Blog - Page 306 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Purpose Makes the Difference

By John Armstrong|2005-11-11T15:40:06-06:00November 11th, 2005|Categories: History|

If history is to have real meaning it must have purpose. It must be going somewhere. If no specific end is in view then all things loose their meaning and life becomes pointless. Humans have known this from time immemorial. And Christians, of all people, need to remind the modern world of this regularly. If all we do is live and die then the work of our hands has no long term importance and all is vain.

The famous Henry Ford once concluded that "History is one damned thing after another." He’s right, if Christ did not rise. Resurrection gives meaning to all things. If the grave is the end then history doesn’t matter. My story is bunk and so is your’s.

The Greeks called this telos, or purpose, the end for which something was made or existed. The Christian faith sees Christ as the true telos, the goal and end of all history. If we would live well, we must stay focused on Christ as the telos of all things. Only then will history not become "one damned thing […]

Why I Am Not an Evangelical

By John Armstrong|2005-11-10T09:00:40-06:00November 10th, 2005|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

I have long defined myself as an evangelical Christian. It seemed to be the best way to say certain things about what I believed, both positively and negatively. This word carries some pretty deep significance historically. And it still carries some really positive meaning for me emotionally in terms of my own training, background and spiritual life. Clearly, in certain circumstances, it still does have some significance for me. But I have decided, at least in the larger world outside of my professional life at Wheaton and in some churches, that I will no longer call myself an evangelical. Why?

1. There is no inherent necessity for using the word as a term of self-description. If it means "gospel-cenered" then I can say that more plainly without using the word itself. If it means that I have a high view of the Bible then my words and actions will show that soon enough.

2. I am further convinced that most non-evangelicals do not have a clue about what I mean when I use this word. For this reason alone I keep […]

A Foolish Consistency

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:40-05:00November 9th, 2005|Categories: Personal|

The American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson is quotable if he is anything at all. His poems, reflections and sheer good sense, mixed with the truly odd at times, are still worth consideration.

I reflected a great deal this past week upon one of his greatest and most commonly cited lines:

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."

I find a "foolish consistency" all too common among conservative Christians who would remove the mystery of divine revelation in order to protect what they have come to think of as essential. Usually this fear is rooted in the ignorance of the Christian tradition, not in real knowledge of the truly important matters. Knowing the Christian tradition will actually allow you to know what truly matters and what doesn’t. It will also provide for you a North Pole to which your life’s compass will return time and time again.

It is best that you learn to resist foolish consistency sooner than later. It will definitely free you to worship and ponder […]

Waiting Impatiently in Patience

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:40-05:00November 3rd, 2005|Categories: Biblical Theology|

Besides being a baseball fan, which is well known to regular readers of this site, I also love college football. Afterall, I was a student at the University of Alabama from 1967-1969 and witnessed the famous Bear Bryant’s amazing career first hand. To say that I, and the rest of Bama Nation, enjoy an 8-0 start to this season, and a number four national ranking, is an understatement. And I also have immense respect for Coach Mike Shula, a devout Roman Catholic Christian. He inherited a real mess at Alabama only two plus seasons ago. By the beginning of this season some were already grumbling about his leadership and the losses. Fans, especially Alabama fans, are fickle and impatient. They want to win early and often.

I thought about this success story as I read my local sport page today and came across a wonderful article about another coach on the hot seat, Tyrone Willingham. He is the head football coach at the University of Washington. Willingham, one of the few black head coches in Division IA of college football, is the deposed […]

Some Perspective on the New Perspective

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:40-05:00November 1st, 2005|Categories: Biblical Theology|

I have professor friend, who teaches biblical studies at a large evangelical college, who last week presented a paper at an event called "Beyond Tolerance: Grace." This event brought together several speakers and allowed for some really good feedback from students and others. My friend stressed in his particular paper that racial reconciliation, in the light of Ephesians 2, Galatians 3 and Paul’s Letter to the Romans, was not just a good thing to pursue but rather an effort that required our involvement based upon the gospel itself. He argued that statements of both vertical and horizontal reconciliation are inseparable so that you can’t have one without the other.

In an email my freind asked me to pray for him as several members of the faculty had expressed the concern that he was confusing justification by his particular emphasis on reconciliation. As some readers will recognize this type of thinking is at the heart of one of the major aspects of the present debate over justification language in Paul’s theology. N. T. Wright correctly argues that justification includes the tearing down of […]

Another Roman Catholic on the High Court?

By John Armstrong|2005-10-31T10:05:39-06:00October 31st, 2005|Categories: Culture|

With President Bush’s nomination of Judge Samuel Alito for confirmation to the Supreme Court, we have the potential of another Roman Catholic justice on the high court. This little known fact means there would be five Catholic justices on the high court if Alito is confirmed. This would be a staggering historical fact but will likely go almost unnoticed in the press. I find it worth considering for a number of important reasons.

1. Before the present generation this could never have happened. Protestant America would not have allowed this to occur prior to the past forty years. Rest assured, this unspoken prejudice still exists but it will have no bearing on the outcome of this debate.

2. Political "Know Nothingism" is thankfully dead. The reality that for generations this country would not have approved a Roman Catholic to such a position is a sad fact. One of our last great religious tests, and the prejudice that fostered it, is almost gone.

3. This nomination will bring, as I noted above, the number of Roman Catholic justices to five. […]

A Reformation Day in Detroit

By John Armstrong|2005-10-30T17:08:27-06:00October 30th, 2005|Categories: Personal|

I preached the Reformation Day services at Ward Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) in Northville, Michigan (Detroit area), today. My day was quite full, with four services in all. The music and services were all inspiring and well done. Jimmy McGuire, the senior pastor, has become a very good friend that I have come to love and respect. He has served Ward Church for ten years, after a solid twenty-three year pastorate in Jackson, Mississippi. Jimmy has done exceptional work in leading this megachurch into new faciities and then in paying off a thirty million dollar debt in only eight years! A lot of men would have wilted under these pressures and demands.

Simply put, large churches are not easy to pastor, especially if the pastor inherited the leadership of the church after a long and successful pastorate. What it takes is the love of a true shepherd, the skill of a very good preacher, and the adminsitrative ability of a forward thinker to guide a large institution wisely, for a senior pastor to succeed. Ward is an old church, with a good number […]

Chicago Has a Champion and Its Not the Cubs

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:41-05:00October 27th, 2005|Categories: Baseball|

Last night, at 10:42 p.m., fireworks were going off all over my community. Neighbors were celebrating the first World Series championship in Chicago in 88 years. Thats a long time to go without a champion. In fact, only the Chicago Cubs, those lovable losers, are now more desperate for a championship, having not won in 97 years! And the die-hard Cubs fan had his worst nightmare come true last evening.

For Chicago fans like me I am not sure if we know how to savor this moment. Most of us have lived an entire lifetime without knowing what it meant to win in this city at all. If ever a fan base had to learn to wait patiently in adversity it was us. Year after year we made runs at it. Sometimes we even made the post-season, only to go out all too quickly. The last AL pennant was 1959. I still remember rooting for the Go-Go Sox, all speed and no hitting, who lost 4 games to 2 to the LA Dodgers. Well, the misery is finally over. We have twelve […]

Finding a Perfect Church

By John Armstrong|2005-10-26T21:13:41-05:00October 26th, 2005|Categories: The Church|

I suppose the most egregious denial of the need to be a vital part of a church is the commonly heard statement that "There is no such thing as a perfect church."

Of course there is no perfect church. The statement is so self-evident that it borders on the ridiculous. Where did anyone ever get the idea that a church might possibly be perfect anyway? Clearly not from the New Testament. Not one church in the New Testament seems to have been without major problems.

I still remember when I heard students in the 1960s suggest that what we really needed was a "New Testament Church." I once asked, "Which one? The one in Ephesus that had left its first love? The one in Laodicea that was lukewarm? Or how about the one in Corinth with all its specific problems enumerated in Paul’s two epistles?"

I have come to the simple conclusion that people today will find any reason possible for remaining neutral, or negative, toward becoming deeply involved in a local church. Idealism is the enemy […]

Rusell Crowe: Lessons from a Great Actor

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:41-05:00October 25th, 2005|Categories: Film|

I confess, Russell Crowe is my favorite contemporary film actor. His performance as John Nash, in "A Beautiful Mind," stole my allegiance from any others who were previously at the top of my list. And his most recent performance as James J. Braddick ("Cinderella Man"), the heavyweight boxing champion of the 1930s, was a role that seemed made specifically for Russell Crowe. And I have not even mentioned his leading role in the epics "Gladiator" and "Master, Commander." I think Russell Crowe can simply act, there is just no queston about it.

To my great pleasure Russell Crowe was featured on an NBC Inflight Interview on my United Airlines flight from Sacramento back to Chicago yesterday. The interview was almost as brilliant as the subject. Several lessons stand out to me that I think are worth your thought.

First, Russell Crowe (a native of New South Wales and New Zealand) was trained in the art of acting by doing it, not just by formal schooling. Most of us can use all the formal schooling possible to perfect any skills we […]