This book had gems of prophetic insight, but I was left wanting more.
Devout: A Memoir of Doubt (2024) by Anna Gazmarian is a courageous and thought-provoking memoir that offers an intimate look at the intersection of mental health
Many Christians know the stories of Genesis and Exodus, but hit a wall when they reach Leviticus. All of the rules about sacrifice, ritual, and
“When was the last time you heard the words poem and pulpit in the same sentence? Likely asnot, your answer would be never.” It’s with
Absent from most of our climate-related emotional inventory is delight, contentedness or joy.
America is a politically polarized country. We see it all around us, but it is particularly visible now, in the middle of a pandemic. The
In today’s polarized climate politics can be difficult to navigate—especially with friends and family. In this interview, Steve has a conversation with President Greg Christy
Book Review: Reformed Theology & Evolutionary Theory, by Gijsbert van den Brink, Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2020. By Tony Jelsma, Professor of Biology, Dordt College, Sioux
The polarization of the United States is most recently symbolized by the mask—a small piece of cloth with two rubber bands that has become a
Recent conversations about diversity initiatives in higher education include two complicated, interconnected issues: religious civility and progressive ideologies. For example, in October 2018, Eboo Patel
I got to church very late last Sunday. So late, in fact, that the minister was leaving the pulpit precisely as I arrived. I know
This past weekend, a man entered a Pittsburgh synagogue and massacred 11 people gathered for worship. The assailant was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle,
As a scholar of physics, a product of Christian liberal arts education, and current physics professor at a Christian liberal arts college, I hold the
In late October, a gunman opened fire on a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing eleven people, making it the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders
This article is the first in a two part series focusing on the relationship between adolescence, as a cultural category, and secularity in the West.
This article is the second in a two part series focusing on the relationship between adolescence, as a cultural category, and secularity in the West.
Last year, Grace Chapel, a megachurch in the Boston area, voted by a large margin to allow women to serve as elders, removing the final
After two stillbirths, Tracy wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. I’m there. I
IN ORDER TO SERVE: AN ECUMENICAL INTRODUCTION TO CHURCH POLITY LEO J. KOFFEMAN LIT VERLAG, 2014 264 PP. $41.46 Consider the dustup last March when
It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their
Dear Folks: Thank you for the thought-provoking essay on A Personal Relationship with Jesus? [by John Suk, November 2005]. Every time I confess I have
FEBRUARY 2006: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editors: Peter Bush’s article in the November issue (“Stipend: A Theological Challenge to the Marketplace”) puts forward
JUNE/JULY 2007: AS WE SEE IT by the Editors Jan Ericson has served as the ever efficient and ever kind business manager of Perspectives since
DECEMBER 2008: POETRY by Shari Wagner The Prayers of Saint Meinrad Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Spencer County, IN For more than a century, prayers like flakes
NOVEMBER 2008: POETRY by Jeff Grundy Table The pen in my hand writes red, not quite blood. If I have a soul, it might be
APRIL 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jack R. Van Der Slik What may be loosely called American immigration policy confounds a number of distressing
MARCH 2012: REVIEW by Theresa Latini Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses Donna Freitas Oxford University Press,
MARCH 2012: POETRY by D. S. Martin You & I have stood on the brink of Niagara many times & so we know like Coleridge
MARCH 2012: ESSAY by Chuck DeGroat and Rachael Butler How do you view the city? Terms of derision abound: Crime-ridden. Busy. Scary. Drug-infested. Liberal. Over-crowded.
MARCH 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Bart Garrett Imagine this scene. You are sitting at a coffee shop enjoying your favorite fairtrade, shade-grown, single-origin-bean,
MARCH 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jared Ayers In the summer of 2008, my wife Monica and I crammed the contents of our house
FEBRUARY 2012: INSIDE OUT by Thom Fiet “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 Trudy Brower prayed for us
FEBRUARY 2012: REVIEW by Terri Martinson Elton Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church Kenda Creasy Dean Oxford University
FEBRUARY 2012: POETRY by Kristina Erny Due to the formatting needs of this month’s poem, it is available as a PDF. Familiar with being an
FEBRUARY 2012: ESSAY by David Zwart A pair of burning wooden shoes! It is probably the most famous— or infamous—cover of the Christian Reformed Church’s
FEBRUARY 2012: ESSAY by Marla Lunderberg When I get near an airport, any airport, any friend’s take-off or return, I celebrate the motion, the rhythms
FEBRUARY 2012: ESSAY by Adam Brooks Webber People eat the darnedest things. Escargot. Haggis. Lutefisk. Cheez Whiz. Our eating shows great diversity—and so does our
FEBRUARY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Robert Dahl I am filled with disgust and emptiness over the rhythm of everyday life that goes relentlessly
FEBRUARY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jason Lief Numerous times I have been asked, “Have you read that book about Metallica going to church?”
JANUARY 2012: NOT MY OWN: REFLECTIONON THE HEIDELBERG by Leanne Van Dyk Question 27: What do you understand by the providence of God? Answer: The
JANUARY 2012: INSIDE OUT by Marlin Vis Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day; and all his household, his homeborn
JANUARY 2012: REVIEW by Mitchell Kinsinger WAS AMERICA FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION? A HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION JOHN FEA WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX PRESS $30.00. 287 PAGES.
JANUARY 2012: REVIEW by Ronald A. Wells CONFESSING HISTORY: EXPLORATIONS IN CHRISTIAN FAITH AND THE HISTORIAN’S VOCATION EDITED BY JOHN FEA, JAY GREEN, AND ERIC
JANUARY 2012: POETRY by Barbara Crooker The goldenrod’s tarnished and dull, gone to rust, as the Dow Jones plummets like the mercury on a
JANUARY 2012: ESSAY by Brian Porter “One could do worse than be a lover of U2.” So said Howard Schaap in “Music and Politics: U2
JANUARY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Chad Ray Many Iowa Republicans going to their local caucuses earlier this month faced an interesting question. Those
JANUARY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jack R. Van Der Slik In a ham-handed introduction of Rick Perry, Reverend Robert Jeffries crudely raised a
JANUARY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jessica Bratt Staring at people and crying are two things New Yorkers typically avoid doing in public. But
My thanks to Wendell Karsen for so thoughtfully and substantively engaging the “dialogue and discernment” process encouraged by our shared denomination, the Reformed Church in
A specter haunts George Marsden: the specter of modern liberalism. What did it promise? How did it fail? What comes next? To explore these questions,
The question of this guest-edited issue of Perspectives can be asked in two ways. First, we are asking a broad question: How does Christian theology
Below is a letter from an old friend, Karis, who now serves as dean of the chapel at Despondent University in up-state Washington, in WantMore
I have been told that I have a tendency to ruin cultural outings with my penchant for theological critique. I try really hard to rein
The apostle Paul ends 1 Corinthians 13 with the words “And so these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is
It is an old question, and it happens every fall. Every fall, I teach a required course on biblical theology as seen through the Old
I came to know Christ through a parachurch ministry when I was a freshman in high school. To help me grow as a disciple, I
Derek Schuurman asks a question very similar to one asked by many of my computer science students: “What does my faith have to do with
Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation James K.A. Smith Baker Academic, 2009. $22.99. 240 pages. Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works James K.A.
The Case for the Psalms: Why They are Essential N.T. Wright Harper One, 2013. $22.99. 208 pages. A reader of this brief volume can see
Nick Overduin The day I sat down to write this review, there was a photograph in my local newspaper (The Toronto Star) showing a happy
David E. Timmer The cover of Dan Meeter’s e-book features a set of austerely elegant sacramental vessels rudely interrupted by a screaming red fire extinguisher.
William Graddy Yesterday marked the second of what is usually a three-day annual battle at 5259 Wright Terrace between the living and the dead: my
Marlin Vis Yad Vashem is located on a hill overlooking a beautiful valley outside Jerusalem. From East Jerusalem to Yad Vashem is a two-hour walk.
Ronald A. Wells Forty-five years ago, I arrived in Heidelberg, Germany, for military service. With my freshly minted doctorate in history and an officer’s commission,
John P. Tiemstra BELIEVING IN CAPITALISM I like capitalism, I really do. I think it’s a fine economic system, probably the best. It’s way better
Sue A. Rozeboom In one of his sermons for Advent, Bernard of Clairvaux asks a multiplicity of questions fitting for our anticipation of celebrating again
Debra L. Freeberg Lutherans are not supposed to panic in public. I was trying not to. Maggie looked so good in February, I was sure
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013: POETRY by Julia Spicher Kasdorf That town along the tracks where trains no longer stopped had more bars than churches, but everyone kept
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013: POETRY by Tom C. Hunley God gave us stuff God stuffed us Give thanks to God Stuff turkeys to stuff us Thanks God
Ronald A. Wells No Longer Invisible, the latest in a series of books this remarkable academic couple has produced over the past decade, serves as
Harry Boonstra Since many Perspectives readers may be Reformed or Dutch (or both), this story of the early Dutch on the U.S. East Coast will
Heidi Rupke Soon after my family and I joined an Episcopal church, a bulletin announcement seeking volunteer bakers for communion bread caught my attention. The
Colin Hoogerwerf If you stare closely at soil for long enough, you will see that it is alive. It is filled with micro and macro
Debra Rienstra Obviously, even in my late forties, I still have some father issues to work out. I realized this afresh as I was reading
James Vanden Bosch Lawrence Dorr has been writing fiction in English for more than forty years; this most recent gathering of his short stories follows
Jon Pott It was another Eerdmans author, Corbin Scott Carnell, who introduced us, in our office some forty years ago, to his friend Janos Shoemyen
Lawrence Dorr Jules Verne’s Le Tour du Monde en 80 Jours with its solid-red cover stuck out from among the other books on the shelves
Thom Fiet A woman stared at her portrait, still shimmering new from the hand of the master, Pablo Picasso. Before her, imprisoned in the frame,
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013: POETRY by Marci Rae Johnson —for Thom Caraway When you came up out of your office into the customary light you heard it.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013: POETRY by David Cho These are the days stretched long. The weeks when darkness sets, then the rain, the falling leaves, frost, the
Steve Bouma-Prediger Rich Mouw is widely regarded as one of the most well-known and influential Christian scholars of his generation. A philosopher by training but
Jon Pott I’m pretty sure that I met Rich Mouw at a party, probably in the late 60s, not long after he had joined the
George Marsden Rich Mouw is a fundamentalist with a sense of humor. When I say he is a fundamentalist, I mean it in the best
Nicholas Wolterstorff When Rich Mouw became president of Fuller Seminary twenty years ago, I and others anticipated that his career as a writer was more
Richard J. Mouw Like most people raised in North American Protestantism, I was taught songs in my early childhood about the love of Jesus. I
Richard J. Mouw Lent always takes me by surprise. I’m never quite ready for it. This has always been my pattern, going back to my
JULY/AUGUST 2013: POETRY by Tania Runyan AFTER REVELATION 9 All that grace wasn’t working anymore, the Kincaid prints and purpose-driven songs, kids star-charting memorized verses.
JULY/AUGUST 2013: POETRY by Joseph Byrd MUSIC STUDENTS GET MARRIED We ate waffles the night that we met; sweet, grainy things. They told what would
James D. Bratt In 1985, Richard Mouw left his teaching post at Calvin College for Fuller Theological Seminary, where he has taught ever since and
In his latest offering, Peter Enns attempts to alleviate partially the tensions for evangelical Protestants and other contemporary Christians who uphold scripture as authoritative while
Soon after the 2012 election a Perspectives editor asked me to write about the diminished role overt faith had in presidential campaign discourse. He thought
Anyone up for a good news story–of the church leading the culture in a direction we can all, across our differences, applaud? Prepare to smile.
On my last Sunday living in New York, it was a hymn that made me cry. I was leaving the city after almost nine years
We all hold deep convictions that nurture us and give us direction. These convictions have a history; they are planted in everyday experiences that grow
My active resistance to evolution began in 1944, when I was about ten, with a cartoon I drew of the devil–for family consumption only, though
“Behold, the Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.” Job 40:15 If the book of Job is a
Josh deLacy When I stumble upon words like “sex” or “seduction” or “flirtation,” I tend to keep reading. I don’t think I am alone in
by Kristin Du Mez It won’t be long until another Mother’s Day is upon us, and I have to admit that I’m a bit ambivalent
by Ronald A. Wells I began writing this story on All Saints Day, but I didn’t finish it then. Now, looking forward to Easter and
by Joshua Bode The Reformed Church in America’s 2012 General Synod passed a resolution that included the statement, “homosexual behavior is a sin according to
Donald A. Luidens As a teenager growing up in Beirut, Lebanon, I was privy to an adage among local expatriates: Western scholars come to the
Allan Janssen The action by the Reformed Church in America’s General Synod last spring that restated the synod’s “official position that homosexual behavior is a
Grace Claus I’ve been thinking a lot about membership lately. This is mostly thanks to Wendell Berry, whose novel Jayber Crow I finished earlier this
MARCH/APRIL 2013: POETRY by Otto Selles Blame the blanketed lake and the pale sky for offering no sense of direction— no definition of where snow
MARCH/APRIL 2013: POETRY by Susanna Childress Tell me snow is falling on the willows now, fat, full, unhurried, for my strawberry-haired nephew sleeps, his body
Lisa DeBoer In the foreword to Steve Guthrie’s Creator Spirit, Jeremy Begbie observes, “In our culture, there seems to be an intuitive sense that ‘the
by Paul Janssen This white guy observes Black History Month because there is no way that I would be living the life I live today
by Fred L. Johnson III President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection victory presents him with the opportunity to continue the fight he’s been waging for the
Thom Fiet The scriptures give us a great many views of God, and we, of course, are eager to add our own. Here on the
In December 2012, Scot Sherman, teaching pastor at City Church San Francisco and president of the Newbigin House of Studies, as well as a member
David G. Myers, Ralph Blair, Marilyn Paarlberg In his forthcoming book No Condemnation! (Wipf Stock), Lutheran scholar Gary E. Gilthvedt observes that “there is nothing
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013: POETRY by Tom C. Hunley When I die, Lord, I want to come back as a cloud an airplane passes through just before
by Dennis N. Voskuil In 1997, during the sesquicentennial of the city of Holland, Michigan, a statue of Albertus C. Van Raalte, the settlement’s founder,
Bob Vander Lugt Fifty years to the day after the release of his first album, seventy-one-year-old songwriting icon Bob Dylan offered up Tempest. His third
by Norman Kolenbrander St. Nicholas Orthodox Church is located above The Mystical Rose Catholic bookstore, across from Van Den Berg’s Gift Shop on the busiest
by John Hubers My wife and I—along with 250,000 true believers—were part of the massive block party the Obama campaign threw in Grant Park in
William J. Vande Kopple It happened at the most startling—and often inappropriate—times. I was collaborating with colleagues Nancy Hull and Gary Schmidt during Calvin College’s
DECEMBER 2012: EDITORS’ NOTE The end of the year always brings some changes to Perspectives. The most significant change is that beginning in 2013 we’ll
Many years ago, when I was serving a congregation in northwest Iowa, the pastor of the local Assembly of God church would often attend the
I heard one of the editors of this impressive volume say at a recent worship conference that Psalms for All Seasons was “not born out
For ten weeks this year, my husband, Dan, and I made our home in the rocky, timbered geography of Whidbey Island. We were there for
It should come as no surprise that death creates some unlikely bedfellows. Up here, up the hill, sworn enemies share a morning pot of coffee.
In the August/September Perspectives, David Myers points to social trends that are occurring in attitudes about homosexuality. He goes on to argue in favor of
As a Protestant, I am intrigued by “protest” practices. When people feel driven to protest against the status quo, there is almost always some truth,
The title of this collection makes perfect sense: Psalms for All Seasons. The range of emotions and varying postures toward God exhibited in the Psalms
NOVEMBER 2012: INSIDE OUT by Clay Libolt “May it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) The first morning in our new place
NOVEMBER 2012: REVIEW by Fred Mueller Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Anglicanism Ed. Robert L. Plummer Zondervan, 2012. $18.99. 256 pages. Several
NOVEMBER 2012: REVIEW by Steve Van der Weele When I was a Child I Read Books: Essays Marilynne Robinson Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012. $24.00.
NOVEMBER 2012: POETRY by Barbara Crooker NOVEMBER This tufted titmouse at the feeder, all perky peak and bright eyes, is the mirror image of the
NOVEMBER 2012: ESSAY by Martha LaBarge and Todd Steen In the wake of the recent economic crisis, many Americans have found themselves in dire financial
NOVEMBER 2012: ESSAY by Mark Putnam I think I was born in the church nursery. It seemed anytime the door was open, I was on
NOVEMBER 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jeff Munroe Have you ever thought about how much food there is in the Bible? I’ll admit I
NOVEMBER 2012: AS WE SEE IT by James Bratt The most common theme running through postmortems of the presidential election has been demographic: the Republican
NOVEMBER 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Melody Meeter On December 17 at 5:00 a.m. I was paged at home by a nurse from labor
OCTOBER 2012: INSIDE OUT by Carol Westphal “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” Hebrews 13:1 I’ve been married to
OCTOBER 2012: REVIEW by Johnathan Kana Atonement, Justice, and Peace: The Message of the Cross and the Mission of the Church Darrin W. Snyder Belousek
OCTOBER 2012: REVIEW by Jay D. Green Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics Ross Douthat Free Press, 2012 $26.00. 352 pages. Among
OCTOBER 2012: POETRY by Daniel Bowman Jr. The thought that she can’t stay beautiful much longer on cigarettes and coffee nags at her a little
OCTOBER 2012: ESSAY by Janel Curry Moments of great stress such as natural disasters illuminate underlying theological constructs and worldviews. Extreme natural events bring to
OCTOBER 2012: ESSAY by J. Todd Billings In 2010, my wife Rachel and I traveled to Ethiopia to adopt a lovely little girl. We know
OCTOBER 2012: RESPONSE by Scott Hoezee In his attempt to bolster the contention that all of creation is a “text” on which pastors should preach
OCTOBER 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jack Du Mez I grew up in a socially and politically conservative small town in Wisconsin—very conservative. In
OCTOBER 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Jack R. Van Der Slik It is one of the most precious rituals of American democracy. On November
OCTOBER 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Danny Iverson I buried Daniel last Friday. He was nineteen years old. It’s been two weeks since he
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012: INSIDE OUT by Jason Lief “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012: REVIEW Praying for Strangers River Jordon Berkley, 2011 $24.95. 336 pages. In “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012: POETRY by Julia Spicher Kasdorf after Rilke Little one, let the monarchs flex and rest on the sand before their long migrations. Ease
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012: ESSAY by John Van Sloten “[God] himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” –Acts 17:25 We say we believe this, but
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012: ESSAY by Scott Hoezee For the longest time I’ve been gathering some thoughts to write something about my colleague John Van Sloten’s book
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012: ESSAY by David G. Myers “Here are five reasons Christians should continue to publicly and winsomely oppose bestowing the term and institution of
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Daniel Meeter Are Mormons Christians?” When my parishioners ask me this, I answer, “Yes, I think so.” And
JUNE/JULY 2012: INSIDE OUT by Nicholas Wolterstorff “In all their affliction, he was afflicted.” Isaiah 63:9 As we human beings travel through life we experience
JUNE/JULY 2012: REVIEW by Gail Gunst Heffner Hope and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland: The Role of Faith-based Organisations Ronald A. Wells Liffey Press, 2010. $29.95.
JUNE/JULY 2012: POETRY by Tom C. Hunley “I got us a divorce this afternoon…. I didn’t want a hokey second wedding like those ones on
JUNE/JULY 2012: ESSAY by Terence Cuneo Roughly a decade ago, I recall Chris Eberle asking Nick Wolterstorff whether he’d consider revising his 1983 book Until
JUNE/JULY 2012: ESSAY by Alvin Plantinga Nick and I first met when we were both sophomores at Calvin College. That was the beginning of a
JUNE/JULY 2012: ESSAY by Richard J. Mouw At a seminary in Asia, the dean of the school introduced me to one of his faculty members.
JUNE/JULY 2012 ESSAY by David E. Timmer After nearly forty years, the memory is still vivid. Nicholas Wolterstorff was delivering an address at the first
JUNE/JULY 2012: EDITOR’S NOTE by Steven Bouma-Prediger Nicholas Wolterstorff is widely regarded as one of the greatest Christian thinkers of his generation. A philosopher by
MAY 2012: INSIDE OUT by Jennifer L. Holberg I recently joined the blogging group “The Twelve: Reformed. Done Daily.” It’s a group that has been
MAY 2012: REVIEW by Todd V. Cioffi Re-imaging Election: Divine Election in Representing God to Others and Others to God Suzanne McDonald Eerdmans, 2010 $26.00.
MAY 2012: REVIEW by Scott Hoezee God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News is Better than Love Wins Mark Galli Tyndale House ,
MAY 2012: POETRY by Brett Foster The tweeny daughter torments the younger brother, who stands impassively, elbows on the table. He fiddles with a just
MAY 2012: ESSAY by Steven McMullen Angst about our food system is prevalent. Amidst the fair trade, organic, locally produced, and hormone-free labels, one can
MAY 2012: ESSAY by Hak Joon Lee Several years ago in one of the opening sessions of my ethics class, I gave the usual long
MAY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by David Schelhaas I spent February of this year in Florida, hanging around with old folks most of the
MAY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by James C. Schaap Our lindens are just about the tallest trees in town, I swear. And there he
MAY 2012: AS WE SEE IT by James Bratt Charles Colson’s death last month prompted a chorus of praise from his evangelical supporters. Praise for
APRIL 2012: INSIDE OUT by Chad Pierce “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered.” Revelation
APRIL 2012: REVIEW by Scott Hoezee The Best of the Reformed Journal James D. Bratt and ROnald A. Wells, Eds. Eerdmans, 2011 $20.00 325 pages.
APRIL 2012: POETRY by Otto Selles Before the alarm, before the reminders about lunches, band, the dentist, and soccer, I slip out of bed and
APRIL 2012: ESSAY by Joshua Banner Jason Lief’s “Leave Metallica Alone! Why Metallica Coming to Church Is a Bad Idea,” from the February 2012 issue
APRIL 2012: ESSAY by Mandy Cano Villalobos The first time we all gathered, I felt so out of place. Seven months pregnant with my first
APRIL 2012: ESSAY by David L. Stubbs Editors’ note: In the March 2012 issue of Perspectives, David Stubbs explored recent developments within the Presbyterian Church
APRIL 2012: AS WE SEE IT by Debra Rienstra I admit there’s something romantic about woodstoves and typewriters and horse-drawn carriages and other technologies of
MARCH 2012: INTERVIEW by Scot Sherman In January, more than two thousand people attended the Covenanting Conference of the Fellowship of Presbyterians (FOP) to hear
by David L. Stubbs Editors’ note: This is part one of a two-part essay. The second part will appear in next month’s issue ofPerspectives. Interpreting
MARCH 2012: NOT MY OWN: REFLECTIONS ON THE HEIDELBERG by Scott Sherman Question 54: What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”? Answer: I
JANUARY 2012: INTERVIEW by Richard E. Burnett Editors’ Note Donald Bloesch (1928–2010) was a professor of theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary from
For the Twelfth Night Sing softly the cherries, Red, red, sweet and good; Sing apples and oranges, The cinnamon food. Dance swiftly the cider, Spin
C. John Collins has taken on the important task of explaining who Adam and Eve were in view of evolutionary theory—which he accepts, at least
Thirty-three years ago I broke a promise. I told a friend leaving for the summer that I would write to her. Six weeks later I
Like penicillin, silly putty, and LSD, leavened bread was most likely discovered by accident. Most sources say the Egyptians were probably the first to experience
Beginning about a year ago, it was my privilege to serve on the search committee for a new general secretary for the Reformed Church in
I’m Reformed for a bunch of reasons. My reasons aren’t the same now as they were back when I was an arrogant eighteen-year-old, when I
It was five in the morning, the time in his experience—between four and five—when the condemned was wakened to be led out. It was always
Isn’t that fascinating? According to the framers of the catechism there is a symbiotic and inextricable relationship between Jesus Christ and those who love and
Plumb—true, precise, upright. According to my skewed memory, “plumb” was one of my grandfather’s favorite words. As a boy, when we would work on little
It’s that time of year when most of us are savoring the last little remembrance of summer and watching the torrent of greens make a
My mother holds a yellowed newspaper clipping in her hand as she answers the door. She stands wide-eyed looking at her grandson and says, “Are
With the Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, and green bean casserole settling in our distended stomachs, we headed down to the unfinished basement of my Uncle Jack’s
When Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning he rose as the beginning of the new world that Israel’s God had always intended to
I recently returned to Canada for a two-week sojourn to teach at the University of Toronto. This was a homecoming of sorts—to my “home and
There’s really nothing else like it, at least in a very long time, if ever. The audaciousness, even presumption, is already there quite plainly in
I kill people all the time. I try not to. I’ve been working on it. But then another news story airs about another slimy politician
Psalm 121 is the sort of psalm we might post on our refrigerators and bulletin boards, right alongside “I know the plans I have for
This morning I straightened the shoes in the front hall and said to the dog, the most attentive member of the family, “I’d do it
EYES THAT SEE They gather downtown each week in the small living room of an upstairs apartment. It started out as one friend opening her
My wife, Karin, handed our young son to a nurse who would take him to an operating room for open-heart surgery. As I watched, I
If you want to know more about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor, theologian, and Nazi resister, you are in luck. Your choices
The Galilean Sea. The Adriatic Sea. Violent storms on both. Mark’s Gospel tells the story of Jesus and his disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee
I love the way the kingbird feeds by acrobatics from the trees along the lake. She lunges from her branch above the water to snatch
In February 2009, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote one of his many much-talkedabout Op-Ed pieces, this one about the furor being raised over
As Wesley Granberg-Michaelson concludes his seventeen-year tenure as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America, he has given to his friends around the world
Could a deep affinity for words hinder our appreciation of film? It is tempting to privilege text over images. But Calvin College English professor Roy
We want our kids to be all that they can be. We read descriptions of “tiger moms,” dictating their child’s every move to gain maximum
The house where we lived at that time is long gone, as is the tiny kitchen where I stood, phone in hand, listening. The call
I have seen this first question of the Heidelberg Catechism together with its majestic answer framed on the wall of many homes. What a way
Frequent readers of Perspectives know that this journal appears in your mailboxes and is found on your web browser ten times a year due to
I’ve had a great treat this summer: every Wednesday, I’ve gotten to spend the morning with a dear friend’s 20-month old child. The official reason
Compared to the beloved Heidelberg Catechism, feted in these pages and still recited on death beds, the Belgic Confession is a rather unremarkable Reformed document.
Dear John, Trepidation isn’t called for. I think what may be most unconventional about my writing on Calvin is that I am often writing for
The acceptance of the Belhar Confession by the Reformed Church in America, and its consideration by the Christian Reformed Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
The Great Commission in Matthew 28 has one imperative verb and three supporting participles. The main verb is not “go,” though it looks like it
“She hit him with a rock! He had to be given twelve stitches!” According to the angry woman standing outside our front door, I had
“Anything yet?” “Ha!–not a very good job of sneaking up on me this time, Dad. Stepping on that crusty plowed snow by the road gave
In the voluminous literature of child rearing and family health, the work of psychologist James Dobson stands eminent. Dobson received his Ph.D. in Psychology from
I have loved the Belhar Confession for twenty-seven years. I am proud that the Reformed Church in America (RCA) has adopted the Confession as a
At the end of spring semester, I know it’s coming. It’s most often an honest question from both colleagues and non-teachers alike, though sometimes the
N. T. Wright’s excellent book focuses on sanctification during “all that time in between” the “now” of conversion and the “not yet” of the fully
It’s not very often that you want an instant faith do-over. If I think back through my life carefully, there might be only two or
After reading a Time magazine essay in which a youth minister described the television show Glee as “anti-Christian,” I tuned in and watched. I was
Question 46: What do you mean by saying, “He ascended to heaven”? Answer: That Christ was taken up from the earth into heaven before the
Over long centuries Western Christians have saved some of their most vile polemics for the Prophet Muhammad. In the Middle Ages Dante threw him into
Maybe we take our Reformedness too seriously. You know that bumper sticker capsule, “Reformed and always reforming.” Perhaps it makes us too critical of ourselves,
I learned it from Meredith Kline (The Structure of Biblical Authority), who got it from George Mendenhall. We’ve had it wrong on the “two tables”
There’s no dearth of publishing in Christian theology. To the contrary, an expanding universe of theological publishers seems to churn out more and more books,
I’ve recently begun living alone in an off-the-grid cabin in Colorado’s San Isabel National Forest. No electricity or running water. No f lush toilet. No
In June, Wesley Granberg-Michaelson will step down as the general secretary of the Reformed Church in America after 17 years of service. In February, Granberg-Michaelson
I got sandwiched in a conversation on my Saturday morning bakery run. In the back of the Edgerton Bakery, rolls and loaves of fresh bread
Isn’t everything connected? Aren’t there laws of cause and effect? If we don’t live in a causal world, why do we bother to teach and
Every few days in the summer, I walk into our backyard, which currently opens up toward a couple dozen acres of soybeans–not the most inviting
The summer of 2010 witnessed a significant event in the history of the worldwide Reformed family of churches: the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC)
Question 52. What comfort is it to thee that “Christ shall come again to judge the quick and the dead”? Answer: That in all my
If you should pick up Marilynne Robinson’s Absence of Mind, I suggest that you begin at the end. This is not simply because Robinson writes
James K.A. Smith forays into the now-popular epistolary genre with the compact and accessible Letters to a Young Calvinist. It is timely, as Smith notes
More than a year ago already, my uncle Rodney died of cancer. He never had a family of his own, living with his parents until
For many readers, the story of Abraham and Isaac is one of the most troubling stories of the Bible. By this point in Abraham’s story,
Every child has a childhood, but some childhoods are not for children. Take the Windshield Wiper children for instance. Every day these boys, ages six
Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, has undergone somewhat of a renaissance in its methodology for teaching biblical Hebrew over the last five years. The
Apparently, “Calvinism” is on the rise among American evangelicals. Whether it’s the “new Calvinism” described in 2009 by Time as one of the “ten ideas
In Part One of this essay I explored “Marilynne Robinson: Distinctive Calvinist.” Here the focus shifts to Marilynne Robinson as a Calvinian. Calvinians are those
Rod Jellema, professor of English emertius at the University of Maryland, has been writing poetry for forty years. This new volume constitutes a selective harvest
It was eight years ago when I first heard this benediction spoken at the conclusion of a worship service. My friend Neal Plantinga and I
“Despite its protests to the contrary, modern Christianity has become willy-nilly the religion of the state and the economic status-quo. Because it has been so
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about bodies, probably mostly because I’m a new mom and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what
In the spring of 1976 I was hired to join the philosophy department at Hope College. The course schedule for the fall semester had of
It seems to me that the environmental crisis is, at heart, a failure and a perversion of the human imagination. Our imaginations have been taken
Eating with small children is rarely a dull affair. I remember my son Benjamin years ago standing up in his high chair, lifting his bowl
Timothy Keller, in Generous Justice, offers a passionate plea and biblical defense of social justice. In the current emotionally charged climate of political attack, this
Question 60: How are you right with God? Answer: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously
“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and
Karl Barth famously wrote that in heaven all the official music is Bach, but in private God listens to Mozart. I’m jealous for Bach, my
In recent years there have been numerous books, almost a nascent genre, in which disaffected or “enlightened” evangelicals share how they were wounded by their
What’s going on these days with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert? As many readers know, these two men are, respectively, the hosts of the Comedy
Calvinists come in many stripes and colors. There are five-point Calvinists, who may believe they originated with Calvin, but actually owe more to the Canons
With the new year, we begin a new series, “Not My Own: Reflections on the Heidelberg.” We have asked various authors to share a time
There are many markers of our ecumenical age, from official dialogue among Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed to a US President of Protestant faith honoring
Sarah DeYoung Brouwer was baptized on a beautiful spring day in Central Pennsylvania. At only three or maybe it was four months of age, she
Have you heard any good sermons lately? Many people answer, “No.” If you are dissatisfied with the quality of preaching that you hear, you may
I recently came across a letter I wrote to my wife as I was beginning my fiveyear prison sentence. There in my tiny little cell
Among all of us who are currently members of the Perspectives editorial team and board, no one can recall an edition of the magazine or
Here’s a statement I hear rather frequently where I live and work: “Well, of course, I’m no ‘tree hugger,’ but…” and then follows a mild
I’m walking down my Main Street in the Februar y dark, that greedy New England nighttime that will hog the last part of ever y
The volume had fallen behind a row of books in one of my office bookcases–I must have set it on top of a row of
It was my great privilege to attend the Uniting General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this past
Ed Dobson describes himself as a follower of Jesus, literally, beard and all. Dobson grew up in Ireland but moved to the United States in
I moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1969 into a working-class white-flight neighborhood with large lawns and small houses. Today the neighborhood includes African Americans, Koreans,
“Take the story we retell every epiphany,” said my pastor, Jack Roeda. So, here it is, the story we retell every epiphany: the magi saw
I did not vote for Barack Obama, but I did wish him well, even publicly so on the pages of Perspectives in early 2009. As
I voted for Barack Obama in 2008, and half-way through this term I am more confident than ever that America and I chose well. From
Discussions between theologians and economists can dissolve into a great mass of frustration and confusion. Since the subject matter often involves issues of public policy,
Enter the world of Facebook–over 400 million users with 60 million status updates per day. The average face on Facebook has 130 “friends.”1 You can
In 1898 Abraham Kuyper came to America to give his famous Stone Lectures on Calvinism at Princeton Theological Seminary. Coming from the “old European Continent,”
Ironically, people in the Reformed tradition, people who can pride themselves on razor-sharp dogmatics even at the expense of good worship, may today be practicing
Although our church uses the New International Version of the Bible, I’ve taken to quoting the New Revised Standard Version’s translation of the Shema in
A few years ago I was involved in a heated conversation about the portrayal of fatherhood on television. This took place during the heyday of
Anthologies of world literature aimed at the college textbook market tend to include most or all of Dante’s Inferno, and only a few, if any,
I’m sorry that Jack Bauer is gone. He has left us before, of course–there were always those many months between seasons in the series’ eight-season
I had a realization last winter that nearly all of my waking hours were spent in one of two places. Not two buildings, like home
I have relatives who have not watched television in over thirty-five years. At times, I envy them. They spend their evenings reading books that nourish
No vile thing? Well, that pretty much kills off anything that’s not animated, though we’re not terribly sure about the soundness of Buzz Lightyear or
The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History offers clear, concise and detailed information of individuals, organizations and events whose contributions influenced the landscape
The distance between life and death, which often seems as wide as the Pacific, can become as slim as a doorway. On Tuesday, March 23,
Sioux Center, Iowa is a small agricultural community in northwest Iowa where food production is central to economic and cultural life. Drive around Sioux Center
In the preface of her new book of poems, her seventh, Jeanne Murray Walker asks “Why read poetry?” and answers: poetry has given us “solace
I still have the handmade birthday card my fifth grade teacher gave me—an enormous piece of folded yellow construction paper with a big orange bookworm
Every Sunday night I repeat the same dumb little joke. I say to my wife, “Hey hon, guess what I have to do tomorrow.” She
“How do you find all that time to read?” a friend asks. “It’s my job,” I respond. “As a minister, I am a servant of
Over the past decade, Northwestern College in Orange City Iowa has become increasingly engaged with social justice. Many of our students, faculty, and staff choose
Whether your bent is toward biblical, historical, systematic, or narrative theologies, it is fair to say that each contributes something valuable to the greater good
The more you read this story, the more it seems to glow, almost dizzying us with sensory overload, not unlike the fragrance of Mary’s poured
This last year I started working with my son in his construction business. It is a small business, and Daniel is also the most important
I hadn’t realized I was a few minutes late for the 8:30am service (the first of two ), but it became evident to me immediately
The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, of which David L. Stubbs’s commentary on Numbers is a part, departs substantially from typical commentary series, such
Having discovered the Christian faith at a summer camp north of Seattle and having recently returned to the area to accept a call to a
What is it about Reinhold Niebuhr that makes him a thinker of “promise” for President Obama? The president’s appreciation of Niebuhr may go back to
Oddly enough, it may be my earliest intense memory. We’re at the village park for a family reunion, I think, and it’s fun–that much I
“You’re not going out in all that wind, are you?” Wanda was cropping pictures for a memory-book page. “Can’t let a little wind keep me
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, a classic of Christian spirituality, has often been viewed as the archetypal struggle of the solitary Christian toward the goal of
I’m sitting in the darkened theater as the featured film begins. The crowd in the stuffed studio cheers wildly. New Moon has opened with its
Madison Square Christian Reformed Church, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, plays a significant role in the life of the southeast side of that city. Started in
“Homosexuality is a burden that homosexual people are called to bear, and bear as morally as possible, even though they never chose to bear it”
Rick Warren and Jim Wallis are to the first decade of the twenty-first century what James Dobson and John Howard Yoder were to the final
Psalm 85 was likely composed and used in worship after the Israelites came home from their captivity in Babylon. In other words, it is a
“Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One moment he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and
I laced up my $100, Allen Iverson inspired basketball shoes and headed out into the bright lights. The huge crowd–it must have been at least
It’s amazing the things a plant will do to try to get more light. I’ve noticed, for example, that where I live–where days on end
“You’re going to love the Heights,” Oshri tells me. “On a clear day, you can see all the way to Iraq.” Oshri and I met
I love the Reformed church as a member, a pastor, and a theologian. I pray that it may have a future. My deeper concern, however,
Burn Victims by Paul Willis The oak trees by the creek are sweating blood. There where the fire passed through, pressed by the wind, their
On the West Coast, two companies have become iconically known for their hospitality. When Swedish immigrant John W. Nordstrom opened his first shoe store in
There are few things in life that never disappoint. As a writer, David Myers is one of them. Here, once again, one finds his graceful
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Ephesians 1:7 On the day
I read “What the Millenialists Have Right” (Perspectives, December 2009) by Richard J. Mouw this morning at breakfast. It got me thinking, which is the
It wasn’t a heart attack after all. And how could it be, I wondered, even as the pain grew in my chest like a succubus.
One of my earliest sermon memories goes back to the Reformed Church in the Netherlands in 1942. The dominee held forth on the German occupation
In early Lent I posted the following as my Facebook status, “I am brimming full of joy!” My liturgically minded friends quickly weighed in: “Well,
Even before I read Matthew Lundberg’s essay “Tripping over Adverbs” in the February edition of Perspectives, I had planned to write this little reflection for
I have James Smith’s Vascular Plant Families open to page 203, Oleaceae: Olive Family. At least ten words are unfamiliar (actinomorphic, androecium, gynoecium, placentation), and
During the heat of the 2008 United States presidential election, journalist Bill Bishop offered a tome that helped explain why the lines of demarcation between
I realized last year how much I look forward to Lent. I didn’t grow up observing it; it wasn’t much emphasized in the California Mennonite
Really. Tiger Woods has been sleeping around? Really, his relationship with his fembot wife from the Swedish Bikini Team was a sham? Really, the man
About a year and a half ago, as part of a significant shift in our mission and forms of worship, my church began to celebrate
Church of the Servant traces its origins back to a late-’60s fellowship that started experimenting with folk styles of worship in an abandoned Christian school
I was recently in church when a man in the congregation stood up and said, “Look, I know you are all going to disagree and
And would Christ not spare himself? He would not: love is strong as death; stronger, it drew in death, that naturally is not welcome. If
The three historic doctrinal standards of the Reformed Church in America (the Belgic Confession of 1561, the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563, and the Canons of
It was Sunday, November 1, the first beautiful, dry, warm day in weeks. And this was the day I chose to visit the Reformed Hispanic
Do you know where you are going to be buried or who will be buried alongside you? Great numbers of people no longer know how
Attentiveness is in short supply these days. Perhaps more accurately, attentiveness is rarely practiced anymore. There just isn’t much social demand for it. Consider our
Shane Claiborne is the de facto leader of the “New Monasticism,” a movement predominantly among young adults who have forsaken the trappings of middle-class comfort
A new year has dawned. Advent and Christmas services are over, presents have been opened, the tree is at least mostly put away, and we
As I help uncover the communion elements, I see a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. I am new to serving
Who would have expected that a lesson in promoting public morality would come to us from Russia, the heart of what the great communicator, Ronald
Over the past two years I have struggled a great deal whether to support the adoption of the Belhar Confession or not. Part of me
We practice weekly communion in my congregation, and one of the unexpected benefits has been the spiritual empowerment of my elders. They are becoming active
A few weeks ago the third volume of the Collected Works of A.A. van Ruler arrived in my mailbox. It was an important moment for
If you doubt Broadway’s cultural capitol, just spend some time in Times Square swimming in it. Broadway is the center of America’s cultural center. (For
Back in the days when theologians in the world of conservative Protestantism got excited about the differences among premillennialists, postmillenialists, and amillennialists, it was not
Your great-grandma says I talk like an old preacher, which is to say, too much. Maybe she’s right. She’s right about a lot of things.
The Reformed Church (RCA) of Highland Park, New Jersey, stands on a side street just off the main thoroughfare of this residential town of about
I am delighted that this book came to be written; I worry that it will not be read as widely as it should be. As
Some years ago a psychologist named Jonathan Haidt published some very intriguing data on what he called “elevation,” which is the opposite of disgust. We
Several years ago I was in England, researching the life of a very minor Modernist poet. I had dutifully made the rounds of libraries far
Those are the gentle, mournful sounds of a denomination imploding. Sad to say, they are not the first, nor will they be the last. But
In “The Mournful Sounds of Implosion,” my colleague at Hope College, Don Luidens, delivers an advance eulogy for what he sees as the “pending demise”
Rittenhouse Square arguably forms the heart of Center City Philadelphia. Walking past it on the Sunday morning of Labor Day weekend is a counter-cultural experience.
One of the less familiar annunciation stories in the Old Testament is the conversation between the prophet Elisha and the woman from Shunem. She was
Why a book collecting the sermons of women who come from a variety of cultural backgrounds? One reason is expressed in the words of Anne-
My niece and I were collecting acorns in the driveway last week, scouring the area around the big oak tree in my brother’s yard trying
I had the opportunity to meet with a congressman a week ago. Sitting near me at that meeting was a woman who had taken the
It is the longing I first remember. I desperately wanted to be good. Of course, I tested the boundaries tightly drawn around parental definitions of
It started with the farmers market, where I grew addicted to the beauty of the summer rainbow of vegetables and fruits available here in Michigan.
What confuses me is how to label myself. Although I was raised and confirmed in the Reformed Church in America, at twenty-two, I’m not sure
For the past year, this has been my neighborhood: the Aldi grocery store two minutes from my door, the Korean families having picnics on the
Catching up with a few friends recently, I mentioned that I planned to attend Redeemer Presbyterian Church within the coming weeks. “Oh, I love Redeemer,”
Almost every home has one. Whether it’s a dilapidated strip of wood in the midst of a small one-room shack in the hills of Chiapas,
When I first read the Dawkins/Harris/Hitchens “new atheist” argument–that all religions are “dangerous” (as well as false)–I thought: these guys are ill-informed. To counter their
The judgment spoken by the prophet Amos sets the stage for Matthew Boulton’s provocative theological study of worship. God’s exhortation, “Take away from me the
The scripture says that Christians should bear one another’s burdens. Why? I realize that may be a heretical thought to have while sitting in church,
Over the next several issues, Perspectives will be presenting “church reviews.” These reviews are intended to give a glimpse into what is happening in
Good morning passengers; a service of Christian, Protestant worship will begin in twenty minutes in Sojourners’ chapel. The invitation echoed down each elevated concourse, every
With excitement we unlocked the front door of our house. Not a house owned by the church, in which we were invited to make our
William Jennings Bryan, if he is known at all these days, is remembered as a buffoon, the fundamentalist opponent of Clarence Darrow in the famous
Editor’s Note: The first part of this article appeared in the May 2009 edition of Perspectives. In this second part Roy Anker picks up where
July 10, 2009, marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth in Noyon, France. Special conferences and celebrations to commemorate the event are taking place
Beyond all question the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached
The world has changed so dramatically in the half-millennium since John Calvin’s birth that one suspects the old Reformer would be merely baffled and dumbfounded
Hollywood movies seldom show us preachers–an odd fact, given that the United States has, seemingly forever, been beset by the breed before and behind and
In the Josiah Stamp Memorial Lecture which he delivered on January 13, 2009, at the London School of Economics, Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal
In the summer of 1979 I was watching television on a Sunday afternoon with Dave Henion at his house in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Dave
I cannot help but envy the multitude of students who from 1952 to 1978 heard this material presented in person by Thomas F. Torrance in
This verse from Song of Songs brings to mind two people at the same time. The first is long-time Detroit Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell, who
The terms “missional” and “missional church” have been the buzz in various Reformed denominations and the wider church for about a decade now. But what
What can be learned from praying in a mosque? The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman is a landmark and, surprisingly in a land
Editor’s Note: The following convocation address was delivered at the Institute for Christians Studies in Toronto on May 9, 2008, on the occasion of the
In the February issue, three Reformed theologians, George Hunsinger, Gabriel Fackre and Leanne Van Dyk, held a conversation about Christ’s atoning work and current challenges
As we consider the state of the church in our culture today, there is much nail-biting. Noting the long decline of membership in mainline churches
Those who see the church as instituted by God take comfort in the ancient Latin dictum, Extra ecclesiam, nulla salus (Outside the church, there is
Pornography: “porn”–literally meaning prostitute, implying distorted or exploitive; “graphy”–writing, pictures. For a long time, pornography seemed more of a tawdry embarrassment, an ugly rash on
“Sodomy Is a Crime Against God and Nature.” So declares a church sign that my wife drives past each morning on her way to work.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in the Republic of South Africa, created in 1995 just a year after the first multiracial elections, attracted attention
From boycotts to baptized alternatives to filching the best bar songs for hymnody, Christians have had various relationships with popular music. Should we shut out
The first thing you need to know about this book is that the title does not do it justice. Nicholas Wolterstorff, professor emeritus of philosophical
Readers of fiction inside and outside the church have been wary of the role that faith plays in the novels and stories they read; the
There are certain times in life when Scripture, a sermon, and life all join together to bring some clarity to life. The joining of those
On January 15 my wife and I sat in the guest room sipping tea with Abdullah Serour, the current sheikh of the Umm el-Jimal village
Three Reformed theologians–Gabriel Fackre, George Hunsinger, and Leanne Van Dyk–recently joined together to discuss, via a telephone conference call, Christ’s atoning work and some of
In my childhood, when it was my turn to do the dishes, one of my diversions was to use a tall glass as an upside-down
T. M. Moore’s Culture Matters has a twofold goal: first, to provide a unified approach to cultural engagement from a Christian perspective, overcoming what H.
There is a subtle irony in the fact that a book by a liberal theologian has so thoroughly suffused contemporary evangelical selfunderstand ng. H. Richard
I believe place matters. No one lives in a vacuum, disembodied, or isolated from ecologic necessity. Existence requires location. Life has geography. Our contexts of
In March, 1968, we drove all night long in order to get to Florida for Spring Break, Daytona Beach. When we got there–as I remember–it
This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the
I hosted a last-minute New Years party last January–some close friends, some cocktails, and some board games. No big deal, really, but I think I’ll
On a magnificent evening in early November, we rejoiced as our nation took a historic step toward a new day. In Chicago we had a
I did not vote for Barack Obama for president, but I wish him well. I’m a Republican–partly from inertia, partly by chance, partly by personal
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Roughly twohundred thirty two years ago, when Thomas Jefferson penned those immortal
Marginality is an in-between or liminal situation experienced by a marginal person or a marginal group of people because they are forced by the dominant
Moderator Tom Brokaw on the December 7th edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press” asked Barack Obama what changes he and wife Michelle planned to bring
Twenty-five years ago in a predecessor of this magazine, The Reformed Journal, I asked a question that got me into a lot of trouble. The
Christianity has often profited from listening to its severest critics. Voltaire, Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Freud, Camus–all have perceived and expressed uncomfortable truths about religion, truths that
“So…did you vote? ” Normally, my response to that question would be a quick, “Yes, of course.” Voting is a civic privilege and responsibility that
DECEMBER 2008: AS WE SEE IT by Jack Van Ens “Ignorance is bliss,” we say. “What we don’t know can’t hurt us,” we say. But
DECEMBER 2008: AS WE SEE IT by Anthony B. Robinson My nominee for a Christmas movie probably won’t make any lists. It doesn’t reprise the
DECEMBER 2008: ESSAY by Michael Andres We all want God in our life. We are hard-wired that way. We want God to make something of
DECEMBER 2008: ESSAY by Todd Steen and Steve VanderVeen Introduction “Born to shop.” This is the credo of our consumer culture. According to the world,
DECEMBER 2008: ADVENT SERMON by John Timmer “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” –Mark
DECEMBER 2008: REVIEW Misquoting Jesus by David Timmer The title of this book is misleadingly provocative, conjuring up images of ecclesiastical skullduggery á la Dan
DECEMBER 2008: REVIEW by Jackie L. Smallbones The Jesus Way is the third in a series of four books by Eugene Peterson on conversations about
DECEMBER 2008: REVIEW by J. Todd Billings What does it mean to be Reformed in our current American context? In a land where the needs
DECEMBER 2008: INSIDE OUT by Scott Hoezee In the desert prepare the way for the LORD. Isaiah 40:3a My neighbor did it again. The weekend
Maria N. Rodriguez de Vásquez It is Saturday, a beautiful early summer evening. Ruth is in the kitchen preparing spaghetti for her children, her husband
NOVEMBER 2008: ESSAY by Robert Lowes I don’t like walking around by myself in dark buildings late at night, but there I was in my
NOVEMBER 2008: ESSAY by Eugene Roberts While I am not a disciple of Abraham Kuyper, the discussion generated by Steve Mathonnet-Vander well (“Reformed Intramurals,” February
NOVEMBER 2008: ESSAY Not Too Much Sovereignty for Economics, Please: Abraham Kuyper and Mainstream Economics by Kent A. Van Til Humans tell stories. To our
NOVEMBER 2008: REVIEW by J. Todd Billings I was trying to nap in the bedroom of my small mud-floored, grass-thatched hut in Uganda, but I
NOVEMBER 2008: REVIEW by Robert Hubbard Shakespeare’s “difficult” plays fall into two categories: alluring messes and rigorous masterpieces. On the last day of May 2008,
NOVEMBER 2008: INSIDE OUT by Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Luke
NOVEMBER 2008: LETTER Dear Editors: Thank you for the powerful and evocative article on “Tradition” by Daniel Meeter in the October issue ofPerspectives. It’s an
Why spend time talking about being Reformed and missional? The short answer to that question is: “Because it’s a really good idea…and besides, the 2007
Rick Burns It was a hot late August day in 1986 on mid-coast Maine. My wife, Kathryn, had given me poor directions and we were
Daniel Meeter For my morning devotions I pray the Daily Office. I had first started with the Roman Catholic version, but about six years ago
Denise Kingdom Grier The Samaritan woman showed up at the well that day and probably every other day before. There was no one there to
OCTOBER 2008: POETRY by Robert Lowes I slip on a glaze of water. I touch a hot wire and hop. When the bar of the
Debra Rienstra Two doctrinal sermons every Sunday, hymns thick with theological import, Bible class at school, and catechism class every Wednesday. That was my religious
It did seem odd bringing a witch to a denominational meeting. Not as odd as having Jo serving as an Elder in our church, but
OCTOBER 2008: NOTE FROM THE EDITORS Reformed and missional–what does it mean to pair these two words together? One is such an old, familiar term,
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2008: BOOKS FEATURE For this late-summer issue of Perspectives, editor Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell asked a number ofPerspectives readers and contributors to share with us the
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2008: POETRY by Barbara Crooker Prayer in Autumn Turn me to gold, Lord, burnish me; strip me of chlorophyll, all those green thoughts. Let
When Tim Russert died suddenly in June, I felt like I had lost a friend. Millions of people felt that way, and it’s not that
Let me introduce you to the Wests. Perhaps I should say the “very” Wests, for George and Fiona live in Westfield Drive in the West
Sitting in the hot tub at the end of the deck under a roof just transparent enough to let in light, he was surrounded on
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and gave one of the greatest speeches
An enthusiastic “thank you” to the editors of Perspectives for Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell’s and Nicholas Wolterstorff ‘s helpful reflections on Kuyperian neo-Calvinism in North America (February
I’m a bookseller so I see a lot of titles come and go. Some that I have high hopes for prove to be disappointing; others
My dad died in a car accident five years ago. It made it more strikingly difficult because my husband and I, along with my sister
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell’s essay, “Reformed Intramurals: What Neo-Calvinists Get Wrong” (February 2008), touched on some important challenges for neo-Calvinists today. His concluding story about the great
My thanks to John Bolt and Jeffrey Sajdak for responding to my friendly nudge in “Reformed Intramurals: What Neo-Calvinists Get Wrong.” In addition, my gratitude
JUNE/JULY 2008: POETRY Casualties This is a smart poem as certain bombs are smart. This poem knows where to land. This poem will not mutilate
John P. Burgess A pastor of a young, dynamic African-American congregation told me that his elders once came to him and asked: “Why is it
For anyone who teaches in any kind of Christian educational setting, I suspect that the best review of this book is an extremely brief one:
In recent years I have had many conversations over the matters that divide conservative churches, especially those in the Reformed tradition. Some of my conversation
I remember during the heady days of ecumenism that one of the top Lutheran bishops was happy for the prospect of full communion with the
Peter Vander Meulen Belonging to a confessional church that uses written confessions to remember and define itself is a little like belonging to a group
Ronald Feenstra Reformed Christians in particular, and all Christians more generally, owe a debt of gratitude to those courageous Christians in South Africa who, during
Eugene Heideman During the 1880’s, Dr. Nicholas Steffens, the first professor of theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, was a strong and vociferous
H. Russel Botman I have a story to tell. The theological engagement with the central issues underlying the Confession of Belhar started on a beautiful
MAY 2008: POETRY Written in and by the Wind Pages do not turn themselves, and lovers must have lips in order to kiss. Really, time
MAY 2008: CONFESSION Confession of Belhar September 1986 1. We believe in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects and cares
Mitchell Kinsinger During my college years, I listened to Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn virtually nonstop. His Christianity seemed unconventional to me and his lyrics and
Piet J. Naude You stand at the threshold of a very important decision regarding the confessional basis of the Reformed Church in America. If the
Edwin Mulder It was a warm summer afternoon in South Africa. Arrangements had been made for me to have tea with the then banned Beyers
Anthony Robinson Should church be fun? Is worship supposed to be a “feel-good” experience? A number of recent experiences have me wondering. At his California
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell It is sometimes fun to live in Iowa. Normally, I can come up with many positive adjectives to describe life in a small
Steve Bouma-Prediger If you ever met them, you wouldn’t think that Kenneth and Kenny share much more than their names. But even their names are
James K.A. Smith It would be unfortunate if Lilla’s The Stillborn God got lost in the shuffle of the burgeoning industryof Theocracy A larmists, Inc.
APRIL 2008: POETRY by Patrick Moran go this wayyou have nothing to lose there are trees there will be a river don’t pretend to know
Nicholas Wolterstorff A considerable amount of the work of the twelfth centurycanon lawyers consisted of commenting on passages from the Church Fathers; and in some
Scott Hoezee In my line of work, I think about preaching seven days a week, and for hours on end at that. After a while,
Last night we attended a little theatrical performance, sixteen shortshort plays tossed together like a good salad maybe, all of them having something, more or
I wonder how long the doctrine of the Kingdom of God has been disappearing from the Reformed Church in America. Of course no one would
To save the soul of America! I was astounded to learn this was the motto of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, civil rights movement. This motto
Every society has a characteristic moral culture, by which I mean a characteristic set of concepts for thinking about moral issues and a characteristic way
When my first son Owen was an infant, I often got together with a group of moms to participate in a playgroup. Truthfully, the group
How moral is the market? This question has long been the source of heated debates that all too often degenerate into shouting matches. One side
In late April 1992, Christopher Johnson McCandless forded a stream of early snowmelt into the wilderness. On September 6 of the same year, hunters found
“We are sorry for the loss of your friend, and his courageous battle against cancer; but it is not interesting.” I heard these words from
The church is alive and well in the A rabian Peninsula. That is one of the truths I encountered upon becoming a pastor of the
We begin with strangers. Seminaries and church communions vary in terms of how they prepare young men and young women to become preachers, but in
To a teenage boy growing up in post-Christian-before-the-term Seattle, the old Reformed Journal was a gift, like rain on dry ground. My predilection for that
The editors of Perspectives invited me to respond to Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell’s very interesting article, “Reformed Intramurals: What Neo-Calvinists Get Wrong.” I happily accepted the invitation.
FEBRUARY 2008: POETRY by Thom Satterlee One Hundred and Eight Names for God based on Hal M. Helms translation of The Confessions Some of them
Peace has been marginalized in the study of the New Testament. That is Willard Swartley’s claim not only in his clever subtitle but also in
James Daane Everyman toils to amount to something, and then toils more to add something to the amount. In the interest of the increase, Everyman
These two books have urgent agendas. In their own way, each attempts to articulate an alternative theological voice to that of fundamentalist Christianity, which quite
Eating is so fundamental that it is one of the first things we do after we are born, yet eating seems to be increasingly complex
I remember sitting on the counter in our kitchen as a little girl watching applesauce ooze out of the little holes of our Victorio strainer’s
As I enter the sixth month of my life away from the Netherlands, away from home, I find myself evaluating some of the changes that
One of the joys of reading fiction–especially good fiction–is that in the midst of the narrative which keeps you turning pages, turning, turning to find
The scrap of pita bread dissolves on my tongue, my saliva moistening it, breaking it down as I let it rest on my taste buds.
Here’s how I imagine it. She knows he’s there but she waits, time being of little consequence, after all. He died in the fall, when
Although Jesus often used similes to describe the Kingdom of Heaven, he tended to use metaphors to talk about himself. “The Kingdom of Heaven is
The Magnificat is important to me. I pray it several times a week. I pray the daily office only once a day, so I alternate
When is “not as bad as,” bad enough? “Does the Qur’an say that it’s alright to beat your wife? ” A Muslim friend is talking
Are we living in a culture of fear? If we are, what is it doing to our souls? I spend a good deal of time
This past summer I told stories from the pulpit. To be more accurate, I moved away from the pulpit to make it clear that I
The question won’t go away: How do Christians and Jews relate? Has Judaism been superseded by the Christian faith? Are Christians now God’s chosen people?
“Mercs, Skipper?” “Mercenaries, man! Bloody hell. What did you think they were? Cars? Thought you could do military.” “And PMC, Skipper?”… “Private Military Company… Where
DECEMBER 2007: POETRY This Moment Where the eagle perches on Patmos, A rocky place secluded A little, not much, by shadows, The evangel is rooted
DECEMBER 2007: REVIEW With its red, white, and blue cover and patriotic stars sprinkled throughout the text, Edward Humes’Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke
It shouldn’t have surprised us, but it did. Situated as our sanctuary is on one of Los Angeles’ main boulevards, we receive our share of
When my pastor left a message for me a few weeks before I had to leave town, asking me to speak during a church service,
NOVEMBER 2007: AS WE SEE IT “Thou shalt place outside thy door a vat of fat. And this shalt be a sign unto the angel
NOVEMBER 2007: ESSAY On Those Always With Us by Thomas Allbaugh In 1972, I landed my first job, at a diner near the YMCA in
I recently had a conversation with a young man who was part of the Soulforce- sponsored Equality Ride that toured Christian colleges and universities in
I have been raising money for more than twenty five years, first for a moderately liberal Protestant seminary and now for a recovery center for
NOVEMBER 2007: REVIEW What does it mean to engage in a spiritual reading of the Bible? How do we read the Bible not for information
NOVEMBER 2007: INSIDE OUT These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better
NOVEMBER 2007: POETRY Bird Tired, chest out, she will not leave this morning, a blue fall day among the rainy ones. Maybe she will make
The new weapons “package” and containment strategy that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have been peddling around the
“There’s a future in strenuous wholeness” (Ps. 37:38, The Message) Our natural track is brokenness. Without a strenuous effort in the other direction, we will
The Ten Commandments are ten doors to the heart of God. They have a sequence, a grammar, as a matter of fact. They are not
Thank you very much, brothers and sisters, for the privilege of speaking in your chapel today. I am not a preacher but I want to
OCTOBER 2007: INTERVIEW (Editors’ Note: Few people have left as many fingerprints on the Reformed Church in America in recent decades as I. John Hesselink–seminary
OCTOBER 2007: Tree Rings The once animals from before before, stepping in wet tar. Their eyes rolled back in the museums of clay and black
A nameless man and his son traverse a ruined country that was once the United States, looking for food and shelter and trying to avoid
Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 gives the impression that the temple was not a very good idea. On trial before the Jewish leaders, Stephen accuses
What shall we say about the recent books by Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens? Their attack is sharper than we usually see. They go beyond saying
One of the most significant popular culture texts today is gaming (console and computer). Video games pervade adolescent culture and significantly influence the U.S. economy
INTRODUCTION We are living in confusing times. Many culture watchers are convinced that our society is undergoing a transformation of broad proportions. This cultural shift
It’s been many years now, but I can still remember the intense emotional rush inspired by Luke Sky walker lifting an X-wing spacecraft in the
I am constantly trying to convince my husband that our nine dollar monthly investment in basic cable is worth every penny, even on our meager
Imagine a young person falling out of her chair asleep during the sermon. How would those around her respond? Would they blame her for being
As I write this essay, there are only three days left until the arrival of the long-awaited Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Like Harry
One should not be misled by the title, Pray Without Ceasing, for this is not just another book about prayer. It is indeed about prayer,
Often on a particularly stressful day, I will make the intentional decision to visit a nursing home or the home of one of our church’s
The governor of Virginia had it right when he alluded to Job at the memorial gathering for the victims of the shootings at Virginia Tech.
The formation of independent artists’ groups has long been a way for artists to resolve a new creative vision with practical concerns. From Die Brucke
The shootings at Virginia Tech engendered a huge shock and crushing sadness in everyone who heard the story. As in previous cases of school massacres,
MAY 2007 Pilgrimage or religious tourism Dear Editors, I recall many years ago, when I was his student minister, hearing Howard Hageman preach a sermon
Mark Mulder As the NCA A basketball tournament neared, the issue of Native American mascots once again came to the forefront of the college sporting
A front-page article in USA Today recently highlighted cities around the U.S. who are posting “Welcome. We are building an inclusive community” signs at their
MAY 2007 by Douglas J. Brouwer Early on the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the sixth-strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, came
MAY 2007 Nonviolent Communication and the Image of God by Theresa F. Latini I often tell my students that their most challenging moments in pastoral
MAY 2007 by Robert Lowes Living from one cracked egg in the frying pan to another, one peeled orange to another, I finger my way
She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her
Scott Hoezee One of the most mind-boggling spectacles I’ve ever seen is a short science movie titled “Powers of Ten.” Many of us no doubt
APRIL 2007: ESSAY by Thomas A. Boogaart Introduction I do not remember Ascension Day ever being celebrated when I was a boy growing up in
APRIL 2007: ESSAY by Stephen T. Davis I What exactly is the Ascension of Jesus? It is a purported event, narrated only in Luke-Acts (Luke
Billy Norden As I prepared to read Transform Your Church with Ministry Teams, I felt a healthy dose of skepticism. I was reminded of the
Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land. Jeremiah 32:15 In Jeremiah 32, we read that the Lord instructed Jeremiah to purchase
APRIL 2007: POETRY by A.C. Fisher Encircling her heart and mind, Darkness ravished her peace and Buried her soul in its deep Hell of demon
Chad Engbers Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. –Hebrews 11:1, KJV Our sunroom is closed for
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). The Apostle Paul implored, “If it is possible, so
MARCH 2007: ESSAY by L. Ann Jervis In Romans, Paul is convinced that believers take on sufferings in addition to those of the common lot
MARCH 2007: ESSAY by Margaret Bendroth One summer during high school, my younger sister and I had a contest to see who could read the
MARCH 2007: POETRY by Trina Baker Panting, I breach the trees for the meadow. Feet leave behind the dirt, moist and fecund, packed beneath needles
MARCH 2007: REVIEW Dies Irae by Roy Anker The new note in films, both last year and this, seems to be dystopic. In a marked
MARCH 2007: REVIEW by Peter Bratt Just a week before the 2006 midterm elections, the Reverend Ted Haggard, head of the National Association of Evangelicals,
But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people. –Psalm 22:6 Are you a worm? Not a gummy
FEBRUARY 2007: POETRY Birdhouse Nailed up on the tree out back beyond junk mail and shopping bags, cell phones, talk of wrongs and holidays, its
FEBRUARY 2007: AS WE SEE IT by Kathlyn Dekens About a half-dozen times a year, we all get together for birthdays or holidays or visits
FEBRUARY 2007: AS WE SEE IT by Scott Hoezee In a lecture delivered in the late 1980s, novelist Tom Wolfe noted that the surreal and
FEBRUARY 2007: ESSAY by Brett Webb-Mitchell I am a Christian pilgrim. This is an odd confession for a former seminary professor, and an ordained clergyperson
FEBRUARY 2007: ESSAY by Joan Zwagerman Curbow If you have missed most of the movies of 2006, a number of them were available on DVD
Norman Kolenbrander I’ve decided it’s time to “come out of the closet.” No, I am not about to leave my loving wife of forty-four years
FEBRUARY 2007: REVIEW by Miriam Ippel I never really left college. After my undergraduate years, I served in various ministry and administrative roles in higher
David Schelhaas The words father and mother come from similar roots, and the roots most likely come from the sounds an infant child makes before
Why Pastors Leave Church Dear Sirs: Why did Barbara Brown Taylor leave a parish pulpit to fill an endowed chair at a Georgia college, teaching
JANUARY 2007: AS WE SEE IT by Margaret Jenista Every great love story has a beginning. Once upon a time, Cinderella didn’t know Prince Charming,
Scott Hoezee In the beginning, a few Renaissance geniuses used belief in God as the impetus to launch an investigation of the universe. Their development
JANUARY 2007: ESSAY by Hak Joon Lee Editors’ Note: Contributing editor Hak Joon Lee is associate professor of ethics and community at New Brunswick Theological
rush creek with carp after i got the car and mother moved back to nearby town and found a fourth husband, she wanted me to
JANUARY 2007: REVIEW by Anna J. Cook Growing up in Holland, Michigan, I have been privileged to attend numerous events at the biennial Festival of
Paul writes from a city full of people who, to you and me, might have seemed beyond the reach of the gospel. Paul writes from
JANUARY 2007: POETRY by Charles Rampp rush creek with carp after i got the car and mother moved back to nearby town and found a
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 has been awarded to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank. Yunus and the Grameen (literally “rural”) Bank started the
The Thanksgiving Day service was almost over. The singing had been inspiring, the sermon right on point, the prayers plain and heartfelt. Then the Congressman
In the closing months of 2006, news dispatches from Iraq have grown more discouraging by the week. Casualties continue to mount, both among the military
Ma knew that I often walked with friends from Ryerson on Sundays. But after I had been gone on a particularly snowy day for over
This is a book born out of affliction. Wendy Farley, who teaches theology at Emory University, wrote it in the wake of domestic crisis and
The first time I read Barbara Brown Taylor’s new memoir, Leaving Church, I was disturbed. The problem was not with the writing (she’s a gifted
[The Prophet] gives the name of wings to the rays of the sun; and this comparison has much beauty, for it is taken from nature
My wood-pallet compost bin is decomposing. Not only the leaves and coffee grounds and eggshells inside it, but the bin itself. It desperately needs to
As I sing the servant song during evening worship, a familiar image recurs. In my imagination, I am standing on a dock, reaching down to
I love Winston Churchill stories. One of my favorites is the one that concerns the Dutch prime minister in exile during the Second World War.
Traveling on foot through the Cevennes in France, with a view to writing about the place and the people, Robert Louis Stevenson decided to buy
The Pope’s recent quotations both from Byzantine emperor Manuel II and verses from the Koran were intended as commentary on the history of rationalism, and
Paul Jonathan Willis after Charles Harper Webb As in the Apostle Paul, of course– a big name, though the word means little. I’ve always found
Reading prominent theological ethicists and social philosophers over the last couple of decades, one might get the impression that liberal democratic values and Christian beliefs
In Conceiving the Christian College, Wheaton College president Duane Litfin offers a readable and substantive apologia pro collegio suo, while helpfully illuminating broader issues facing
My maternal grandparents homesteaded in northern Minnesota, just north of Crosby, in the early 20th centur y. Grandpa’s land patent has President Taft’s signature scrawled
If there is one thing that most people agree on, it is that the loss of life is tragic. Matters get complicated when it comes
Introduction Rosa Parks, the African-American woman who refused to give up her seat so a white man could sit, sparking the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott,
“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you odd.”–Flannery O’Connor The call came from our County Supervisor’s office inquiring if I would
In the course of his many travels, Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels visited a country in which he heard about certain people called the struldbrugs who
The time of death could not be set precisely for that night. No unseen angel stopped the clock or rang a bell, nor did he
A consensus of archaeological evidence suggests that the Nazareth of Jesus’ boyhood was a small village located on an unfertile chalk hill 1,200 feet or
So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say “We are worthless slaves; we have only done what we
I’m an Army brat, the proud son of a proud veteran who completed four tours of duty in two separate conflicts. I am immensely grateful
The highest possible standard of a nation is justice. That is quite a high standard, not always reached by a nation, even ours. How does
The lap pool–wide at both ends to allow for volleyball nets–was sixty feet long. The middle part narrowed into a dangerous Dardanelles where he had
I should keep a Sunday journal, a place not so much for sermon outlines as for the ideas they have generated. It strikes me now
The Pump at the End of the Lane I remember the sound of the pump at the end of our cottage lane braying like a
>“Establish the work of our hands for us–yes, establish the work of our hands.” —Psalm 90:17b The heat waves this summer reminded me of a
The teaching of Christian worship is a relatively new phenomenon at church-related colleges, seminaries, and divinity schools. Prior to 1965, there were no full-time professors
Green by Jean Janzen That summer the cornfields were drunk with incessant rains, and at night we could hear new leaves splitting out of the
Then I looked and heard… Revelation 5:11 I usually look around a good bit when I’m worshiping. Regardless of whether I’m in the pulpit or
In Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” the lovestruck knight Arcita is banished from the dukedom of Theseus, but he sneaks back in and disguises himself as a
Walter died recently. He was 93. He was blind and a home-bound member of our congregation. For the last five years of his life I
A friend of mine once commented with some wit about the recovery of liturgical lament. Dryly he asked, “Does this mean that churches will begin
Today’s worship is riddled with polarities. “Traditional” is set against “contemporary.”1 Hymn is set against praise song. The wisdom of professional musicians is juxtaposed with
My father died this past February. After several years of slow decline, he passed away free of pain, surrounded by three generations of family, and
The expansive claim that “our world belongs to God” has long been a central principle undergirding Christian– and especially Reformed Christian– engagement with biological science.
MAY 2006: ESSAY by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches This statement was ratified by the 24th General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed
JULY 2006 What to Do About Wal-Mart? by Todd Steen and Steve VanderVeen Even though eight in ten Americans shop at Wal-Mart, it is one
The institutions of marriage and family have been badly damaged in the last century. But [one] commonly accepted definition of the problem–that “revolutions,” corrupt values,
MAY 2006 Vespers I see my mother’s heart its chambers pumping rhythmically once more. She watches, too, as the sonographer sends short inaudible waves through
“Tyrone Guthrie must be mad.” So whispered the English theater kingdom when, in 1963, the esteemed sweet prince of the London stage founded a theater
My morning commute to work at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, takes about five minutes–on foot. The occasional traffic of bulldozers and forked loaders is light, and
My latest dirty little secret: I’m addicted to 24, the FOX Network’s hit show featuring Special Agent Jack Bauer of the fictional Los A ngeles
MARCH 2006: ESSAY Nothing Outside the Text? Taking Derrida to Church by James K. A. Smith Raising the Curtain: Memento Lenny has a problem.1 Well,
Praying While the Trees Are Bare The first glint of spring is weeks away. Except for a few tough-stemmed brittle leaves from last year’s crop,
Stanley Hauer was is rarely understated. His vast corpus reveals a ready willingness to confront theological conversations with provocative wit and confidence. Titles from other
As someone who has been involved in youth ministry for almost four decades, I can tell you that I have read dozens of books on
“Lazarus is dead. …I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:14, 25 Lent is a troubling season for people living in twenty-first centur y
The general synod was at evening prayer. The prayers and the scripture were in English. The question of language arose when it came time to
FEBRUARY 2006: ESSAY “Here on the prairie there is nothing to distract attention from the evening and the morning, nothing on the horizon to abbreviate
After limping along most of the year, the films of 2005 ended with a rare body of work fierce in moral and even spiritual inspection.
Louie’s 1939 Ford with its teardrop design and V-8 engine really kicked gravel. But everyone knew that Louie had earned his nickname “Speed” from roller
FEBRUARY 2006 The Center of Snow There is a silence in the beauty of the universe which is like a noise when compared with the
Pastors who think about it will tell you that baptismal practice in the church is anemic. This is not a new or recent diagnosis. Calvin
Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you insect Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Now,
This month we complete a line change on the Perspectives hockey squad. In an accompanying column we offer homage to Fran Fike, our outgoing poetry
With this issue of Perspectives we bid a fond adieu to our longtime Poetry Editor, Fran Fike. The name of Francis G. Fike first appeared
The anesthesiologist, I thought, looked competent. He had introduced himself shortly after the nurse in pre-op had managed to pull my wedding ring off. “The
JANUARY 2006: ESSAY by Rosemarie van der Jagt and Christopher R. Smit Only a week had gone by since my summer research project had begun,
In preparing for today, I’ve decided that preaching just one sermon on living with cancer is as challenging as living with cancer! At my pharmacy
JANUARY 2006: POETRY — and he cried with a loud voice: Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees — — Revelation They
JANUARY 2006: REVIEW Stanley Grenz’s untimely death in the spring of 2005 deprived the church of an eloquent theological voice that expressed the perceptions of
My husband and I are expecting our first child any day now. Carrying a child during the Advent season offers one a new perspective on
Apparently the debate over Intelligent Design (ID) is not going away. Perhaps that should read, “the debates.” Beyond the debate over human origins and who
The king was understandably upset. In a single night it had all unraveled. What had started out as an inviting series of developments had taken
Over the past fifty years, Eugene Heideman has been a leading theological voice in the Reformed Church in America and the broader Reformed community. Raised
Roger Schutz, the founder of the Taizé Community–and its leading light over the past sixty years of its existence–died unexpectedly and violently in late August.
Indictment of a Passive Voice Discussions on our prayer nights confuse As much as clarify how we’re to live. One friend asserts our peace demands
James C. Kennedy and Caroline J. Simon, of the history and philosophy departments at Hope College, have written a remarkably candid and insightful book about
I am a romantic. I like movies with happy endings. I justify this by saying there is enough in real life to make me sober
Every Sunday morning of my youth, the words fell from the pulpit like the solemn tolling of a bell: “The Lord is in his holy
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, and I’ve given a fair bit of thought as to why that is so. After all, authorities tell
Evangelicals generally insist that “the meaning and purpose of life is to have a personal relationship with Jesus.” That’s how a Methodist pastor I was
“How much should we pay the pastor?” The annual dance around this question at the local church is often difficult and confrontational. Everybody involved hopes
During the counter-culture years in the late 1960s an angry man bluntly accused me of turning my back on the church. That’s how he interpreted
from Immanuel xxiii Mud-splotched, chiggered, thorn-matted hair and beard, naked, a scurried, spidery- crawl on all fours, snarls, bellows, less human the more they heard:
Americans are not comfortable with their nation being associated with the term “empire.” Despite its substantial numbers of troops and governing power in Afghanistan and
It is only human nature to grip too tightly and compress the certainties [of the Christian faith] into too-limited, too-simple formulations. Part of us wants
One of my colleagues retired this spring. It was a sad day both for me and for the congregation we served together. I saw more
By almost any reckoning, it was a tough summer. Here in the Midwest it was also a very hot, dry summer with seven times more
The phone call interrupted the weekly text study I host for pastoral colleagues. The female caller identi- fied herself as Gretchen Johnson, the wife of
Max L. Stackhouse is the Rimmer and Ruth de Vries Professor of Reformed Theology and Public Life at Princeton Theological Seminary. He has published many
Schoolteachers caution against it, editors abhor it, even computerized grammar checks try to eliminate it–the passive voice. Strunk and White’s Elements of Style pronounces the
CONGRUITY To the Blessed Sacrament exposed Wafer thin slice of light–the local point of all the universes, every sun; the point of all that matters
When Jesus appointed the seventytwo to preach the gospel, he indicated that they were not merely authorized to preach the gospel, to speak about Jesus,
The article by David Myers and Letha Scanzoni in the April issue is the third feature article on the subject of homosexuality to appear in
In June of 1999, after returning to Michigan from a stay in Rwanda, my husband and I adopted three African-American siblings from the foster care
To all the graduates at Eastern University, together with their overseers–family, friends, university faculty, and administrative deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our
When we ordain a new elder or deacon at my church, a substantial proportion of the congregation gets into the act. We have the custom
Her picture hangs on the wall of my office–as she was as a young WAVE cryptographer during World War II. In profile, her upturned face
Chadwick Ray acknowledges the growing income disparity in the United States but wonders, citing Paul, if the Christian qualities of piety are not “indifferent to
“God is not a Democrat or a Republican.” One in five students receiving a diploma at Calvin College this past May wore these words somewhere
The movie Sideways, winner of an Oscar and two Golden Globes this year, leaves viewers laughing so hard they cry. Some of the tears flow
It’s astonishing to me that such a wide range of products can be obtained with money. I don’t enjoy paying bills any more than anyone
How might we negotiate the issue of homosexuality while holding to a traditional Christian sexual ethic amidst ecclesiological chaos and fragmentation? How can we advocate
In his review of Anxious About Empire (Perspectives, May 2005), William Katerberg charitably represents the stance of Jean Bethke Elshtain who scolds those Christians not
“Where’s the bunny, Benjamin?” I asked our almost two-year old grandson. He grinned slyly. He knew, of course, where the little toy bunny was hiding.
Peter Hahne’s Schluss mit lustig: Das Ende der Spassgesellschaft (Stop the Merriment: The End of the Fun Society, Johannis Verlag, 2004) is, at least for
It may or may not come as a surprise to learn that sometimes when we preachers begin to write a sermon, we do so having
INTRODUCTION There is one thing for which I am regularly (and justly) scolded by my wife: I just don’t know how to rest. Far too
Every time I’ve been in Charles Mix County, South Dakota, in the last few years, I’ve stopped at a ghost town called, simply, Academy, about
Marilynne Robinson is an instructor at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and is the author of the 1981 novel, Housekeeping, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award for
There was awkwardness between Jesus and Peter–after all, Peter had denied Jesus three times only a few days before. Yet Jesus did not demand an
“[The] values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society–and the duty of protecting these values against their enemies is the
Easter faith is about many things. But more than anything else, it may be about the end of fear. Getting perspective on this fear is
An affirmative answer to Reinhold Niebuhr’s famous prayer begins with the wisdom to distinguish what we can change from what we cannot. Some traits, it’s
In the January 6 early web edition of Dagens Nyheter, one of Scandinavia’s leading newspapers, the headline reads “USA church rejoices in Swedish victims.” In
A reciprocal relationship exists between the structure of a society and its people. The way one thinks and behaves is profoundly influenced by the policies
Holding a morsel of the bread that Jesus had given him, Judas exited into the darkness. Is it the same bread Jesus used that evening
SPRING Sun shines on the melting bank, the gruel-gray path. Eaves of our stone cottage sparkle with dripping, light- filled drops. This morning, I learn
For William Vande Kopple, family, fishing, and faith are inseparable. In The Catch, a collection of short fiction, Vande Kopple explores the connections within this
As I write these words my country is in mourning. Television commentators speak in hushed voices of the calamity that is upon us. Their guests
I am writing in response to David Timmer’s article in the January 2005 issue of Perspectives, “Same-Sex Marriage: Crisis in Society, Summons to the Church.”
Late last fall, as I looked around my classroom, I suddenly realized two things about my students. (Naturally, neither had to do with the topic
My father has been negotiating some dark passages of late. He’s in his mid-eighties now, and the edges of life are starting to pinch in.
Every twenty years, Bethlehem has beckoned me. In 1964, seventeen years after the outbreak of what Palestinian Arabs call “The Disaster” (an-Nakbah) and Israelis call
Over the last three decades a major cultural shift has taken place in the attitudes of Western societies toward the future. Optimism has given way
“Abuse is use without grace; it is always a failure in the counterpoint of use and enjoyment.” So argues Joseph Sittler in the title essay
You just never know when Easter will come. Suppose that on January 1 of any given year, someone handed you a brand new calendar. Then
At Standing Stone State Rustic Park near Hilham, Tennessee, they ought to have a sign. No Internet AccessNo Cable TelevisionNo Phones, No Cell TowerNo Microwave,No
Last fall newly appointed editor James Bratt bid a fond farewell to Roy Anker as Roy completed his term of distinguished service to this journal.
The Two Sons From end to end across the rough-cut dressing table the angry prelate stacked complaints papering the pristine vestments documenting his so-called “errors
What is it about mockery that hurts so much? We all know. Mockery causes shame. It strips us. It exposes us. Mockery isolates some feature
Lawrence Dorr has been writing fiction in English for more than forty years. Previous collections of his fiction include A Slow, Soft River (1974), The
“Liberia is a permanently haunted land filled with vengeful ghosts, and I had committed many sins there.” So ends Hannah Musgrave’s tale, chronicling her journey
During Advent I enjoyed a performance of Handel’s Messiah–music for Advent and Christmas, but music also relevant to Lent and Easter. While enjoying this past
What do I have to do to get an addition put in the Psalms? I have a new song that needs to be in there
My father called me the other day, with all the excitement of a boy who had bagged his first rabbit. He informed me that he
I’ve put in my time at music camp. Nine summers out of eleven, I packed my bags, stocked up on new strings, and braced myself
In his new book, Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics (Brazos Press, 2004), Samuel Wells argues that the practice of dramatic improvisation offers insight into
We live in a restless world. While God is certainly not absent in the noise and bustle of day to day living, our culture does
The debate over gay marriage that erupted in the United States during 2004 seems to have taken everyone by surprise –at least judging from the
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light; The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells,
Gathered before God is the result of conviction and curiosity. Jane Rogers Vann is convinced that “God is calling the church to be renewed at
A short film that aired on TV when I was a child lingers at the fringes of my memory. It began, if I remember aright,
I have long noticed a parallel between musicians and scientists. We both use instruments, and I think we both use them for the same purpose:
Christmas is a time when Christians think about empires, or at least when they should be thinking about them. The nativity narrative in the Gospel
It’s difficult to know which came first, Christmas or Dickens. With the possible exception of Jesus Christ, no one has had a greater influence on
It really is a wonder that It’s a Wonderful Life has become the preeminent American Christmas movie, eclipsing even the 1947 Miracle on 34th Street.
Novels give readers glimpses into lives and experiences different from their own; that is why reading fiction should be an integral part of pastoral ministry.
In this Advent season, we celebrate both the first coming of Jesus and also his promise to come again. These two events are related: if
Last summer I moved from Wheaton, Illinois, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, from a city with no synagogues and a nearly invisible Jewish population to a
As I look out of my office window, I see sky and the tops of trees. That’s because a foot of snow sits on the
These days, when appearing at events where I am scheduled to speak, I am often asked whether any hymns will be quoted. I think it
“Shame on you.” And then he walked away. I am stunned, and something inside me breaks. The people continue to stream out the sanctuary door.
Down in the church basement, we’re sitting in the lady minister’s office, the nine of us. Pilgrims, Claudette calls us, herself included. Claudette is the
River skimmed with ice, white birch limbs swinging as birds launch toward blue sky Conifer fragrance as the wind blows, scattering. . . grave plots
The canoe glides like wind From marsh out into freer water Remote pink forest melds slowly Into close wall of green. The opaque lake borrows
It is no secret that the Reformed tradition can take shape in forms that are deeply sectarian, provincial, and polemical. But if we were to
My family immigrated to Toronto, Canada from Seoul, Korea when I was nine years old. I remember the plane ride well. It was Japanese Airlines.
In yet another cringe-inducing moment for Christianity, a sports radio host here in central Iowa opined on the air that a Jewish baseball player conflicted
I witnessed this yesterday, in Morocco. I was on the train from Rabat to the Casablanca airport, on my way home to New York. Some
The current presidential campaign, especially Ron Reagan Jr.’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, has brought embryonic stem cell research back to the public consciousness.
“This is your mother. I really need you to call me as soon as you get this message.” The cell phone signal was not good
Relatively new in the church’s liturgical calendar, Christ the King Day (the last Sunday before Advent, November 21 this year) merits a new hymn. Here
Have rifle sales started to soar at the local Wal-Mart? Are friends discussing white water rafting and rock climbing for the first time? Are church
“What is the kingdom of God like?” Jesus often said. “To what shall we compare it?” And whenever Jesus began to speak like this to
According to a well-known Puritan adage from Joseph Hall, “God loveth adverbs; and cares not how good, but how well.” It may well be true
In 2 Corinthians 6:6 the apostle mentions the motives of his zeal for the cause of Christ: “By goodness, by the Holy Ghost, by love
With this issue Roy Anker rotates off Perspectives’ team of co-editors, and the bearer of the above by-line rotates on. Nothing personal: it’s Board policy,
Those who are familiar with “the AAR” (shorthand for the 9,000-person annual joint meeting of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical
“At the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.” “While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God.” This is the gospel–the good news–of justification
In November of 1950, Uncle Sam pointed his long bony finger at my father and ordered this able-bodied U.S. citizen to do his military duty.
America owes part of its national identity to powerful myths that arose out of its early history. Some of these myths are attached to founding
On December 21, 1992, I wrote a letter to Bobby Knight, then coach of the Indiana University basketball team. I sent a similar letter on
At what point do you correct a parishioner about his insistence that he has prostrate cancer? How do you break the good news to him
One of the best things about living in a Northern climate is rounding the curve that takes us from winter to spring, from cold to
Ten years ago, Richard Hughes of Pepperdine University and Theron Schlabach of Goshen College organized a small working conference with an awkward title: “Peace Thinking
If anyone ever deserved a little break, I thought as I drove to the Muskegon River after school that Friday afternoon in October, I was
For years youth ministry has been a rapidly growing focus in both Catholic and Protestant Western Christianity. Churches are creating more and more openings for
“Before acting in this play I philosophically didn’t have a problem with the death penalty. What I’ve learned is that the problems lie in implementation.”
The period of “Ordinary Time” makes up the bulk of the church year, and we’re in the midst of it now. But this past spring,
British literary critic James Wood is hot right now. Formerly the chief critic for the London Guardian, Wood now lives in America and is a
GETHSEMANE . . . and perfect man, with one last chance to say How much he’d rather not: “the hour might pass,” “If it be
Witnessing an actor play C.S. Lewis on stage hardly strikes the contemporary viewer as a novel experience. For over a decade, various versions of William
The traction control moans when I turn onto the grey lane, covered in sleet. My car, an unexpected gift from my mother-in-law, is referred to
On the first day of kindergarten Miss Primus assigned us to sit in groups of six at quarter-scale tables in midget chairs. At my table
Having recently published a book that ponders the relationship between theology and science, I can attest to what perhaps many writers in this field feel:
Airline travel provides opportunities to meet people with stories to tell. Some travelers pray about those who will sit next to them so that they
In the mid 1970s, Calvin College hosted a conference of educators from various Reformed institutions of higher education around the world, including both black and
“May you live in interesting times!” is an old Chinese curse. For those who prize order, clarity, and reliability, interesting times may indeed seem like
He is risen! The Lord is risen! This is the simple but glorious gospel of Easter. This rising was a moment in a single redemptive
I’ve decided to become a burden. I’m sure my friends will be thrilled to hear it. I realize that I’m already probably a lot for
A blue post-it note in my wife’s handwriting had appeared on my computer screen during the night. “Mouse under box in kitchen.” The cat must
The movie Before and After (1996) opens with the quiet narration of a young girl. Sitting alone in her tree house, she reflects that life
They chuckled softly and wagged their heads remembering the times they’d been converted–gone to the front. Ed went three times; Junior only once. He’d tried
SEDGES All winter, above, under snow, their hearts fed on dank earth, their fronds loved the wind. Between storms, a crow landed and squawked to
“By his foes derided, by his own rejected”: only once in a great while do critics begin beating up on a film months before its
Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ has stirred up more than its share of controversy. All the culture wars and disputes about the role
Sometimes, when I’m strapped in my seat, a strange body close on either side of me, two hundred of us altogether packaged like eggs in
Now that The Passion of the Christ is playing in the theaters, we can reflect a moment on how it played in the culture prior
Marvel once again at the ingenuity of the television and radio commercial writers. You’ve heard the General Motors On-Star ads. A woman is in her
John J. Timmerman was a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, a teacher’s teacher, a master stylist, a fine literary critic, a good and fair-minded chairman, a
“Call Lewis Scudder,” the late-April memo read. He “says he has a really neat idea” to share with you. My dear friend lives in Limassol,
“When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after,” wrote Blaise Pascal, “I am frightened, and am
With the proliferation of books today on the subject of leadership, it’s no wonder that some of us feel overwhelmed and confused by all the
In the give and take of any healthy community, you’ll generally find the curmudgeon, the grumpy one on the fringe of the circle. Though we
In the last few years, some leading evangelical scholars have raised a cry against the intellectual malaise in the evangelical world. David Wells, for one,
For months I dreamt about the mottled orange brick ranch perched high atop a hill in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Though modest in size and humble
RECOLLECTION I have a hunch that much of faith is formed in looking backward, taking stock, reflecting on what has been, and what might have
Thomas is the kind of guy anyone would want on her team. He was loyal, he was brave, he assessed situations well, and he wasn’t
Movies have long occupied contested terrain in religious circles. A Christian writer in the 1930s described Hollywood as the “place where Satan has his throne.”
Recently a letter to the editor I wrote was published in a Christian periodical. An article profiling National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice had irritated me
I recently went to a professional football game in Kansas City. What struck me most about the whole affair was that for the tens of
Weird and wonderful superheroes haven’t had it so good since the days of Baal and Zeus. Turn on the television, and you can be touched
This summer my son Nathan and I took a ten-day adventure to Isle Royale–that long green stone nestled in the northwestern waters of Lake Superior.
Throughout their long history, the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) have been much like those famous
TO WAR AGAIN To see them go to war again, Again, will clarify the choice, Which is that either nothing or A Mystery will save
For anyone who parents, works with families, wonders about the nature of the spiritual life and its connection to families, cares about learning, or teaches
The baby Jesus is no sooner breathing than he has to go on the lam, hounded by rankest evil, his parents stealthing the child out
In the waiting room of my car dealership’s service department, I was hoping to hear that the needed repairs would be covered by the warranty.
The wind swirling trash on Kirov Street, the main thoroughfare of the district of Perchersk–an extension of Kiev–rose unhindered from the Dnieper, the river masking
Why do the priest and the Levite pass by the man on the side of the road, and why does the Samaritan stop? What is
This book is a resolute call for the recovery of the doctrine of original sin. As such, it stands more or less in a line
There is a river in the Sierra Mountains. Perhaps it is the most beautiful river in the world. It is born out of the snow
We’re coming to the end–at least I hope we’re coming to the end–of a series of scandals involving America’s corporate leadership. CEOs, corporate boards, top
The Bible tells us that we are to anticipate a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). In this
Even though I attempted a sermon on this text nearly thirty years ago, it is still not without fear and trembling that I attempt to
At four, I am visiting my Aunt Minnie’s farm for the day. Cobs crackle in the black kitchen stove. The wind whines above the mutter
Of the making of books (and films and recordings) by and about Dietrich Bonhoeffer there is no end, apparently. The Lutheran pastor, theologian and political
Choosing birthday cards is always a daunting task–they’re either too smarmy, too sexual, too juvenile, too something. The picture is wrong, the sentiment not quite
I’m the guy who knocked on your door in the summer of 1972 to ask you if you knew Jesus. It is probably time for
This age reveres personal choice in religious matters and deems personal feeling the test of what is authentic, and even Reformed churches are heeding popular
Five years ago my buddy, Duane Shrontz, and I rendezvoused at the Waukesha County Fairgrounds, 15 miles west of Milwaukee, for the 95th anniversary celebration
THE GHOSTS OF NOVEMBER Wailing, chilled winds assailed my tortured yard. The leaves spun up from blasted grass like clouds Of crumbling colors, with each
The life of Jonathan Edwards, born 300 years ago this month, is a tale of a singular but complex vision crossed by paradoxical outcomes under
Religion and politics seem to be ever more entwined in the American public square, with religious language being used to alternately affirm or decry stances
I was blessed with getting stuck in the great blackout of 2003; the most profound of all blackouts in American history. We were in the
To my young eyes, my father had always been a man of Abrahamic proportions: a passionate believer, ardent of heart, lithe of mind, a compelling
In our series, “Taking the Long View,” we interview senior leaders in the Reformed and Presbyterian community, asking them to reflect on their experiences and
Not long ago a well-known, highly accomplished author wrote an “op-ed”-type article in the New York Times Book Review. Surveying the publishing landscape, this author
What is competition? We talk about healthy competition, ensuring competition, and being a competitive person, all of which have positive connotations. Americans, in general, see
Watching the preparations for the recent Iraqi War gave me a disturbing feeling of deja vu. The Bush Administration issued ever more dire warnings about
Listen in on a conversation between Jesus and a crowd of persistent people gathered on the shores on the Sea of Galilee. It is the
We have a TV in our home. It rarely gets used. So I can’t claim to be an expert on television programming. However, when I
During the great missionary era of the nineteenth century, many servants of God from different denominations went over land and seas to far off places
As a Christian, I habitually pray not to be led into temptation and to be delivered from evil. These are times in which those prayers
My daddy died on January 2, 2003. He was 94 years old. For the past three years he was a resident of the Van Andel
Many people who have investigated the relationship between theology and science realize that no single model is adequate to serve as a general description of
Reading the story of David and Goliath recently (I Samuel 17), I found myself wondering what the cheeses were all about. In the midst of
It’s a basic tenet of the Calvinist faith by which I was raised that those sinners who haven’t plumbed the depths of their own darkness
You all need to know that on Monday evening, 15 April 2002, the President of your Seminary was arrested by the New Brunswick City Police
In a speech at the United Nations not long before the start of the war against Iraq, Nelson Mandela made a number of comments that
Along with others, I have grown weary of the term postmodern as the blanket characteristic covering our time. The term simply carries along too much
The events of September 11 have presented considerable spiritual challenges to contemporary culture. I would like to discuss one aspect of one of these challenges
Easter Day Thou, whose sad heart, and weeping head lies low, Whose cloudy breast cold damps invade, Who never feels the Sun, nor smooths thy
There are no earthquakes, no glowing angels (Matthew), no big stone doors magically rolled away (Mark), or dazzling heavenly pronouncements (Luke). And certainly no five-piece
I didn’t go to church last weekend, but I think I took Communion. It happened in a motel lobby on a Monday morning with my
Our son, David, three years old at the time, was praying at bedtime. He asked God to bless his friends, then family, pets, and stuffed
Carol Cook: You had mentioned at the beginning that one of the distinctive features of the Reformed tradition, at least at its best, is that
My father served in the US Army during the Second World War and spent a good portion of his time in the desert area of
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson has taken massive risks with every film he has ever made, and his recent film Punch Drunk Love (due out soon
About twelve years ago, Glenn Tinder asked in a landmark Atlantic Monthly article the vitally important question, “Can We Be Good without God”? He said
The ten commandments are just the beginning of the law in Exodus 20. There are many more laws to come–in fact, exactly 613 laws by
Africa is dying. Americans are luxuriously distant from that, sitting in their easy chairs, watching TV ads that assert “AIDS is a great plague upon
Recent reports have some in the post-baby-boomer generations returning to traditional expressions of Christianity, including Eastern Orthodoxy. At the same time, there abound “pundits” who
“Lew,” I complained recently in an e-mail to him about his latest manuscript, his spiritual memoir, “you’ve got to quit sending in revisions, or we’ll
In all actuality, we don’t know for sure. We do know what the author of the Gospel According to Matthew wrote. And we know what
When Papa’s widow, Della Kley, died in 1966, her estate’s inventory resembled a Salvation Army Store–cheap stuffed furniture not worth recovering, kitchen appliances long outdated
Clover Hill Reformed Church (Hillsborough, NJ) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:5 It stands as it
When I was a college student, I spent three years systematically reading through the Bible for my morning devotions. One benefit of a comprehensive read-through
A week after last November’s mid-term elections in the United States, magazines like Time had cover stories about the Republican “breeze.” Some of these covers
As a 60 year-old teacher, I am different from most of my students in many ways. One way is that I am able to remember
“I need to say something,” the seminarian said prior to giving a benediction to a surprised congregation. “I’ve led worship here three Sundays in a
In one dream, I find the room and arrive on time, but the seats remain empty. In another I search pantingly for the room as
The Internet: full of promise, full of power. And full of hype. As a Christian pastor and theologian, and, until recently, a technology professional, I
Recently I participated in a theological conference at Brigham Young University. It was called, “Salvation in Christ: Christian Perspectives.” Six Latter Day Saints (LDS) scholars
These two recent studies by veteran faculty members take dramatically different approaches to the question of how colleges that are serious about maintaining their Christian
I work in a fairly ugly place: downtown Grand Rapids–where one finds cafes, specialty shops, and restaurants next to convenience stores to buy smokes, condoms,
