Blog - Page 241 of 318 - John H Armstrong

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 […]

What on Earth Does the Archbishop Mean?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:18-05:00February 8th, 2008|Categories: Islam|

In a startling interview yesterday, on BBC Radio 4, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said, "There is a place for finding what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law as we already do with aspects of other kinds of religious law." Williams went on to state that the adoption of Islamic Sharia Law was inevitable in the United Kingdom and that it would help maintain social cohesion. "It seems unavoidable and, as a matter of fact, certain conditions of Sharia are already recognized in our society and under our law, so it is not as if we are bringing in an alien and rival system."

He compares the practice of Sharia Law with the convictions of those who opposed abortion or homosexual adoption. He also claims that Sharia Law needs to be better understood and that originally it was more enlightened in its attitude toward women than other legal systems.

His remarks were publicly criticized […]

Where's The Sunlight? Some Thoughts on National Signing Day

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:18-05:00February 7th, 2008|Categories: College Football|

Yesterday was National Signing Day for colleges who offer scholarships to talented high school football players. This is the day that schools seek to best one another in landing the talent that they hope will give them the chance to win at the major college level.
The anticipation builds and the rankings are mere projections for the fans and the faithful. Who knows whether or not an eighteen year old kid will turn into a great college player over the next four or five years?

Yesterday was also very cold and dark in Chicago. In fact, we have had eleven minutes of sunlight since the end of last month. On top of that we have had more snow days than we’ve had in twenty-five years. I grow very weary of the winter. I hit the wall this week. My next goal is to survive and then see baseball in the sunshine.

So what has all of this to do with National […]

John McCain's Speech to CPAC

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:18-05:00February 7th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

Senator John McCain addressed CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) today, one of the leading annual gatherings of conservatives in America. What follows is his speech with no editorial comments or arguments from me. This is, once again, not an endorsement. I post this speech in the hope that people will read what he says and then think about the vital issues of our time for themselves. I urge the same on the other side as some of you support the Democratic Party and thus you are still thinking about your nominee and your vote in some cases. What I hope for is a wide-ranging discussion of America, its past, present and future. I believe these words are a step toward that goal.

Senator John McCain’s Speech at CPAC in D.C.

Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. It’s been a little while since I’ve had the honor of addressing you, and I appreciate very much your courtesy to me today. We should do this more often. I hope you will pardon my absence last year, and understand […]

"Eat Mor Chikin"

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:18-05:00February 7th, 2008|Categories: Personal|

Yes, the title you read above is right. This quote, for those of you who do not immediately recognize it, is the popular slogan of the Chick-fil-A restaurants begun over fifty years ago by Christian businessman, S. Truett Cathy of Atlanta. Cathy, born in 1921 in Eatonton, Georgia, received only a high school education. He has been a faithful Baptist layman and Sunday School teacher for many decades.
He has, simply put, made a lifetime of applying basic biblical principles to life and his business success. (He refuses, to this day, to open his stores on Sundays!)

Cathy is the author of several books, including Eat Mor Chikin Inspire More People: Doing Business the Chick-fil-A Way (Looking Glass Books, 2002) and the co-author with Ken Blanchard of The Generosity Factor: Discover the Joy of Giving Your Time, Talent and Treasure (Zondervan, 2002). […]