Blog - Page 307 of 318 - John H Armstrong

What About the Word of Faith Movement?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:41-05:00October 19th, 2005|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

I have very little interest in attacking various modern movements and sub-movements within evangelicalism. At one time I thought this was important. I reasoned that I should constantly warn people about all the "bad" movements that existed in our church cultures so the sheep would not be led astray. I found, quite candidly, that this kind of ministry fed my ego since it put me "in the know." You can really build a reputation on "knowing all that is wrong" with this and that group, person, or movement. It sells books and it generates donors for sure. But does it do what it promises? I seriously doubt it.

I was reminded of all this again when my good friend Andrew Sandlin was recently asked by an email correspondent to comment on the dangers of the Word of Faith movement. Andrew’s response, short and to the point, sums up the way I now answer such questions the older I get. The writer noted to Andrew that various well-known Reformed voices had spoken strongly on the issue of WOF and this was why he […]

I Believe in Order to Know

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:41-05:00October 18th, 2005|Categories: Apologetics|

All true knowing comes from faith. Augustine put it this way: "I believe in order to know." The modern age replaced this ancient wisdom with the words of Descartes, cogito ergo sum, or "I think therefore I am." (This is a blatant heresy!) The sad fact is this kind of thinking eventually permeated the Christian church. We still haven’t shaken it to this day. Evangelicals buy into it every day when they argue for a kind of certainity of faith in ways that seem more like the conclusions of a mathematical formula than an appeal to the Word and the Spirit. This almost unchallenged approach seeks to "prove" the faith. But faith can’t be proven. If it is then it is no longer faith (Hebrews 11:1).

Descartes’ error was originally designed to help strengthen the Christain faith in intellectual battles brought on by the Enlightenment. In this case the cure of Descartes was worse than the problem. It divided knowledge into categories and created a kind of dualism that still cripples Christian thinking to this day. Whenever we speak of the head […]

God's Way in Dealing with Those Outside the Signs of Christ's Church

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:41-05:00October 17th, 2005|Categories: The Church|

I am working this week on finishing a volume for Zondervan on baptism. This is a book to appear in the Counterpoint Series, an excellent group of volumes designed to let Christians see different viewpoints on various issues that divide us. My book has four views which are represented by quite capable authors who are Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, and Christian Church. I have prepared the introduction, conclusion, bibliography, and an extensive appendix with various confessional statements on the subject of baptism. While doing this reading and collecting of confessional material over the weekend I came across a wonderful and interesting statement, from one of the great Reformation statements of faith (The Second Helvetic Confession), that suggests the church should not be bound by its signs. It says, in part:

But as yet we do not so strictly shut up the Church within those marks before mentioned, as thereby to exclude all those out of the Church who either do not participate in the sacraments (not willingly, nor upon contempt; but who, being constrained by necessity, do against their will abstain from them, […]

The Apologetic of Love

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:41-05:00October 14th, 2005|Categories: Apologetics|

Teaching apologetics in the A Quad (Fall Term) has been a real joy for me. My first quad class at Wheaton Graduate School ended yesterday. A new class, on spiritual formation, begins next Thursday (October 20). My seven students gave me their final papers yesterday, a written project in which they had to develop their own approach to apologetics and defend it.

Nothing brings more joy to a teacher than to know that his students have profited from a class he labored over. Reading the final papers for this class has shown me just how much this class transformed the lives of several of my students. I am a happy man today as I reflect upon this eight week course and what I have experienced afresh by such teaching.

One of my students graduated from a leading secular university (BA) where she became convinced, by trying to evangelize skeptical students, that apologetics was really all about the "skillful oratory and flawless logic" (her own words) of winning a debate. She wrote in her final paper that after our second class she […]

Do You Get What You Pay For?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:42-05:00October 12th, 2005|Categories: Baseball|

All baseball fans tend to love, or hate, the New York Yankees. When they win some fans are filled with joy. Others, like me, relish the moment. I became a real fan, at age eight, in 1957. That was the year the Milwaukee Braves beat the New York Yankees in seven games in the World Series. I became a real fan of the late Eddie Matthews and Warren Spahn, and the legendary Hank Aaron, who hit all those home runs without steroids!

Last night I relished the recent failure of the hated Yankees (who lost in the first round of the playoffs this year) while I was on my way to see my hometown Chicago White Sox play the Los Angeles Angels in Game One of the ALCS series on Chicago’s south side. What a thrill the whole evening was, with great atmosphere and true fun.

For those who don’t know this fact, the Yankees have, by far and away, the largest payroll in baseball. They pay in excess of 200 million dollars for twenty-five players to perform for 162 games. […]

Paganism is Alive and Well in America

By John Armstrong|2005-10-11T11:13:06-05:00October 11th, 2005|Categories: Religion|

I often hear evangelical Christians refer to everyday non-believers as "pagans." This designation is, of course, quite wrong. Pagans actually practice real religion, just not those most closely identified with Christianity or the more traditional religions of the world. Pagans build altars in their homes, they use religious symbols and icons, and they clearly promote ancient liturgies. Pagans are very religious folk. And they probably live right in your neighborhood.

Pagans employ "magick" (spelled with a "k" to differentiate it from the illusions and tricks performed by so-called magicians in shows) as central to faith. They hang certian kinds of flowers in their homes, use colors for various religious reasons, promote creativity in numerous ways, and they most definitely now live in the suburbs.

Modern pagans are most likely practitioners of Wicca, an earth religion steeped in ideas like energy and harmony. Pagans are monists, believing that all is one and one is all. And local "meet-up groups" for pagans abound across America. Such groups typically gather around a potluck meal, dancing and different types of rituals.

Not […]

The Loss of Simple Bible Reading

By John Armstrong|2005-10-06T11:05:55-05:00October 6th, 2005|Categories: Renewal|

I cease to be amazed at how few Christians actually read their Bible. It is no longer read in the Church or the home, or at least not read often or well.

I received a kind letter from a lady this week who is a reader of our theological quaterly, the Reformation & Revival Journal. She laments the absence (and silence) of the Scripture in her evangelical church. It is assumed, she notes, but not read. The children, she writes, are biblical illiterates, learning little moral lessons, and therapeutically oriented helpful insights, without much biblical foundation. The adults prefer pablum and easy lessons to hard thought. She further laments that even pastors are now doing their Bible study with computer technologies that lead them to do simplistic word studies which lead to proof texting and distortion. Our of this context pastors (she cites real life examples) are giving the results of this type of work to their flocks.

For nearly twenty years I have watched Bible reading steadily decline in America. The evidence is clear. Churches no longer read texts […]

Bush and the Supreme Court

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:42-05:00October 5th, 2005|Categories: Politics|

People seem generally stunned by President Bush’s nomination of Dallas attorney Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. The confirmation process is almost certianly to be interesting and contentious. The nation will be allowed to get to know more about this woman that few of us know anything about at the present moment.

I find the reaction of both the Left and the Right more than interesting. In fact, I find such reactions very revealing of the flaws on both sides. The far Left seems intent on opposing anyone Bush nominates. Have these folks forgotten that Clinton nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg was overwhelming approved with the wide support of Republicans who strongly opposed her views on many social issues? Have they also forgotten that Ginsburg refused to answer Republican questiuons about contentious social issues preferring rather to say that she would face each issue as fairly and openly as possible when it came to the Court? (This was exactly what John Roberts also said and did.) And have these liberals forgotten that the legal viewpoints of such justices are perennially a "campaign issue" and […]

Are We Seeing a Fourth Great Awakening?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:42-05:00October 4th, 2005|Categories: Renewal|

A growing number of Christian leaders are suggesting that the megachurch boom equals the next national revival, or a Fourth Great Awakening in American history. You can hear this kind of analysis almost every week. I heard it in Dallas this week. Megachurches talk about it constantly, as if talking a lot about it will make it happen. And I read the same analysis in my local paper (The Daily Herald) on Monday, October 3, in an article titled: "Signs of Revival, or Premature Leap of Faith?"

For religious and social analysts the dispute about present revival movements comes down to whether or not the changing shape of evangelical Christianity in America will translate into another large-scaled awakening, much like the three national movements that took place in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries.

Some of the "signs" that are cited for revival include the following:

1. A new mega-church (more than 2,000 people in worship) is now born in America every two days.

2. Rick Warren’s best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, has sold more […]

Higher Education in America

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:43-05:00September 30th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

The current issue of The Weekly Standard (October 3, 2005) has a marvelous article by James Piereson entitled "The Left University" (www.weeklystandard.com). It is must reading for serious Christian thinkers who care about the future of higher education in this country. It also explains the history of our universities by surveying the periods of greatest change, concluding that the period between 1965 and 1975 was plainly our most radical period of change. It was during this period that our universities moved from being liberal research institutions to ideological proponents of the social and political left. It was also during this time that "diversity" ideology became the mantra for most of our major schools.

Piereson believes that this is finally changing. Why? He offers several reasons within both modern history and culture. He concludes that "to a great degree, university faculties outside the sciences have lost the capacity either to understand or to influence the outside world." This is forcing university boards and leaders to rethink the role of such radical ideology on the campus, especially within their […]