Blog - Page 247 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Great Debaters

By John Armstrong|2007-12-25T17:57:07-06:00December 25th, 2007|Categories: Film|

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune calls the new film, The Great Debaters, a "Good story, well told." So it is. Featuring great stars like Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker, this movie also introduces the audience to some new stars who should get recognition for playing great supporting roles as college students and debaters. Critic Michael Phillips also wonders, in his review in the Tribune, "if people will go for it." I did. I loved it. It works and it inspires. I think most of you will go for it too. Let me try to tell you why.

The film is pure Hollywood, ending and all. It is full of cliches, simplistic and moving teaching moments and a great human story. But then what is wrong with all that, unless you are both a film critic and a cynic? This is the quintessential story of the underdog and it will likely sell to the public after it has what I think will be a brisk opening on Christmas day. (I saw it this afternoon and confess that I clapped, and shed a tear […]

Christmas is About Hope for the Whole World

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:30-05:00December 25th, 2007|Categories: Christ/Christology|

Political columnist and author E. J. Dionne, Jr., who writes for the Washington Post and The New Republic, is not a political writer I always agree with on a number of social issues, at least when it comes to the particular solutions he offers. At the same Dionne sometimes gets the big picture of things in an incredibly clear way. His editorial posting today, Christmas Day 2007, is titled: “The Radical Meaning of Christmas." (The word "radical" is often overused or misused but in this case Dionne is quite right.)

Like E. J. Dionne, Jr., I fear that we have lost “the radical meaning” of the Incarnation in the way we celebrate this season, with all its festivities and fun, and in the way the Church has gone about buying into all this fluff. Without a proper understanding of the birth of Christ the genuinely revolutionary aspect of hope that flooded the world on the day Christ as born is entirely lost on people.

Dionne writes:

Even more than faith and love, I think, hope is closest to the heart […]

"Peace to Those On Whom His Favor Rests"

By John Armstrong|2007-12-24T16:21:58-06:00December 24th, 2007|Categories: The Church|

The usual Christmas greeting we will hear today and tomorrow is the wish for "peace on earth." It has become the Hallmark theology of the left and the right in our time. It is even the greeting of many who are quite secular. After all, who could be against "peace on earth" anyway? There is only one problem with this popular greeting and oft quoted statement. It is not biblical.

The text comes from Luke 2:14 where the angel, speaking from the heavenly host who came to attend to Jesus’ birth, says, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." This brief hymn has been traditionally called "The Gloria in Excelsis Deo," because of the first words of the Latin Vulgate translation of the words: "Glory to God in the Highest." This text does not assure peace on earth to all people. It actually assures peace to all of those who are of his good pleasure (cf. Luke’s use of "pleased" and "good pleasure" in 3:22; 10:21; 12:32). The Roman world knew the […]

The Joys of Teaching Evangelism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:30-05:00December 22nd, 2007|Categories: Evangelism|

One of my greatest joys is the students I get to teach in evangelism and apologetics. I taught twelve such students this past July with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. These were all full-time college workers who serve Christ on the campus of both small and large schools across North America. I think these are some of the best frontline evangelists for Jesus I know. They are bright and they are full of faith, hope and love. The work they do really and truly changes lives and shapes the future of the nation in the process.

One of my students this past summer was a very sensitive, serious and dedicated young woman named Annie Michaels. Annie seemed to "eat up" my class and interacted with me in extremely encouraging ways. She was there by "divine appointment" and knew she was to learn and grow because of my class. She made such an impression on me that I wanted to keep in contact with her and to support her.

Annie’s December prayer letter tells how she presented the gospel in the open in […]

A Day in November I Shall Never Forget

By John Armstrong|2007-12-22T10:03:51-06:00December 22nd, 2007|Categories: Personal|

Many of you prayed for me during the time surrounding my mom’s death on November 19th. I will never be able to thank you enough for your loving intercession. You may also know that I preached the weekend following mom’s death, which was the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day. This was her home church, Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. Southwood has become one of my favorite churches in America. Dr. Michael Honeycutt, who is both a first-rate scholar and a real pastor, serves the people there as senior minister. He has become one of the truly excellent preachers I know. (You can hear Michael at the church’s Web site under the link that says "How to Connect.") He is also a man with a tender heart, an open mind and a genuinely teachable spirit. Mike and I can disagree and yet have never done so in a way that threatens a good friendship that grows with every visit we share. We agree on far more than we disagree on and where we disagree we do not make it an issue between us. I […]

Can We Be Tough Enough to Have Real Dialogue?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:31-05:00December 21st, 2007|Categories: Personal|

After posting my blog yesterday on our reason for loving God, and the debate that surrounds the concept of Christian hedonism my very bright nephew wrote me a private letter. His letter is so thoughtful and helpful that I share it.

Dear Uncle John:

I can’t say that I have any particular disagreement with anything you said and I certainly learned a lot from it. I can also see how this blog could be provocative, if not divisive, between two groups of believers who both love and walk with God. Shouldn’t we be encouraging each other (Piper and Armstrong) to love and good deeds and encouraging the other to do the ever important work of the kingdom and not get muddled in the details of our differences? "In the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” I just wonder if this is being charitable.

I so respect my nephew’s insights as a godly man and a very bright Christian physician, who is a well-trained professional in the field of pediatric oncology research, that I answered him this way:
[…]

Why Should I Love God?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:31-05:00December 20th, 2007|Categories: Spirituality|

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was known as one of the church’s greatest orators. He was also well known as one of the most "God-fearing and holy" monks who ever lived. He gave powerful impetus to the monastic movement during his lifetime and far beyond. He was reared in France by a knightly father and a godly and deeply religious mother. At the age of twenty-two he became a neophyte in the monastery in Citeaux (France). Three years later, as a young man of only twenty-five, he was sent out as the leader of a group of men to found a new monastery in Clairvaux. Though offered high positions in church leadership he consistently turned them all down to remain at Clairvaux for his entire life.

To the surprise of some Protestants his writings had a deep impact on both Martin Luther and John Calvin, among others. Over his 500 personal letters, hymns which are still sung, doctrinal treatises, and sermons, eighty-six on the Song of Solomon alone, we have quite a treasure of spiritual writing from this much admired Christian. One of […]

Why the "Huckaboom" Will Very Likely Fail

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:31-05:00December 19th, 2007|Categories: Politics|

I have been prodded by a few close friends to comment on the "boom" in Governor Michael Huckabee’s numbers in the recent Iowa polls. Will he win in Iowa? Is this the candidate that many social conservatives have been longing for over the last year or more? And if he wins in the Iowa caucus will people like James Dobson, and similar voices from the religious right that have remained rather silent about open endorsements, then line publicly up in support of Huckabee? I think the answers are yes and yes. He can win in Iowa and if he does win I expect many religious conservatives to come out big time for Mike Huckabee.

I have personally known for well over a year that some of these religious conservatives were lying in the weeds waiting for this boom. Huckabee was their man, in private, for some time but these political operatives knew he was a political dark horse. They waited and waited. Now that he is leading and getting attention expect more from them on the virtues of a Huckabee presidency. The […]

The Financial Needs of ACT 3 at the End of 2007

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:32-05:00December 18th, 2007|Categories: Donors and Funding|

Each year the mission of ACT 3 depends on year-end donations to make the difference in meeting our budget and finishing the calendar year without debt. This is no less true in 2007 than in the past. We have improved our situation by adding more regular donors, including many who use our secure Web site donations feature, but our cash short fall is still an issue as we approach December 31st.

Readers of this blog will include some who visit this site to read and enjoy, or even to find new reasons to disagree with me and the opinions I offer on various subjects that relate to Christian faith and culture. I am very glad that you visit this site and welcome you to gain anything from these posts that you can.

Others who read these blogs become more interested in the mission behind the blogs. This means that some of you would like to be informed of our needs in order to be good stewards. If you are inclined at all to support ACT 3 the remainder of […]

How Emotion Impacts Our Memory

By John Armstrong|2007-12-17T11:42:25-06:00December 17th, 2007|Categories: Science|

Does emotion impact human memory? Apparently it does. Researchers have uncovered new evidence in mice that may explain how emotionally charged situations can leave such a powerful mark on our human memories. Surges of the stress hormone nor-epinephrine (also known as non-adrenaline) often accompany strong emotions and then spark a series of events that strengthen the connections between neurons, based on reports in the October 5 issue of the journal Cell.

Put simply we can all remember where we were, and what we were doing and feeling, on 9/11. And my generation remembers the assassination of President Kennedy in much the same way. Most of you do not recall what you were doing on 9/10/01 at all. And I have no profound memory of the November day before JFK was shot in 1963 but I will remember the famous date forever. Why?

One reason for this kind of emotional memory is that the brain transfer the emotions of significant experiences into our long term memory. Indeed, studies have also shown that heightened states of emotion can facilitate both learning and memory. […]