Blog - Page 308 of 318 - John H Armstrong

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 […]

Interpreting the Bible: The False Assumptions of Modernism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:43-05:00September 29th, 2005|Categories: Hermeneutics|

An excellent new book, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament (Baker Academic, 2005), by Professor Peter Enns of Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia), has begun to stir controversy in very conservative circles. This is particularly sad to me since I know Professor Enns to be a careful scholar who is totally faithful to the authority of Holy Scripture. [A review of this book will appear in our Reformation & Revival Journal in a forthcoming issue.]

The first review that I have seen of Inspiration and Incarnation appears in the current issue of New Horizons (Octoebr 2005), the magazine of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. This magazine, read by many OPC pastors and elders, as well as by other conservative Reformed ministers, will have some influence. I can only hope it will have very little negative influence with regard to this very excellent book. Let me explain.

Dr. Enns writes for Christians who think deeply about the nature of Scripture and who are also committed to a confessionally high view of inspiration. He believes, however, that there are […]

The Soul of True Science

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:43-05:00September 23rd, 2005|Categories: Science|

The methods of modern science rest upon an assurance that the world is both rational and contingent. Science advances by the observation of phenomena and through induction from the results of this observation. Nature is really real and scientists can give us the practical insight into how it works.

Over the course of the past few hundred years, however, science has also sought to provide an ultimate explanation of all things. This is where it has finally failed us. Charles Darwin, the high priest of the modern movement’s ideology noted: "A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections—a mere heart of stone." Darwin wrote as a rigorous scientific rationalist.

The church does not do science. It should respect science and not fight it. But the church provides what science cannot—clear testimony that someone, from outside our natural world, has spoken and this word can direct our public and private lives. When science has only "a mere heart of stone" it denies that there is someone who creates, sustains, judges and redeems. When it denies a personal God it […]

A Godly Man Seeks Office

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:43-05:00September 22nd, 2005|Categories: Politics|

I do not make it a practice to "endorse" political candidates. I believe active Christian ministers, who serve the gospel as their primary calling, should speak faithfully and prophetically to all parties, all practices and all viewpoints, without aligning themselves or their ministry with political decision making. Ever so often I have a friend who feels "called" to enter the political arena out of faithfulness to God’s call upon his or her life. Such is the case with Jerry Zandstra in the state of Michigan. Jerry is seeking the Republican nomination for the U. S. Senate in his state. Jerry Zandstra’s candidacy is a long shot but it is one that I pray for almost daily. Win or lose I am glad he took the risk and followed his sense of God’s calling in his life.

I met Jerry Zandstra, a forty-two year old Christian Reformed Church minister, through the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids. Jerry is a keen thinker, with world class experience. He has spent a good deal of time in the developing world, visiting countries as varied as Zambia, […]

Politics Does Not Change Culture

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:43-05:00September 21st, 2005|Categories: Culture|

Perhaps the most eggregious error being made by conservative Christians, with regard to our present attempts to promote morality and Christian witness in the public sphere, is the false notion that politics can actually change culture. Make no mistake about it, politics is important in a culture. But it is not primary in importance. The long absence of evangelicals in the realm of politics, for many decades, had tragic effects. I am personally grateful for the good men and women, both Democrats and Republicans, who feel it is a divine calling to pursue service through elected office. But if given the choice I would much rather teach and make disciples through the ministry of the church personally.

My reasons for this preference are not what you might think. I do not see ordained Christian ministry as a "higher calling" at all. We need Christian lawyers, Christian artists, Christian teachers, Christian shop owners, Christian government workers, and Christian servants in general in all capacities of life. Work is itself a vocation of God and thus a good thing.

The problem here […]

Three Vital Qualities for Ministers

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:43-05:00September 16th, 2005|Categories: The Christian Minister/Ministry|

One of my dearest friends, a fellow minister of the gospel, regularly challenges both my mind and heart about gospel ministry. The two of us have walked together as brothers and best friends for nearly thirty years. In conversation yesterday, and after writing the blog that I posted on ambition (September 15), my friend’s three point test for good ministers is one that I feel worth sharing.

The three qualities that you should look for in every minister, and that every minister must cultivate in their personal life, are:

1. Humility

2. Self Critique

3. The ability to listen

I can’t think of any qualities in a person that are more vital to true success in true pastoral ministry than these. In fact, when one or more of these is missing the pastor will fail over the long haul, even though outwardly there may appear to be real success. (Don’t be confused by a minister’s great gifts since gifts do not make a true minister.) If you are searching for a minister for a local church make these […]