Warning Signs that Politics Is Becoming Your Religion
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“1. Politics is what you are most passionate to speak about…. 2. Your enemy is the other political viewpoint/side…. 3. You live as if there is an enduring city here.” - Eric Geiger
The Way of Wisdom
A sermon delivered on Thursday evening, March 28, 1872, by C. H. Spurgeon, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen; the lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. (Job 28: 7, 8)
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Disturbing but Worth It: Getting Outside Our Bubble
In seminary we were encouraged—well, required—to read outside our own theological perspective. A few students recoiled a bit. They had been living in a bubble, and those outside it had been mostly ignored, sometimes caricatured, but never directly listened to with the goal of accurate understanding.
Most students relished the wider reading. They’d already learned that curiosity, personal connection, and questioning assumptions can result in life-changing bursts of discovery and personal growth.
… which is why effective educational institutions do that sort of thing.
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"Everything we do . . . should be done for Christ and in gratitude through him to the Father."
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Thankfulness “is a pervasive concept in biblical thinking. God has been unimaginably good to us—so good, in fact, that literally everything evil about the world pales in comparison.” - Olinger
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Don’t Demonize, Show Honor: Responding to Others After This Election Ends
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“[N]o matter what happens, what shall we say to our church on Sunday? …There’s the usual stuff I will say: comfort those whose candidate lost with the certainty of Christ’s victory. Caution those whose candidate won from putting too much hope in the outcome of any election…” - 9 Marks
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If You’ve Started Hating Fellow Christians Because of How They’re Voting, You’ve Lost Perspective.
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“I’ve been disheartened and frankly appalled by the hatred I’ve seen some Christians have toward other Christians based on their political views—and that goes for both sides. To be clear, I’m not talking about impassioned discussions of which party or candidate to vote for. That’s necessary and important.” - Natasha Crain
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“Who’s to say that God didn’t miraculously reveal Himself to a pizza delivery driver as she was being rescued from a ravine in South Carolina? I certainly don’t have that right.”
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“We live in an age depleted of mystery…. For many of us, while paying lip service to God’s ability to perform miracles (as if He needs our encouragement a la clapping for Tinkerbell), our reality is more akin to the prayer warriors praying for Peter’s release from prison.” - John Ellis
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“The biblical lifestyle is one of serving, caring for those we find repulsive or those who mash all our buttons. It’s not about winning.”
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“You’re not living out love because your life will be better if you do. You’re living out love because life will be better for everybody else if you do. Does this principle have implications for how we live during an election season? during a pandemic? during a period of racial strife? You bet it does. - Dan Olinger
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The Influenced Will Be Like the Influencer: Thoughts on Luke 6:39-40
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“The application is obvious, isn’t it? We have the sober and sobering responsibility to be careful—so very careful—about who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we allow to influence us.” - Challies
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Have Yourself a Hallowed Halloween
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“While Halloween has largely been overtaken by inflatable witches and gory masks, the holiday’s roots in Christian belief and practice offer easy opportunities to engage my children in conversations about death and grief and Christian hope.” - TGC
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