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Showing posts from August, 2020

The New Tribalism

The era of human history in which most human beings live now (or have been profoundly influenced by) is known as “modernity” or simply the “modern era.” This period of history can be differentiated from eras prior in at least one primary way: The modern era is dominated by ideology rather than theology. On the one hand, theology is a conviction and perspective about the nature of reality, of the meaning and purpose of human life and the reasons for ethical and moral imperatives; this is explicitly rooted in a particular understanding of God and revelation granted to humans by God. On the other hand, ideology can be described as a comprehensive philosophy which asserts an explanation about the nature of reality, the meaning and purpose of human life, and gives an explanation for the ethical and moral imperatives people recognize and value. What makes an ideology different from a theology is simply that ideology allows no space for the Deity which its philosophical framework and e

Grappling with Contemporary Issues

There are certain Christian leaders and authors in every generation who by grace leave a profoundly good influence upon the Christian community and even unbelieving people. John Stott is one of those leaders. Among his many excellent books I want to highlight one in particular. That one is Issues Facing Christians Today (4 th edition). I think that this book is essential reading for anyone who identifies him or herself as a disciple of Jesus the Christ because Stott has outlined and modeled how we can face the task of grappling with contemporary issues. As is characteristic of Stott’s writing, he introduces the contemporary issue (topically), lays before the reader the relevant biblical doctrines and/or passages, the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary approaches to understanding and addressing the issue and then presents what he is convinced is the biblically rooted and reasonable way to think about it (intellectual) and means to address it (practical response). The stren