TPC Pastor's Page

Blog

  • ERH

    Rosenstock-Huessy’s brilliant “cross of reality” is an incredibly helpful way of thinking about life and ministry. The “cross of reality” integrates the tensions of human/Christian experience across time and space. One axis of the cross is the tension between past and future, the other axis is the tension between in-group and out-group. We are constantly… Read more

  • Chilton on Western Civ

    David Chilton on the blessings of Christian civilization/Christendom: The whole rise of Western Civilization – science and technology, medicine, the arts, constitutionalism, the jury system, free enterprise, literacy, increasing productivity, a rising standard of living, the high status of women -is attributable to one major fact: the West has been transformed by Christianity. True, the… Read more

  • Some Notes on Acts 27-28

    Some notes on Acts 27-28: *Paul and his shipmates arrive on shore on the 14th day. Whether this is the Sabbath day, the Lord’s Day, or a generic 14th day, doesn’t much matter. What matters is that it is symbolically associated with the Sabbath. *Stoking up a fire on the Sabbath was a capital crime… Read more

  • Usury

    Ronald Wallace summarizes John Calvin’s view of usury: “For centuries before Calvin’s day, the Church and most other authorities had applied the Biblical condemnation of usury quite directly to commercial practices, and had prohibited loans at interest. Exceptions had been allowed. Interest had been deemed payable, for example, when the loan could be shown to… Read more

  • Emotions

    Emotions

    Emotions are not neutral. Feelings are implicit, reflexive judgments about ourselves, others, and/or the world. If I love something, I judge it worthy of my love. If I feel angry about something, it is because I perceive a situation as unjust or somehow disordered. If I feel joy, it’s because judge that my experience of… Read more

  • Random Notes on Ephesians

    In Ephesians 1:3, Paul tells us God the Father has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” A couple notes on this jam-packed verse: 1. Why are the blessings called “spiritual” blessings? The point is not that they are immaterial or non-physical. They are Spiritual blessings with a capital “S.”… Read more