Blog - Page 253 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Understanding the Nature of My Football Blogs

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:38-05:00November 5th, 2007|Categories: College Football|

My brother spoke to me this evening by phone and expressed the concern that readers might think I have a special angst, or personal vendetta, against Coach Charlie Weis, the football coach at Notre Dame. The truth is I respect the Irish football tradition immensely. Seeing a game in South Bend is a glorious experience and the university is a class place. I walked on the field the night before a game against Alabama some years ago and then watched the Irish bury my team in every way the next day. The fans were classy and the place was first rate. So, Irish fans, please do not think I am against you. My point is that this is a very bad team and this is, to all appearances, a very bad coach. The university will make their own determination about him and I expect, as I have already indicated, that he will get one more season to show that he can win as a head coach.

Bottom line: Notre Dame is good for college football much like the Yankees are good, in […]

Looking Over the New Evangelical Titles

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:38-05:00November 5th, 2007|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

I had some time this morning, cleaning up my desk after a busy two weeks, to sort through some new book catalogs from several mainstream evangelical publishers. Included in my stack were also two brochures inviting me to two national pastors’ events for early 2008. My feelings about evangelicalism in America run deep as my readers know. I am an evangelical, if Mark Noll’s simple definition is used. Yet I have confessed many times over that I do not much like the term in the public arena. I much prefer to call myself a classical Christian. By this I mean that I receive the Holy Scripture as the fully authoritative and divinely inspired Word and the earliest ecumenical creeds as the best witness to what the Church ought to believe at its core, or center. I believe in holy tradition and I am an heir of the Reformation, as a minister in the Reformed Church (RCA). I am also happy to work widely with mainline Christians and evangelicals who are non-Reformed. But then I also work with Catholic and Orthodox Christians who join me […]

Norman Shepherd is No Heretic

By John Armstrong|2007-11-03T21:12:31-05:00November 3rd, 2007|Categories: Biblical Theology|

We concluded our ACT 3 Biblical Forum today in Carol Stream. It was a wonderful time for many of us to sit under the teaching of Norman Shepherd. Rev. Shepherd, for those who do not know him at all, was a professor at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia and in the late 1970s came under fire for teaching that the faith by which we are brought into union with Christ in salvation, i.e., the faith that brings justification in the present and at the final judgment, is vital, living, penitent, obeying faith. Shepherd also challenged two other ideas that are held by some Reformed thinkers, though surely not all by a long shot. First, he believes that the is no "covenant of works" made with Adam in the creation by which Adam could have merited his salvation if he had obeyed God. Second, Shepherd believes that we are imputed the righteousness of Christ as forgiveness and pardon but we are not imputed his active obedience, which is an idea that follows the "covenant of works" notion. This second idea says that we are saved by […]

The Longest The Losing Streak in College Football Ends in South Bend

By John Armstrong|2007-11-03T20:53:49-05:00November 3rd, 2007|Categories: College Football|

Notre Dame’s storied football history can not go much lower than it did today. Navy, who has not beaten Notre Dame since 1963 (when Roger Staubach quarterbacked the Midshipmen), ended the longest losing streak against an opponent in college football history. This is the game all ND fans pencil in every season as a sure win. Well, today it did not happen. And once again Charlie Weis must be questioned. He eschewed a makable field goal on a fourth down play late in the game and it cost him big time. Eventually the Irish lost in the third overtime. Congratulations to Navy! They deserved to win the game.

I have to confess to you big time Irish fans that I have no sympathy for your excuses about this coach or this team. Navy doesn’t have a single "blue chip" recruit on their entire roster. There is no way a team that lost to Delaware last week, and earlier to Ball State, should go into South Bend and outplay Notre Dame. Navy had more heart and more spirit than the formerly "fighting" Irish. […]

Is It Ever Wrong to Do Overt Public Evangelism?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:38-05:00November 2nd, 2007|Categories: Evangelism|

Erika Corder is a serious young Christian and a sophomore at nearby Wheaton College, my alma mater. She has been in the news recently because of a federal lawsuit she brought against her former high school in Colorado. The suit may well have implications for the freedom of speech and religious expression in the days ahead. For Corder, whose father worked for Focus on the Family and mother worked at the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs, her trouble came in the spring of 2006 when she gave a valedictory speech at Lewis Palmer High School. She saw this short speech as a great opportunity to spread the gospel and thus she made a very specific reference to Jesus and expressed the hope that her fellow students would come to know him as their Savior.

The real problem with Corder’s case is not that she spoke of Christ in public. This is allowable, at least in certain instances and ways. The issue is that the school had a specific policy on all valedictory speeches. They had to be written in advance and then […]

Governor Ryan Finally Gets Justice

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:38-05:00November 1st, 2007|Categories: Current Affairs|

I have commented on former governor George Ryan, of Illinois, on several previous occasions. He was convicted of several crimes earlier this year and has now run out of appeals, except to the U. S Supreme Court. For those who remember this case the major issue was "bribes for licenses" while Ryan was Secretary of State. The impact of his decisions led to the death of seven children whose parents are personal friends of mine. The story made the national news many years ago. As the proceedings unfolded, over the last nine years or so, Ryan ran for governor and won. By the end of his four-year term he was discredited and facing a serious trial. He thus becomes the third Illinois governor in my lifetime to go to prison. (We must lead the nation in this category!) Ryan’s situation also helped to destroy the viability of a once strong Illinois Republican party.

Ryan’s attorneys were seeking a motion for bond to allow him to appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court but on Wednesday this was refused by the three-judge panel […]

Luther and Reformation Day

By John Armstrong|2007-10-31T15:34:48-05:00October 31st, 2007|Categories: Reformed Christianity|

Today is All Saints’ Eve, Halloween and, most importantly, Reformation Day. Several newspapers, including the L. A. Times, have noted the significance of this date in Western history. (The year 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary.) I think the celebration of the Reformation is making a slight comeback in many of our churches over the past few years. There seems to have been a 25 year movement away from identification with our heritage in many evangelical Protestant circles.

The Rev. Nathan P. Feldmuth, professor of medieval and Reformation history at Fuller Theological Seminary, noted in the L. A. Times article that "The Reformation is about the centrality of Christ in the life of the individual and centrality of the word of God in worship. At the heart of the Reformation is the doctrine of justification by faith—meaning people are saved by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, not by good deeds."

Most people know that there were serious doctrinal debates in the Reformation era that have shaped Church history and practice ever since. People also know about corrupt practices in […]

Understanding Four Views on the Lord's Supper

By John Armstrong|2007-10-31T15:09:06-05:00October 31st, 2007|Categories: Biblical Theology|

My new book, Understanding Four Views on the Lord’s Supper, was released this week by Zondervan. A link for Lifeway Christian stores (in a pdf file) will let you see the book and also provides a good description of it. You can order it from our Web site for $12, plus shipping, or from any major store or online source. The book seeks to answer numerous questions about the Lord’s Supper and includes a Baptist, Reformed, Lutheran and Roman Catholic contribution. I honestly do not know another book like it, especially since we included the Catholic view of the Mass. I believe it fosters both good biblical thought and the right measure of helpful ecumenism. I hope you will agree and I hope you will read it.

The Biggest Businessman in Johnstown, PA

By John Armstrong|2007-10-30T20:46:11-05:00October 30th, 2007|Categories: Politics|

The Wall Street Journal ran a front page story today on the U. S. Congress and the leaders in pork spending. The biggest pork producer in the entire country is none other than peace-advocate John Murtha (D., Pennsylvania). Said the Journal, "If John Murtha were a businessman, he’d be the biggest employer in town." Murtha has used his power and influence in Congress to create thousands of jobs and steer billions of federal dollars into his hometown in Western Pennsylvania. Whether it is money to recover from flooding or money to cover for the loss of steelmakers the people of Murtha’s district can count on John to bring home the pork. He clearly delivers. And this guy is shameless. He gets a lot of this pork from spending bills for the military budget. In the new military-spending bill before Congress Murtha channels more money to his district than other other member of Congress. Does anyone besides me see the plain as daylight hypocrisy of this man?

Make no mistake about this. Your dollars, regardless of where you live, benefit John Murtha’s district […]

Someone Else Has a Negative Perspective on Charlie Weis

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:22:38-05:00October 29th, 2007|Categories: College Football|

I have written several blogs about Coach Charlie Weis of
Notre Dame. My lack of respect grows the longer I watch this terrible season for
the Irish unfold. (You know things are desperate in South Bend when they “hope” they can beat Navy this week at home
and they are only a slight favorite by all the betting odds!) I am not alone in my strong response to Coach Weis. Consider this recent article by Jonathan Chait, a senior editor at The New Republic, posted at Slate.com. I think he is right on target myself.

Weiss will likely survive this one very bad season. But if there is not real improvement next year, and that includes beating a few ranked or credible teams, he will very likely be gone. Remember, his record against ranked teams is very bad regardless of what he does this season. The school will very likely buy out his long-term contract at the end of next year, a contract they never should have given in the first place. Then they can find a much better and happier fit […]