Church and Culture
Confessions of an (Ex) Evangelical Worship Leader
Pastor’s preface: Our LCMS strives to hold fast to the clear words of the Bible and thereby to the Apostolic and historically faithful church. When we are misunderstood by various churches, it almost always boils down to their misunderstanding of the Bible and incorrect theology. This difference often makes our teachings and worship practices unintelligible to many. I spent multiple years as a pastor in an Evangelical church body. I can relate to much in this following article. I also…
Accusations of Fascism So Often So Wrong
Fascism is a word often used to villainize people or groups whose views and politics are essentially NON-Fascist. One of our retired scholars who has written extensively and quite predictively of modern cultural direction summarizes the fundamental wrongness exercised by many who shout “fascist” or “semi-fascist” about their political rivals. Following is Dr. Gene Edward Veith’s recent blog post on the subject. I would also note that Dr. Veith is not and was not a Trump supporter beyond acknowledging that…
Four Stumbling Blocks of American Culture
Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. An evangelist of recent years worked hard to explain how the Christian faith is truly the most reasonable, consistent, and adequate answer to man’s needs summarized modern western cultural fragmentation by highlighting four pervasive dynamics in our culture that arose from widespread rejection of God’s Word and authority. In the past generation, our nation has seen unprecedented shifts in the…
Faith and Worship: From Solid Rock to Shifting Sand
The historical, theological, and philosophical details of several massive shifts in Christianized religious belief and worship are too many to discuss in this article. However, a large part of what characterizes modern Christian worship and theology today flows from the work of a very intelligent man who provided an intellectual argument that shifted the focus of faith from fact to feeling. While Christians have always had powerful feelings that can be expressed in words, actions, and music, a saving faith…
Fascism: A Bit More about the actual philosophy
I noticed that my first post, which described a few basic dynamics of actual fascist philosophy and politics, quickly became the most read post. In response, I am adding a few more major concepts of fascism that may be helpful to know. Caution: Many Americans embrace fascist philosophies. While they may have no desire to exercise them by force, historically those who are willing to, will. As before, I suggest Dr. Gene Edward Veith’s book Modern Fascism: The Threat to…
Fascism: An Abused Word Better Explained
In our culture, academia, and media, the term “fascist” in various form is commonly used to attack one’s opponent without any substantive connection to what fascism actually entails. Often, it is flung toward very NON-fascist people and political ideas by those whose own philosophy and political leanings are clearly within the actual tenets of fascism. Following is a blog entry from Dr. Gene Edward Veith, an LC – MS scholar who, for the past few decades, has written quite a…
“New” Postmodernism is Rousseau’s Old Existentialism Progressed
As King Solomon said, “there is nothing new under the sun.” While many around us feel they are on the cutting edge of cultural change (usually called postmodernists), and while they would likely vociferously deny it, they are just farther down the road of the “old white men’s” philosophy of existentialism. Briefly, existentialism denies absolute truth, such as we could get only from a Creator God who speaks to us as He does in the Bible. It asserts that man…
50 Years Ago, We Hear About Today
On vacation, I took time to reread a couple of the more notable books in my collection. One of them was written by a Christian scientist from England. Dr. A E Wilder-Smith is one of few scientists who ever possessed three earned doctorates in the sciences. His accomplishments and service are stellar. In 1986, he and Dr Edgar Adams, both Creationists, publicly debated evolutionists Dr. Richard Dawkins and Dr. John Maynard Smith. Wilder-Smith and Adams devastated their opponents. This seems…
The Equality Act – An Orwellian Title and Law
I rarely comment on political activities, but in this case, I find need to make exception. (Note 3/20: So far, the bill has not been taken up in Senate. Hopefully, it will not continue process there. The next election will probably determine it’s future.] While we find some disconcerting aspects of Orwell’s 1984 dystopian novel in various American cultural and political arenas, the Equality Act seems more concordant with his other famous novel, Animal Farm. With the socialist leanings of…
The Rapture. Left Behind? Good or Bad? (5)
Being “Left Behind” – Is It Good or Bad? For many (mostly evangelical) Christians, the teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture of believers is a major component of a widely held system of prophetic interpretation. In brief, Jesus will come secretly and suddenly remove all “true” believers in a first of two (three?) resurrections. After the rapture, those “left behind” will enter and either die in, or a few survive the following 7-year time of terrible wars, plagues, disasters, and fierce…
Problems with a 1,000 Year Earthly Reign of Christ
Scriptural Challenges for Premillennialists and the general belief in a literal millennium rule of Christ Belief in a literal, post-2nd coming of Jesus (the parousia in the Greek Scriptures) 1,000 year earthy rule of Christ is not supported by careful reading and cross reference of relevant bible passages. While some early church and other historic theologians accepted a millennial rule of Jesus on this earth from Jerusalem prior to the final judgment and the New Heavens and Earth, it is…
Easter Eggs? NOT Pagan but from Jewish-Christian Historic Belief and Practice
Early Christians did not import the use of eggs on Easter morning from pagan sources. Some try to say so, but either they do not know or chose to ignore solid historical background facts. Of the faith traditions that contribute to Easter eggs, three are most important. 1) Beginning in AD 70, after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the egg became one of the six food items on a Passover meal plate. The egg was added to…
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