Blog - Page 85 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:24-05:00May 20th, 2012|Categories: Uncategorized|

Each Monday I send a weekly article to subscribers who request it at ACT 3. I have been writing and archiving these 1,200 to 2,000 word articles for about eight years. Before blogging became popular, and before I stopped writing for print publication through ACT 3's quarterly journal and bi-monthly magazine, which were published until 2006, I write a more reflective and carefully edited article. Some of these have/will become more permanent in the form of books we intend to publish in the next few years. This weekly article is less personal, and more heavily footnoted and arranged, that my blogs. Further, most blogs are 300-1,000 words. Beginning today I am trying something that I've never done–I am publishing two articles (May 21 and May 28) and composing blogs that correspond to these articles at the same time. Thus I am syncing my articles and my blogs for several weeks. The reason is twofold. First, I would like readers of this blog to subscribe to the articles at ACT 3. Second, I would like readers of the articles to visit […]

A Strange Encounter with Evil in Phoenix

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:24-05:00May 18th, 2012|Categories: Personal, Spiritual Warfare|

Last Sunday evening in Phoenix I was enjoying a lovely dinner with Jeff and Patti Gokee, along with their two sons, Ben (11) and Cooper (8). A man unexpectedly came up to our table to verbally assault Jeff and me for what we had been conversing about with Ben and Cooper. It was surreal, shocking. I confess that I have never had a total stranger approach me in a restaurant with curses and insults during dinner. The place grew silent as people watched in amazement. Jeff and I both thought it was a joke until the man began to call us names and assault us angrily with everything he had but his fists.

To understand this verbal assault you must know that Ben (11) wanted to discuss some pressing theological concerns with me and his dad has encouraged him to ask at dinner. His questions were about his brother Cooper (8), who has been in a battle with leukemia for several months now. (You could easily tell that Cooper has been undergoing some serious medical issues by […]

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:24-05:00May 17th, 2012|Categories: ACT 3, Baseball|

My passion for baseball is almost legendary. I enjoy a relaxing day at the ballpark about as much as anything I can do for pure fun. I miss baseball after the World Series in October every year, just like clockwork. I long for Spring and the crack of the bat around March 1. Sometimes we even plan a five-day Florida trip just to see Spring Training.

Since 1957 I have been a Braves fan, first in Milwaukee and now in Atlanta. I live and die with my Boys of Summer and thus I love the Braves! I have seen them win two World Series Championships in my lifetime (1957 and 2005). They should have won two more, in 1958 and 2006 but both times the Yankees rallied to beat them in seven games. I stuck with them when they were perennial losers and since I came to Chicago in 1969 I have tried to see them play […]

Reasons That This Is a Great Time to Be Alive: Should We Be Optimistic?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:24-05:00May 16th, 2012|Categories: Uncategorized|

I am frankly amazed, and sometimes amused, at the pervasive pessimism of so many. Christians, of all people, have an abundance of reasons to be hopeful, even optimistic. I refer, of course, to the biblical reasons that are at the core of our faith.

But there are other reasons as well. These reasons are not religious in nature but just pure common sense. I am so wearied of the pessimism and constant refrain that "America is so bad now and things have never been worse." Really? Are you kidding me?

The April issue of Reader's Digest included an adapted article by Matt Ridley with the title, "Cheer Up: 17 Reasons It's a Great Time to Be Alive." Though the world is gripped by a global economic crisis and afflicted with poverty, disease and war Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist, believes that there has never been a better time in history to be alive. Is […]

Why It's Important to Oppose Anti-Sharia Movements in America

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:25-05:00May 15th, 2012|Categories: America and Americanism, Islam, Separation of Church & State|

Since 9-11 many Americans have reacted strongly against Muslims and Islamic laws. Some see the presence of Muslims as a threat to our nation. Others are more open but are still guided by a great deal of fear when it comes to Muslim practice. Many conservative commentators stir up a general, and often ill-defined, negative reaction to Islamic culture. The truth is that this is a culture they neither understand nor care to understand with any degree of empathy. Christians can, and should, do much better. If for no other reason we have clear statements from our Lord about loving our neighbors, even our enemies. Though this does not mean that we should be anything less than vigilant with regard to radical Islamic movements and people (for reasons of security) it also does not mean that we should oppose Islamic movements, people or their laws. It is this last idea (Muslim laws) that I write about today.

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The Will of the Majority, the Rights of the Minority and the Bill of Rights

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:25-05:00May 14th, 2012|Categories: America and Americanism, Politics|

In my college days I took one of the toughest undergraduate classes offered at Wheaton College. It was a course on constitutional law taught by a rigorous and demanding professor who knew the history of the debates very well. The class was a challenge and getting a decent grade was really hard work. But I believe that course may have done as much to shape my view of America as any single college course I ever took. More than forty years later I remain grateful for this class. It has helped me understand America in a way that I think far too few Christians get, especially in the heat of modern debates over political opinions, left or right.

I learned then, and have seen since, that debates about the interpretation of the Bill of Rights are common in modern American political and social debate. Ever since I can remember we have debated judicial activism. Whether from the political left […]

The Stain That Stays: How Should We Respond to the Sexual Misconduct of Pastors/Leaders?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:25-05:00May 11th, 2012|Categories: Ethics, Sexuality|

What should happen to pastors who fall into sexual misconduct? Should they return, repentant, to their pulpits/leadership within weeks or months – or should they return at all?

Around the world sexual misconduct is defeating ministers and destroying ministries. As the numbers of fallen leaders grow it is crucial to know what should happen to them – for their good and for the good of the Church. Does the Bible and church history give us any help with these kinds of questions?

In the 1990s, when sexual misconduct among some rather well-known evangelical pastors in America reached major proportions, I began to question the practices of various churches and organizations in how they handled a major moral problem. I also studied abundant evidence that suggested this problem was massive in scale and scope. Very few were interested then but the evidence I gave then has only grown more obvious over time. We have a crisis […]

Growing Into the Mystery That Is God

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:25-05:00May 10th, 2012|Categories: God's Character, Mysticism, Spirituality|

The apostle John says, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18).

God’s people in the Old Testament age were like us in their deep desire to see and know God. In the book of Exodus, God forbade the making of images, not because God is remote from us, but rather because no words, no concepts, no images and no power of imagination can define or describe God. Images can only give an impression that you understand or comprehend the incomprehensible. That you can limit the limitless. Israel was not permitted to see the form of God thus God spoke from the fire or from the cloud.

However, in the opening words of the Epistle to the Hebrews we read:

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has […]

The Christian Mystical Tradition: Its Value and Place

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:27-05:00May 9th, 2012|Categories: Mysticism, Spirituality|

In the New Testament the Greek word for mystery, musterion, occurs twenty-eight times. Twenty-one are in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Mystery is vital to Christian faith and understanding. Yet the concept has been frequently misunderstood too.

The best theology has always maintained that what is known must be balanced by what is not clearly known. God is a mysterium trememdum et fascinans, compelling the worshiper with awe toward him but remaining ultimately beyond the grasp of human reason and imagination. The so-called mystical tradition, which uses all the available means to approach God (reason, prayer, meditation, spiritual imagination, the sacraments, etc.), finds its biblical roots in a text like Colossians 2:2–3:

²My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

It was once thought that Paul […]

The Constant Struggle for a Proper Understanding of the Separation of Church and State

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:31-05:00May 8th, 2012|Categories: Separation of Church & State|

A growing number of Americans, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll, say that mixing religion in politics makes them uneasy. In 2010 29% said that there was too much religious talk from those in political office. 37% said there was too little. In both the 2010 and 2012 polls 25% said the amount was just about right. The numbers are almost reversed in a March 2012 survey. 38% now say that the mixture of religion with politics is too high and 30% said it was too little.

There are several ways to read this data. One obvious response is to recognize the obvious. We are in an election year during which some Republicans made religion a central part of their rhetoric during the primaries. I honestly expect this to tone down quite a bit during the general election between Governor Romney and President Obama. Both seem far more moderate and less likely to continually engage in religous […]