Blog - Page 311 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Truth About Hillary

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:57-05:00August 3rd, 2005|Categories: Politics|

I generally eschew public partisan political debates. (I have lots of private views on these matters). I do not believe such debates directly relate to my vision for renewing church and culture. Don’t misunderstand me. It is not that such debates are unnecessary. It is just that I do not see how I personally have a vital role in them in terms of my ministry. My calling is to apply the Scriptures to the church, and to culture, in ways that allow people of various partisan stances, both Democrats and Republicans, to "hear" the reforming Word that judges us all.

It is because of these ministry commitments that I generally resist talking and writing about Bill and Hillary Clinton. I have read several thousand pages of analysis and biography on Bill, and I have also read hundreds of pages on Hillary. Some of my reviews, of several books, are in print in our Reformation & Revival Journal. I do not "dislike" Bill Clinton. But it is also safe to say that I think the Clintons are a positive harm to American public […]

Moneyball and Life

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:57-05:00August 2nd, 2005|Categories: Baseball|

I am a baseball fan. No, make that "I am a huge baseball fan." I have loved the game since I was a small boy when I picked up my first bat and glove. In fact one of my first memories of childhood is playing pitch and catch with my dad in the backyard of my Tennessee home. And also of staying awake late at night with my portable radio in bed listening to the Cincinnati Reds or the St. Louis Cardinals.

I couldn’t hit very well so I never became a really good baseball player. I got hit by a pitched ball when I was very young and no one ever helped me stand back in the box and hit a thrown ball again without some measure of fear about getting hit. So I took what I knew about the game in my head and made it work for me in other ways. Had God not called me to the gospel ministry I think I would have become a sport’s writer and covered baseball for a major newspaper. I like to […]

WalMart or Costco Churches?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:57-05:00August 1st, 2005|Categories: The Church|

Can a business earn a fair profit and also take good care of its employees? Or put another way, can a modern cost-saving retail store improve on the WalMart philosophy made so popular throughout America? Apparently the answer, according to the New York Times, is "yes."

A recent article notes that Costco is doing exactly that. Making a good profit but sharing some of the profits with the workers and in the process doing the right thing for more than just their investors. The Times writes:

"Costco’s average pay is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam’s Club. And Costco’s health plan makes those at many other retailers look Scroogish. One analyst, Bill Dreher of Deutsche Bank, complained last year that at Costco ‘it’s better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder.’ . . . Mr. Sinegal (Costco), whose father was a coal miner and steelworker, gave a simple explanation. ‘On Wall Street, they’re in the business of making money between now and next Thursday . . . we can’t take that view. We want […]

A Kairos Moment?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:57-05:00July 29th, 2005|Categories: The Church|

When John Paul II died a few months ago a number of Catholic and non-Catholic theologians and commentators wondered out loud if this was a "kairos" moment for the church. These writers understand a "kairos" moment to be a specific time that becomes decisive in church history. Anthony Figueiredo, former special assistant to the pontiff, believes Rome is in fact going through such a moment. I am personally not convinced but remain open and prayerful.

But what about Protestantism, especially the historic European and North American variety? "Mainline, historic Protestantism seems spiritually and morally almost finished," wrote religion observer Uwe Siemon-Netto in April. And, added the popular Catholic journal New Oxford Review, "Mainline . . . denominations are slowly dying. Let them die a natural death."

Siemon-Netto asks: "Is this true? Will only Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam survive the current crisis of faith, as a senior religious affairs adviser to the European Commission predicted some years ago?"

Protestant minister Albrecht Immanuel Herzog argues that the answer is a resolute "No." He believes "the Spirit who is Lord […]

Beware the Ideologues

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 27th, 2005|Categories: Politics|

The ideologues are out in full force these days. These ideologues are visionary theorists who embrace a range of narrowly defined positions with considerable passion. And they are both conservative and liberal. You will see more and more of them as the Senate begins its confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in coming weeks. Their rhetoric will be strong, their emotions very high, and their knives carefully sharpened. But they will contribute very little of substance to an important civic discussion that such an event actually warrants.

Ann Coulter, one conservative voice I can personally do without most days, has already suggested that John Roberts is another "stealth nominee," likening him to present Supreme Court judges David Souter, Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor. And liberals on the far left have also begun their expected attacks on Roberts’ views on abortion. I am convinced John Roberts will rise above this partisan din and be confirmed, maybe quite easily. I hope so.

What fascinates me in this is how much the far left and far right are alike […]

A Little Internet Humor

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 26th, 2005|Categories: Humor|

It is said that a little humor is good for the soul. And nothing in the modern genre of humor may be better for the soul of Internet readers than fast-spreading Internet humor. My wife was sent as email yesterday that made me laugh out loud. I thought many of my readers would enjoy this as well so I provide it via today’s blog. If I could attribute the piece properly I would gladly do so but I feel sure the writer would be happy just to make a few more people smile.

I want to thank all of those who have taken the time and trouble to send so many email advisories over the past year.

Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy. ( I think)

Because of your concern, I no longer can drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans. In fact, I no longer […]

When Christian Ethics Are Not Christian

By John Armstrong|2005-07-24T20:43:33-05:00July 24th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

A great deal of ethical discussion today comes to us from Christian writers and ministries. Much of it is not really Christian at all. It may be advanced by Christians. And it may be supported by Christians. It may even be given in settings that appear to be Christian (churches, missions, radio and TV broadcasts by Christians, etc.) but in the end these arguments are not distinctly Christian at all.

Look, if an ethical argument can be made without any specific reference to Christ and the gospel then the argument being made is not Christian. It may be a solid moral argument. And it may well be right. But Christian ethics are Christian.

Oliver M. O’Donovan, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford University, wrote in 1994, that "The foundations of Christain ethics must be evangelical foundations, or, to put it more simply Christian ethics must arise from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Otherwise it could not be Christian ethics."

I think O’Donovan is quite right. I wish popular treatments of ethics by American conservatives would become […]

A Few More Thoughts on Imputation

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 19th, 2005|Categories: Biblical Theology|

When I have commented on imputation in the past few years I am sometimes asked if my position is "a classic Protestant position" on these matters. The answer is, in itself, a point for considerable discussion. The Lutherans clearly had a nuance on the matter. Calvin had yet another nuance and Bucer had yet a different one from Calvin. (They agreed on the main points, at least as I read them, but differed on minor ones.) I do believe that I am personally within the general framework of confessional Reformed theology, which I do affirm as the best system for understanding the trajectories of Scripture on these particular matters. (I do not, however, think that the Reformed confessions are the only important and necessary words of the Church on grace, faith, and union with Christ. Since salvation includes "sharing in the divine nature." Frankly, I think there is a great deal more to be said that is not included in these words of sixteenth century confessions).

I am further asked: "Is the gift of righteousness in salvation ‘the righteousness of Christ?’" Yes, it […]

Imputation

By John Armstrong|2005-07-18T07:01:17-05:00July 18th, 2005|Categories: Biblical Theology|

I am sometimes asked, due to the heated debates surrounding the so-called New Perspective on Paul, if I truly believe in imputation. To put it very simply, "What is my understanding of the relationship of Christ’s righteousness and his work of imputation?" I always answer this question as plainly as I know how.

No one will be saved without the imputed righteousness of Christ alone (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30, the only text that specifically refers to the idea of imputation by direct reference). I understand imputation to be the reckoning of our sins to Christ and the reckoning of his death (a righteous payment in the courtroom of divine justice, to use one Pauline metaphor) to us. He takes our sin and we receive his gift (forgiveness). What I do not see so plainly revealed in Scripture is the idea that Christ kept the law for us and by this action "merited" salvation for all who believe. In this thinking we are saved by merit, Christ’s merit. This kind of merit is what I do not see plainly revealed by Scripture. By […]

Its All About Relationships

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 13th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

Most American evangelicals give little or no thought to the role that Christian faith has in creating a vision for society. We have privatized our faith to great excess. We have, to put it another way, focused on the first commandment, that is to love God, but failed the second, to love our neighbor.

A wideranging reformation is spreading, in various parts of the world, that aims to change this pattern. Many bright, and often young, Christians believe that there is a distinctive Christian vision for society, a vision that challenges socialism, capitalism and all other fallen ideologies. This vision generally begins with a careful reading of the Book of Deuteronomy. When you realize that these laws were not an arbitrary collection of regulations and merely human ideas, but a pattern for how an ancient society should be organized so that it would flourish, you have a solid starting point. Indeed, you have much more than a negative critique of the modern ills of society, Western or otherwise.

Simply put, I believe that how we apply biblical social teaching to […]