Blog - Page 76 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Danger of Perpetual Culture War to Christ's Mission

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:08-05:00October 17th, 2012|Categories: America and Americanism, American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Culture, The Church|

I have written several previous blogs that have referenced the excellent book, A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars, by author/blogger Jonathan Merritt. It is to this excellent book I return today and tomorrow.

Merritt argues, quite convincingly I am fully persuaded, that when Christians engage in perpetual culture war the tendency is to “reduce the immense witness of the Scriptures to only a few culture-war issues–namely, abortion and gay marriage. Both are important issues deserving serious thought. The scriptures speak often about life and sexuality. But they also regularly address poverty, equality, justice, peace, and care for God’s good creation” (89).

When Christians live as if the culture-war issues are paramount then “we dismiss the limitless bounty of the Scriptures into a tiny cup of condensed political juice” (89). When this happens we reduce the witness of Scripture and minimize God’s unbounded wisdom about everything necessary for a godly and good life.

What has happened in the millennial generation (20s and 30s) is that a rise of interest in a broader range of social and political issues has prompted a new kind of response […]

The Two Sides of Christianity: Understanding What Truly Matters

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:08-05:00October 16th, 2012|Categories: Biblical Theology, Creeds, The Church, Theology|

We commonly speak of there being “two sides” to one coin. We do this to make the point that “heads” and “tails” are distinctly different. We have used a coin like this since we were all very young. It is still done in various events and ceremonies, like just before the kickoff of a football game when the referee does a “coin toss.” But this coin is one. Both sides are connected and intimately related; of one piece.

Like a coin Christianity also has two sides. These sides are one yet they are quite distinct. They are intimately related yet they are different. These two sides are the faith and the way, or the truth and the life. These are the two great aspects of the whole. Unless we keep both sides of this coin in view we will make major mistakes. These mistakes have broken many who have lost their way as Christians.

Jesus Is the Truth and the Life

In the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of St. John we read these familiar words:

Jesus said […]

The Mentalist: My Favorite Current Television

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:08-05:00October 16th, 2012|Categories: Television|

I sometimes share reviews of popular movies, both dramas and action films. I am not a serious film critic but do have an “eye” for credible films, or so I think. I have also done a review or two about a television series, e.g. MI-5 and Foyle’s War both come to mind (Both are BBC productions.). In the spirit of sharing my viewing interests, and perhaps prompting a few friends to enjoy a television series with me, I confess that I am “hooked” on the current series, The Mentalist, which stars Simon Baker as California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) consultant Patrick Jane. My brother got me into this series and now I have finished, earlier this week, the last episode of Season Four. Season Five is airing currently on CBS so I am now in the rhythm of using my DVD to watch each week’s episode. It is rare that I do this with a TV series and the only other one that I currently watch in real time (DVR) is “Justified.” (It is a haunting and gripping series that features a number of religious […]

Further Reflections on the Decision of the German Bishops

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:08-05:00October 15th, 2012|Categories: Freedom, Roman Catholicism, The Church|

On October 4 I posted a blog that came from a letter written to me by a dear friend who grew up Catholic and then left the Catholic Church to become an evangelical Protestant. The friend I refer to is named Rick. As I noted before Rick returned to the Catholic Church several years ago and is an active communicant member. Rick and I spoke on the phone last week about this letter and the response that some of you offered to it. I also personally spoke to several Catholic leaders, including knowledgeable priests, who are my close friends because of my ecumenical mission. After I posted Rick’s initial letter (10/4/12), and read the several responses some of my Catholic readers offered, I felt further information was needed regarding the German bishops decision regarding Professor Hartmut Zapp.

It is important to say that this decision of the German bishops is not final. There is a proper appeal process and the Vatican will follow this procedure for dealing with this decision to ex-communicate Dr. Zapp. This means the decision […]

Jesus the Catechist

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:08-05:00October 12th, 2012|Categories: Discipleship, Education, Jesus|

Many Christians react to the use of a catechism for teaching Christian doctrine. (I reacted myself until I was already a young pastor around thirty years of age!) I remember a lady in my church, speaking up in a congregational meeting, saying that she opposed all use of catechisms for instruction because they taught people “rote” answers. This was bad she argued. She has a point, albeit a weak one.

The word catechism actually refers to a way of learning that involves questions and answers. You ask a question and seek an answer. Socrates, the wisest of the Greek teachers, used this method. So did our Lord Jesus Christ. He used the “catechetical method” by asking thought provoking questions that awakened the mind and stimulated a search for truth. More often then not Jesus was the answer, or at least he gave (or pointed to) the answer.

So catechetical instruction has been used by the Christian church from the beginning. We see rudimentary elements of it in the New Testament, both in Jesus and the epistles. A catechism is simply a […]

The Chicago Bible Society: A Partner in Missional-Ecumenism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:09-05:00October 11th, 2012|Categories: Evangelism, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal|

Tuesday evening I attended my first Gutenberg Award Dinner in Chicago. Since 1952 the Chicago Bible Society has given an award, named after Johannes Gutenberg (1398–1468) the inventor of the movable-type printing press, to a person (or persons) who has made a significant contribution to the work of providing Bibles to people. The first recipient of the award was General Douglas MacArthur (1952). This award was given because of MacArthur’s effort to provide Bibles to the people of Japan at the conclusion of World War II. Since then the Bible Society has honored both national and local leaders who have served the cause of the Bible either in the church or the business and civic world. Well-known recipients have included President Herbert Hoover (1954), Edgar J. Goodspeed (1958), Billy Graham (1962), Frank Laubach (1964), Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1974), Oswald C. J. Hoffmann (1980), Kenneth N. Taylor (1981), Joseph Cardinal Bernardin (1983), Dr. Martin Marty (1986), Francis Cardinal George (1998), C. William Pollard (1999), the former CEO of ServiceMaster and chairman of the Wheaton College […]

The Kingdom of Jesus Not of This World

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:09-05:00October 10th, 2012|Categories: Culture|

Author/blogger Jonathan Merritt, in his new book A Faith of Our Own, shows why he believes the Greek tragedian writer Euripides was right when he said, “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power.”

Early Christians, on the other hand, provide a study in how to engage the public square without forgetting the gospel. “This growing group of Jesus-followers made great strides on issues such as infanticide, slavery, and an early expression of women’s rights” (65). Merritt rightly concludes that these early Christians “knew that politics is not the true threat; it’s thirst for power” (65). In perhaps the one area where Merritt’s use of history collides with a more nuanced understanding of historical facts he concludes that the approach of the early church changed when Constantine “converted” (65). This all-to-common error of judgement (assuming the church fell when Constantine embraced the faith officially) is made by a host of modern Christians so Merritt is certainly not alone in his conclusion. But the truth is far more interesting and complex. Yet even this “minor” error does not mar Merritt’s central point–that Christendom gave “the […]

Each Generation Must Ask: "Who Do We Say Jesus Is?"

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:09-05:00October 9th, 2012|Categories: America and Americanism, American Evangelicalism, Culture, Current Affairs, Emergent Church, Missional-Ecumenism, The Church|

A growing body of statistical evidence reveals that Christians in their 20s and 30s are disenchanted with a faith that is culturally antagonistic and closely aligned with partisan politics. Is a growing sea-change sweeping across the church? I am one who believes the answer is very obvious. But how will this change impact what the church, and our mission, look like in the next twenty years? Author/blogger Jonathan Merritt, whose father is a mega-church pastor whom Jonathan clearly loves and respects, believes large numbers of Christians are seeking to discover a faith worth believing (and living) in the twenty-first century. I concur with this broad perspective. Why? I have the amazing joy of meeting these young Christians almost every day for more than a decade and I have spent countless hours listening to them share their hearts.

Various authors have written about these seismic changes and what they believe these will mean for the future, but very few have done so with as much grace, wisdom and winsomeness as Jonathan Merritt in his new book, A Faith of […]

Why Christian Theology Demands More Than the Bible Only , Part 2

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:09-05:00October 8th, 2012|Categories: Biblical Theology, Hermeneutics|

I suggested in my previous ACT 3 Weekly article (October 1, 2012) that Acts 15 gives us good reason to see how Christian theology and practice can move beyond the bare reading of biblical texts.

The Problem of the Purist

By nature I tend to be a purist. I love baseball. I’ve loved it since I was a child. I understand the nuances and rhythms of the game. I also have a hard time adapting to things like the DH (Designated Hitter). Frankly, I hate the DH! I am also struggling with the expanded post-season playoff system. When it comes to baseball I am a purist without really trying to be one. Maybe that comes with my age but I think I tended to be a baseball purist in my youth. I wanted to see things clearly and not mess this great game up with too many changes. Baseball is a game of statistics and the more you mess with the sport the less meaningful these statistics become. Purists have to be right when it comes to baseball debates! I say so.

My purist impulse is strong. But is […]

Trouble with the Curve

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:09-05:00October 5th, 2012|Categories: Baseball, Film|

The new Clint Eastwood film Trouble with the Curve is much, much more than a baseball movie. It is really a character story with a baseball backdrop, much like the well-done book/film, Moneyball. In Trouble with the Curve an ailing baseball scout, Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood), is in his twilight years and living a hum-drum life. Through pressure from his boss in Atlanta Gus takes his daughter along for one last scouting trip to see a possible first round draft pick play high school ball before the upcoming Major League Draft.

Gus is an elderly scout for the Atlanta Braves, which was a real hoot for me as a life-long Braves fan. Gus is becoming increasingly frail and ill-equipped, particularly with his deteriorating eyesight. But baseball is all Gus knows and cares about. The Braves are losing faith in Gus’s abilities. Modern baseball is more connected with computer predictions and online statistics than ever thus scouts physically sitting in the stands and watching talent in person is increasingly becoming a lost art. Gus hates computers! He believes […]