I have said it before, and I might as well keep saying it: contemporary Western Christians are in desperate need of developing a theology of suffering. We have picked up this strange and unbiblical idea that Christians are never supposed
It is always wise to revisit great books written by great men. The words of the great saints always are of value, and one can never drink too often from these deep springs of biblical truth and spirituality. And some
Oxford, like England, like Europe, is steeped in history. These places have been around for a long time now. The city of Oxford of course goes way back, but it may be best known for Oxford University, which was established
Since I am now in Britain doing a whirlwind tour of the place, it might be appropriate to do a whirlwind tour of its Christian history and current state of play. Britain has been around for a long time of
As part of my mad dash through Europe – or parts of it – let me focus briefly on the Swiss city of Geneva. It is of course a famous city of the Reformation period, and today noted as an
OK, perhaps we should now consider this to be an irregular series, with a title needed something like: “Bill’s European Travelogue and Worldview School”. It is hard not to write such articles when in Europe. And being in the Swiss
Having just left Italy, with a whirlwind tour of some of the greatest works of art and architecture of all time, it is worth reflecting a bit more on how believers should look at art. There are many ways I
In my books, Heidi Mund is a Christian superstar, a champion, and a hero. We so desperately need more like her. Instead we have millions of gutless, spineless effeminate churchians who will never open their mouth about anything. Indeed, our
So who does not want to be happy? We all do, but wanting something is not the same as finding it. We all strive after happiness, but how many people actually find true, lasting happiness? Of course for the Christian,
Where does one begin with someone as important as Martyn Lloyd-Jones? The superlatives keep rolling off the tongue. He was such an important, needed and influential Christian leader, statesman, preacher, theologian, evangelist and expositor of Scripture. “The Doctor,” as he
Fifty years ago (November 22, 1963), three famous men died, but the death of one greatly overshadowed the death of the others. The assassination of President John F Kennedy made world news, so that the deaths of Aldous Huxley and
Although she may not be a household name to many people – even to many Christians – certainly in the world of hymnody she has few equals. Except for perhaps Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley, she may be our greatest
On the writing about C. S. Lewis there is no end – or so it seems. And for good reason: Lewis was one of the greatest apologists and Christian thinkers of last century. He has impacted millions of people already,
The Puritans have gotten a bad rap. From the very beginning the word “Puritan” was a term of derision. Indeed, we have the term “puritanical” because they have been wrongly pictured as dour, joyless, negative and repressive. But that is
So how’s your Latin? Even if it is not very good, it is not too hard to figure out what this phrase means. It is, simply, “Athanasius against the world.” Of course you need to know a bit about church
There is no Christian life without such basic realities as godliness and holiness. There would be other features characteristic of the true child of God, but these two related concepts are the bare minimum. The Bible is quite clear on
Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was an amazing figure in so many ways. He was Dutch Calvinist theologian, pastor, politician, newspaper editor, statesman, journalist, educator, and Christian leader. Historian Richard Lovelace called him the greatest evangelical thinker since Jonathan Edwards.
Nothing like tackling two of the hottest topics going – and when you combine them you really can get explosive results. So put me down as a glutton for punishment I guess. But some things are important and well worth
In a bucket list a person draws up a listing of all the things he wants to do or see before he dies. As each activity is completed the item gets scratched off the list. I here propose a book
John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) was an English pastor, preacher, writer, and Bible expositor. He was part of a strong Wesleyan Methodist family; his great-grandmother was converted under the ministry of John Wesley. He was educated at Eton and Oxford in