Missiles

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:13-05:00April 7th, 2017|Categories: America and Americanism, Current Affairs, Personal, Politics, Pope Francis, The Church, The War on Terrorism|

Late late night I read the first news reports of our president’s authorization of the launch of fifty missiles on Syrian air bases. (He warned the Russians in advance so their soldiers would leave, wanting to avoid a direct conflict with Russia.) It appears this morning that we hit military targets and human casualties will be small, perhaps even none. The reason for this attack was the outrage felt by our nation, and our president, upon seeing the helpless children who had died at the hands of President Assad through the use of chemical weapons. (Of course, Assad is denying he was behind this and blames the rebellion for the use of such weapons.)

I am deeply troubled by these events. Let me explain why.

Is this strike a one-time military action? If not, what is our strategy going forward? If there is “no red line” that Assad can cross to lead us into a “hot war” with him (which Mr. Trump promised for months he would not do) then why did these photos of dead children prompt this response and why now? Is there a policy for […]

“Can Costly Love Change Our Cities?” A Conference Call on the Meaning and Power of Love

By John Armstrong|2017-02-27T10:58:03-06:00March 2nd, 2017|Categories: ACT 3, Love, Missional-Ecumenism|

I recently did a conference call with a number of Christian leaders across America. If you’d like to listen to the recording this is the Soundcloud file.

America Divided: Why Christian Unity Matters More Than Ever

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:13-05:00February 28th, 2017|Categories: ACT 3, America and Americanism, Church History, Missional-Ecumenism, Unity of the Church|

There are very few historical personalities with the magnetism of the famous Augustinian monk Martin Luther. Make no mistake, Luther has been praised and vilified. For some he bears specific blame for dividing the church. For others he remains a hero because he recovered the gospel and opposed massive church abuses. Love him or hate him, Martin Luther gets a response.

2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Some Protestants are aglow with celebration, while others would rather not talk about it. Catholics are more interested than ever, even open to new dialogue about some of Luther’s burning concerns. Pope Francis himself marked the anniversary October 31, 2016, with a historic trip to Lund, Sweden. He met with leaders from the Lutheran World Federation to celebrate a document titled: “From Conflict to Communion.” The document does not pretend to solve all the disagreements between Lutherans and Catholics. It does something more important by seeking forgiveness for our multiplied divisions. The pope and the Lutheran leaders look for greater celebration of our differing gifts while […]

Breach of Trust: Has Our U.S. Policy Lost Its Way?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:13-05:00February 1st, 2017|Categories: America and Americanism, Current Affairs, Freedom, Personal|

Our American commitment to perpetual war now seems fairly self-evident. We have been engaged in some kind of military conflict, almost without significant pause, since the end of the Vietnam War. Our current military action in Iraq and Afghanistan (and the wider Middle East) is nearing fifteen years and there is virtually no reason to see a real (final) end in sight with the election of an aggressive military advocate now in the White House. The president is surrounded by generals who believe in the goals and commitments of our present time in military history and thought the strategic use of force might change I am not convinced it will bed for the better. Let me explain.

Warmongers and militarists talk about bombing North Korea, or at least increasing our presence on their border, if necessary. They also talk about intervening in the Syrian civil war. We continually talk about “defeating ISIS” by “bombing the hell out of them” through using the full power of our vast military power to destroy them, a prospect that has […]