Blog - Page 202 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Challenge of Pluralism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:52-05:00February 12th, 2009|Categories: Apologetics|

I wrote yesterday about the challenges being faced by the Episcopal Church (ECUSA). The question behind the question that I raised is the issue of pluralism. How dangerous is pluralism? For that matter, what is pluralism and why should serious Christians really care about this question?

Let's begin with the fact that not everyone practices the same religion. If this were not so we wouldn't need to consider the question of pluralism or Christian apologetics. Increasingly tolerance is being defined in various pluralistic ways, ways that present serious challenges to orthodox Christians and Christianity. But few bother to define what is actually meant by pluralism before they begin to throw the term around very widely. Some conservative writers have referred to me as a pluralist in spite of the fact that I affirm the creeds and councils of the Church and embrace the faith of a historic Protestant denomination. This gross misuse of the term has pushed me to come to terms with the several ways that this term is used, […]

When Is a Church No Longer a Church?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:52-05:00February 11th, 2009|Categories: The Church|

An Episcopal priest, who received a Buddhist lay ordination, has been nominated for the position of bishop in the Diocese of Northern Michigan. The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester, who has served in the Northern Michigan diocese since 2001, is the only nominee for the vacant position. Forrester currently serves as rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Marquette, and is currently the diocese’s ministry development coordinator, This position puts him in line for a denominational promotion the way these things generally go. His election as the new bishop is scheduled for a special convention to be held on February 21 in Escanaba, Michigan.

If elected, Forrester will still have to obtain consent from a majority of dioceses in the Episcopal Church, USA. This denominational approval is generally “a rubber-stamp procedure” noted Jim Tonkowich, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD). IRD, which I have the privilege […]

Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:52-05:00February 10th, 2009|Categories: Science|

No subject stirs up more fear and opposition among a lot of conservative and fundamentalist Christians than science and faith. And nothing stirred up passions, at least in recent years, quite like the famous Dover (PA) court case regarding the school board's mandate to teach Intelligent Design (ID) alongside of evolution. In 2004 the school board ordered teachers of science to read a statement to their high school biology students about an ID alternative to Darwin's theory of evolution.

For those who do not know the term Intelligent Design (ID) is the argument that life is too complex to have evolved naturally and thus there must be an intelligent agent behind the forces of nature. In Dover a textbook was donated to the school district, a book that taught ID. This prompted the teachers to sue the school board. The town was deeply and bitterly divided and the rage and emotional tempest reached a boiling point that finally impacted people and […]

What Keeps Me Going Every Day

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:52-05:00February 9th, 2009|Categories: Spirituality|

Biblical scholars all agree that the theme of Paul's letter to the Philippians is joy. The letter speaks of joy over and over and thus has encouraged many a Christian down through the ages to rejoice in Christ their Lord. I thought about this joy again as I read Philippians lat weekend.

What keeps the Christian going day-in and day-out? When your days are filled with sadness and grief, what sustains you? The answer may surprise you but it is plainly joy. Finding this real joy is not a cliche nor is it a simple thing. Only those who know Jesus deeply and personally know this kind of joy. Heartfelt joy, the true gift of God, comes to those who seek and know Jesus as the living center of their life. This is why Paul can say that whether he lives, or dies, he can face today and tomorrow, because he has joy.

There is a great deal […]

Which is Needed to Check Anger: Humility or Meekness?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:52-05:00February 8th, 2009|Categories: Spirituality|

Yesterday I wrote about the call of Jesus to take upon ourselves his "yoke." This yoke is described as gentleness and humility (Matthew 11:29). Eugene Peterson's The Message, not a translation but more of a flowing free thought commentary paraphrase, provides this helpful rendereing of this text:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned our on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

I am "burned out on religion." Maybe you are as well. What I need is more of Jesus, his gentleness and true humility of heart. I need someone who is imperturbable, a person who can teach me how to become the same over the long […]

Gentle and Humble in Heart

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:53-05:00February 7th, 2009|Categories: Spirituality|

One of the most perplexing and challenging sayings of Jesus in the entire New Testament is found in Matthew 11:28-30. Our Lord says:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

If I put one description upon this "yoke," and the effect it has upon a life, I would use the word "imperturbable." No matter what was going on around Jesus he was not disturbed by it. He was not a Stoic, no not at all. We even see him show emotions like grief and anger quite often in the biblical accounts. But he had within himself a deep Spirit-given treasure. By this treasure he could put everything into perspective and respond to things going on around […]

The Dollars and Cents of Sports in Chicago

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:53-05:00February 6th, 2009|Categories: Baseball|

As I read the Chicago Tribune today I asked myself: "What on earth are the owners of professional sports teams thinking in this very bad economy?" Today's Tribune notes that every Chicago professional sports franchise is raising their ticket prices this season except for the Chicago Bears, the football team. But while the Bears hold the line on prices the baseball White Sox are raising prices modestly, by $2.00 per game. The lone exception is the upper deck box seats, which are going up only $1.00 per game. This is tolerable, but not a very good strategy in this economy. The Blackhawks, feeling good about having a much better hockey team this year, are raising their prices an average of 16%. The Bulls, struggling right now to be consistent as an NBA basketball team, are raising season-ticket prices 33% and court side seats by anywhere from $100 to $950 each. Utterly amazing!

Worst of all, as is typical in this city, the Chicago […]

President Obama: "I Screwed Up"

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:53-05:00February 5th, 2009|Categories: Current Affairs|

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I sat down to watch a brief portion of the evening news and there, on CBS no less, was an interview with Katie Couric and the president. The words that I heard stunned me. "I screwed up. I take responsibility for this mistake." President Obama was referring, of course, to the problems several of his choices have faced in the U. S. Senate in seeking confirmation.

First, there was Governor Bill Richardson, then former-senator Tom Daschle, and now Nancy Killefer, his choice for chief performance office for the federal government. (Obama's choice of Republican Senator Judd Gregg (photo at right), of New Hampshire, for Secretary of Commerce seems to be a solid one and an evidence, again, of non-partisanship in style and effort.)
Even Timothy Geithner, the new Treasury secretary, faced challenges about $34,000 of self-employment taxes that he had not […]

Prayer: Conversation with God

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:53-05:00February 4th, 2009|Categories: Prayer|

St. John Chrysostom said, "Prayer is conversation with God." Clement of Alexandria and Gregory of Nyssa said much the same thing. Origen distinguished different kinds of prayer and thus wrote:

Supplication is "a petition offered with entreaty by one who needs something; prayer "is offered in a dignified manner with praise concerning matters of importance"; intercession "is a request to God . . . made by one who possesses more than usual confidence"; and thanksgiving "is an acknowledgment that blessings have been obtained from God." That's pretty good.

Greek and Roman prayers were "tit-for-tat" offerings to vague impersonal deities; i.e., I have sacrificed this for you so you should give this back to me. Christian prayer was, and is, radically different. We must understand this essential point if we would make any progress in Christian faith at all. […]

The Jesus Prayer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:20:53-05:00February 3rd, 2009|Categories: Prayer|

The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonian Christians that they should they should: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess. 5:16-18). I ponder this text a great deal. I am sure I fail the first more than once a day, more likely a few times every day. I also fail the last more times than I care to admit. But the middle imperative is even more difficult, or so it seems to me. How do I "pray without ceasing?"

Most Christians I know try something like this to explain this injunction: "God knows we cannot pray all the time since we must do many things throughout a day that are not prayer so this has to mean something else than what it appears to mean." I cannot agree. Nor did the ancient fathers of the Christian Church. They believed that all three of these Pauline injunctions were to be literally obeyed every single day, all day long, and even in the night when […]