The Shack - William P. Young: The Review

To Begin...

May I begin by saying that I found as much good in the book as I did bad.  I am not, in the review, attempting to be counter-cultural by simply bashing the book for the sake of my own desire to be slightly different from others.  Please read what I have written with an understanding that it has not been easy to write - especially when many, many whom I know and love have found solace, joy, inspiration, and a certain amount of freedom in reading The Shack.  I have no doubt that God is using the book for his means.  But that does not make the book perfect.

A Word On Fiction & Emotions

Simply because The Shack is a fictional story does not mean that it does not have theology within it, I'd hope that by now all who read this review would not be naive enough to think otherwise.  Neither does the book being fiction dictate that it is necessarily good, or that any errors can be passed off with the comments 'oh, but it's only fiction.  It isn't meant to be true!' Again, such a comment is naive and foolish.  Fiction books have an ability, perhaps more so that non-fiction, to change us.  This is because they are inherently emotive.  And this is no different with The Shack.  It is clearly emotional, from the very beginning we have sympathy with Mack and his situation - and for good reason, for clearly anyone who goes through the things that Mack has would react in an equally emotional manner.  

What this does mean for us, however, is that we must be even more careful in allowing the theological to get emotional.  Now, allow me to explain myself.  Theology is a means to another end - knowing God.  So clearly emotion is involved in theology.  But to defend the Shack on the grounds of fiction seems to indicate two things, firstly that there is a lack of willingness to deal with the issues it brings up.  And Secondly, that one has become so emotionally involved that an attack on the book feels like an attack on a persons emotional response to the book.  If this is the case, I suggest you seek help from your pastor. 

The Good Stuff

Like I have said, there was a lot of good in the book.  It was gripping (once you get used to the slightly inept style of writing and seeming lack of editorial input).  As a male who has big hopes and desires to be a father one day, I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child in the circumstances the book describes.  So the actual reading of the book is easy - it took me two days.

The Shack identifies many legalistic problems that evangelical Christians can be prone to suffer from today.  And certainly as I study theology, it is good to remember that God does love his people, that God does care, that God does want us to change and become who he created us to be.  One way in which The Shack does it is by emphasising the imminence of God (to the detriment of God's transcendence, but more of that later).  And it is something that we do need to remember.  

Chapter Sixteen discusses the nature of human forgiveness very well.  For to forgive is to take the wound, and not to gain revenge.  It is to acknowledge wrong-doing and yet to choose to seek to restore relationship.  It is not to forget, but it is to let go of the need to react.  I thought the discussion and description of Mack's forgiveness was very good.

The Bad Stuff

One of the most evident aspects that is lacking in The Shack is the awesomeness of God.  His transcendence is simply not mentioned at all.  Of course, the book does talk of God's imminence, and does so very well.  But whilst it is good to remember the imminence of God, that does not mean that we should forget that God is wholly other.  But what about the fact that in the Old Testament we find that God only communicates through a burning bush to Moses, yet Moses still hides his face our of fear and reverence?  And Isaiah, who cries, 'Woe is me!  Woe is me!' when he is shown the throne of God in a vision in Isaiah 6?  Much of what is written in the Shack regarding God only tells half the story.  Without the other half, the reader can potentially have a false understanding of God.

There are attributes of God that are not dealt with in the book, and even worse, downplayed.  God's wrath, justice and holiness are not dealt with in a sufficient way in the Shack.  Which in itself may be tolerable.  But the subtle danger in the presentation of other attributes of God means that the reader may end up downplaying other essential attributes of God, like his justice.  It does bring up the ever present issue that we must all grapple with, how do we put God's love and his justice together?  The God that I read about in the Shack is not even half the God I read about in the Bible.

Some of the stuff that Young has God saying do seem to be clearly unbiblical - like on page 96 when Papa says that he had not left Jesus, no matter how he felt at the time.  We have Jesus crying out that God had forsaken him in Mark 15, and also have references to that separation throughout church history.  Whilst the counter argument may be that this doesn't prove that God did forsake Jesus on the cross - I'd prefer to trust Scripture and history than a line in a book published last year.  As for God not creating institutions?  Well, Romans 13 says that God created government and gave it it's authority - so Paul exhorts the Romans to obey the authorities God has instituted.

One other major issue I have with the book is that it seems to be verging on universalism - that all will be saved in the end.  Chapter Twelve of the book seems to talk most about this.  And although it would be very easy to distance himself from this accusation, the author hasn't done so.  I cannot justify universalism from the Bible - it is clear that not all will be save, from the mere fact that Jesus talks of hell so much.

Concluding Comments

I personally did not find the Shack all that interesting or well written.  What I did find is that it has brought up many different aspects of God that those of our culture have difficulty dealing with.  Indeed, it has highlighted some of the aspects of Christianity that can be abused too easily (for example, suffering and the sovereignty of God, authority of Scripture), or forgotten too easily (for example, God's imminence).  And whilst I do think that the Shack does have bad theology - I would hesitate to call it heretical.  I do believe, though, that in a church that has far too much of a 'Jesus-is-my-girlfriend' ideology floating around, the Shack does very little to counter that false notion of God.

I have not touched on every issue that appeared to me whilst reading the Shack, but I have attempted to give The Shack a fair going, and whilst it is not all good, there clearly is some good in it, and God's hand seems to be on it and working through it.  

This is not a comprehensive review, perhaps if I hadn't a degree to work for I would be able to do as good a job on a review as some of the ones I've read recently (please note the links to various reviews at the bottom of this post).  

If you gain nothing from reading this, then hear this:  it is folly to have an opinion on the book if you have not read it (but you may already have an opinion on the theology of the book), but it is of equal folly to fail to deal with the theological issues that the book brings up once you have read it.

Please do speak to me about what I think about the book, communication is much easier when face-to-face and two way.  It would be interesting to discuss with other people and their views on the book.

I end with a quote from a very helpful reviewer (Scott Lindsey):

"I believe that those who are well-grounded in the Word won’t be harmed by the weaknesses and 

deficiencies of the book. Unfortunately, few people these days are well-grounded in the Word."

Reviews

Scott Lindsey of The Resurgence 

Tim Challies of challies.com

Chuck Colson of Diminishing Glory

Al Mohler's radio show about The Shack

James DeYoung, a Professor from Western Seminary 

Note:  I don't necessarily agree with all that is written in these reviews - but they do most certainly highlight what needs to be grappled with in regards to the theology the Shack is built upon.

The Shack

I am about the embark on the reading of the book, The Shack.

I am sure that rumours of this book have made it to your ears.  And as I read I intend to keep a blog regarding my ruminations surrounding this book.  Opinion is divided - whilst a near unprecedented number of people have told me to read it, not many can find good reason to recommend it.  On the other hand, many who I respect have taken issue with some of the theology evident in the fictional story.

So, with Foy Vance as the backdrop, I begin my reading...

A Winter Warning.

I posted the link to this a while back.  But having re-read it, I thought I'd post the whole thing up.  It really is sobering, when I think through the last year, I have cause to repent and ask forgiveness for so many of these things.  I encourage you to read through these, and seek to change your attitude if any one should speak about you.

------------------------------------------------------------

From 'From The Study'

1. Cultivate pride by writing only to impress your professors instead of writing to better understand and more clearly communicate truth.

2. Perfect the fine art of corner-cutting by not really researching for a paper but instead writing your uneducated and unsubstantiated opinions and filling them in with strategically placed footnotes.

3. Mistake the amount of education you receive with the actual knowledge you obtain. Keep telling yourself, “I’ll really start learning this stuff when I do my Th.M or my Ph.D.”

4. Nurture an attitude of superiority, competition, and condescension toward fellow seminary students. Secretly speak ill of them with friends and with your spouse.

5. Regularly question the wisdom and competency of your professors. Find ways to disrespect your professors by questioning them publicly in class and by trying to make them look foolish.

6. Neglect personal worship, Bible reading and prayer.

7. Don’t evangelize your neighbors.

8. Practice misquoting and misrepresenting positions and ideas you don’t agree with. Be lazy and don’t attempt to understand opposing views; instead, nurse your prejudices and exalt your opinions by superficial reading and listening.

9. Give your opinion as often as possible - especially in class. Ask questions that show off your knowledge instead of questions that demonstrate a genuine inquiry.

10. Speak of heretical movements, teachers, and doctrine with an air of disdain and levity.

11. Find better things to do than serve in your local church.

12. Fill your life with questionable movies, television, internet, and music.

13. Set aside fellowship and accountability with fellow brothers in Christ.

14. Let your study of divine things become dull, boring, lifeless, and mundane.

15. Chip away at your integrity by signing your school’s covenant and then breaking it under the delusion that, “Those rules are legalistic anyway.”

16. Don’t read to learn; read only to refute what you believe is wrong.

17. Convince yourself that you already know all this stuff.

18. Just study. Don’t exercise, spend time with your family, or work.

19. Save major papers for the last possible moment so that you can ensure that you don’t really learn anything by writing them.

20. Don’t waste your time forming friendships with your professors and those older and wiser than you.

21. Make the mistake of thinking that your education guarantees your success in ministry.

22. Don’t study devotionally. You’ll never make it as a big time scholar if you do that. Scholars need to be cool, detached, and unbiased - certainly not Jesus freaks.

23. Day dream about future opportunities to the point that you get nothing out of your current opportunity to learn God’s Word.

24. Do other things while in class instead of listening - like homework, scheduling, letter-writing, and email.

25. Spend more time blogging than studying.

26. Avoid chapel and other opportunities for corporate worship.

27. Argue angrily with those who don’t see things your way. Whatever you do, don’t read and meditate on II Timothy 2:24-26 and James 3:13-18 as you prepare for ministry.

28. Set your hopes on an easy, cushy pastorate for when you graduate. Determine now not to obey God when he calls you to serve in a difficult church.

29. Look forward to the day when you won’t have to concern yourself with all this theology and when you will be able to just “preach Jesus.”

30. Forget that your primary responsibility is care for your family through provision, shepherding, and leadership.

31. Master Calvin, Owen, and Edwards, but not the Law, Prophets, and Apostles.

32. Gain knowledge in order to merely teach others. Don’t expend the effort it takes to deal with your own heart.

33. Pick apart your pastor’s sermons every week. Only point out his mistakes and his poor theological reasoning so you don’t have to be convicted by anything he says.

34. Protect yourself from real fellowship by only talking about theology and never about your personal spiritual issues, sin, and struggles.

35. Comfort yourself with the delusion that you will start seriously dealing with sin as soon as you become a pastor; right now it’s not really that big a deal.

36. Don’t serve the poor, visit the sick, or care for widows and orphans - save that stuff for the uneducated, non-seminary trained, lay Christians.

37. Keep telling yourself that you want to preach, but don’t ever seek opportunities to preach, especially at local rescue missions and nursing homes. Wait until your church candidacy to preach your first sermon.

38. Let envy keep you from profiting from sermons preached by fellow students.

39. Resent behind-the-scenes, unrecognized service. Only serve in areas where you are sure you will receive praise and accolades.

40. Appear spiritual and knowledgeable at all costs. Don’t let others see your imperfections and ignorance, even if it means you have to lie.

41. Love books and theology and ministry more than the Lord Jesus Christ.

42. Let your passion for the gospel be replaced by passion for complex doctrinal speculation.

43. Become angry, resentful and devastated when you receive something less than an A.

44. Let your excitement for ministry increase or decrease in direct proportion to the accolades or criticisms you receive from your professors.

45. Don’t really try to learn the languages - let Bible Works do all the work for you.

The Joy of Little Kids...

My sister (aged 20) - "Can someone tell me how to use the shower?"

My foster sister (aged 3, just) - "I caaaaaaaaan!"

Brilliant.

(She can't, just to confirm).

Home Schooling: A Challenge From Church History, A Challenge From The Catholics.

Over the past 50 or so years, public schooling has increased dramatically.  Now, all children in Western society are put through school, normally for the large majority of their first 20 years or more.  The government has been the supplier of that education.

The government has also been secular - distinctly non-Christian.

Thus we have the challenge presented to my Modern Church class this afternoon.  Why are Christians still allowing their children to go through the secular education system?

Proverbs 21 says that if you teach a child to walk in the direction of the Lord they won't stray when they grow up.  Why do we as Christians not assume the opposite is also true?  If we allow our children to be taught and brought up in the way of rabid materialism, individualism and secularism - are we surprised that many do not follow Christ when they grow up?

Throughout history the church has been proponents of education.  And in many ways this hasn't changed, but it has simply left the hand of the church and moved into the government's hands, who seem only to be concerned with producing a new workforce, so that capitalism can continue.  

The statistics - 2% of children under 18 go to church, and 87% of that 2% go with their families. Which means that only 0.2% of all children under 18 years old go to church on their own, with no inherent background helping them.  The claim from my lecturer was that this would change if Christians took back the educating of their children.  

The Catholics seem to have this right, they still have their educational presence in Britain today, and they are still the biggest church in the world - and still the fastest growing.

Quite a challenge.  One I am thinking through, because it isn't always as easy as homeschooling, though it may be the ideal.

"No matter how much we love theology - it will never love us back."

I have been reminded again and again this week that theology is not the end.

It is a means to understanding what my relationship with Christ is all about.  But at the end of the day, it is relationship.

The title is a quote from Mark Allen Powell (quoted by Scot McKnight in 'The Jesus Creed').  It has summed up what I've been reminded of this week.

All the knowledge in the world will not save you from anything.  Only relationship with Christ can change, save, redeem.

The Beginning

It's been five weeks and a day since I moved into my room here in Aldis at the London School of Theology.

It's been just over four weeks since the new students arrived and brought this place to life again after a long three-month summer.

Today many of them handed in their first essay.  It's been good to watch them as they have settled in, struggled, overcome, succeeded, and many more things - in four short weeks.

It is exciting to see them give a new lease of life to the college, and to bring all the enthusiasm that they do.  I smile deeply, and think long about my first year here - and regret that I can't stay to watch them develop through their time.  To grow with them, to help them through, to celebrate their successes.

We are the generation that can change the world.  But let's all pray we don't get lost in the mire of post-LST oddities, and keep focussed upon Christ.

It's been a good, good start.  Here's to the next eight months.

New Blog

I've got a new blog.  The link is on the right - called 'Attempting Creativity'.

It is going to be full (ish) of stuff I've written - poems and such.

Currently mainly old, but with some new stuff on its way.

Three Lessons From Stott

Some quotes from John Stott's 'The Living Church'.  Worth chewing on for a while.

"Christians have no business to be pessimists.  Faith and pessimism are incompatible."

"People are drugged by television, hostile to authority and suspicious of words."

"There is no passivity in the attainment of holiness."

Marriage - We Salute You!

As I write the clouds outside my window have just covered the sun.  It's just past 8.30am, and we've had the first half hour of sun in a good few days now.  But the wind is pushing the clouds at a fair pace, so hopefully the sun will come again.

I say this as an introduction to talking about weddings.

Hopefully the sun will shine on Dave and Abby today.  This is the fifth of six weddings this summer.  Each one has been a joy to attend, a lot of fun to be at.  Each one very different, each one perfectly suited to the couple getting married.

Summer is now over, rain has been flooding the land and the nights have been getting darker earlier.  I'm beginning to prepare for working again.  College is just around the corner.  It's going to be a good year.  It has been a good summer.  Probably my last one with a ridiculously long time off.  And I'm especially glad that it was regularly interrupted by days of celebration.

So; Sam, Emma, Phil, Hannah, Pete, Sarah, James, Sharon, Laurie, Lucy, Simon, Suzy, Dave, Abby, Jon, Hayley - here's to you guys.  May God bless your new adventures.

And the sun is just breaking out...

Interview With John Piper

Mark Driscoll interviews John Piper here.  

Piper talks about his life: his parents, marriage, the adoption of his daughter.  

The Current Race...

So we have an election in November.  It will change the face of international politics.  It'll be Barack Obama or John McCain.

In the four major polls in the U.S. Obama is leading McCain, the margin ranging from 4 to 8%.  What is certain is that history will be made when the winner is announced in November.  In Britain, the media coverage has made it seem like Obama has it in the bag.  Why this seems to be the case is obvious - Obama is making history.  Who would have thought seven years ago that the U.S. public would allow a person with the first name Barack run for President?  Who would have thought that a black man could grab the hearts and minds of Americans far and wide?  The potential of having a female President was quite something, but a young, inexperienced black man?  

(Please note:  I write this in order to try and convey the extraordinary happenings in America.)

But even though this piece of history is hitting the headlines over here in Britain, the race has not been won yet.

This hit the media hard a number of days ago when Sarah Palin was announced as McCain's running mate.  A bold move, and one that has bumped McCain right back up there in the race to become President.  Palin seems confident, able, and certainly up for the fight!  (See this BBC snippet, for example.)  It is yet to be seen whether this bold move will work for McCain.  There has been a lot of talk about Palin's private life, her son with Downes Syndrome and her teenage daughter's pregnancy.  But are these issues enough to spoil it for the McCain/Palin campaign? If we are talking real life, then they shouldn't... but we're talking politics, not everyday life.

McCain's speech at the Republican National Convention wasn't dynamic.  He will clearly lose every oratory battle with Obama who has far superior rhetorical skills.  But for the time being, the McCain/Palin campaign has managed to put some distance between themselves and the Bush administration, and at the same time has stolen the limelight from Obama's Clinton laid red carpet.

On What Happens When Education Finally Comes To An End...

"Man Up!"

My own voice booms hauntingly through my mind.  I've been in education since I was five years old.  When I graduate next June, I will be twenty-two.  A full seventeen years of my life have been in preparation for what I will do next.  

"Oh! My."

The second sentence to go booming through my head.  This is scary. Positively frightening. What do you do when you come to the end of what you've been working towards?

"You man up!"

My head echoes with my own answer, and I know it's the right one.  Now is not the time for pussyfooting around, attempting to keep hold of some sort of youthful innocence and irresponsibility.  No, now is the time to stand up. Now is the time to put the foot onto the water and, looking straight ahead, begin to walk.

"Christ, teach me to have faith."

Amen, I say audibly, repeating the prayer over and over in my mind.

The Certain Realities of Uncertain Change

And so as we all finished eating our home-made Cream Teas, many of us decided it was time for a film.  I consider that decision to be driven by tiredness, and likely a sensible one - as we were all very tired.

But myself and a friend decided to play cards instead.  We played the same game for two plus hours, it was a dull game.  But we talked together, and that is what it was about.

My friend is recently married, and we rejoiced and reminisced about the day and ensuing days.  And as we spoke, I reflected upon the idea of change.  Change is always there.  At the current time in my life, the certainty of change seems only second to the certainties of God.  Please note the key word in that sentence is seems.  

As I go into my last year at London School of Theology, feeling a call into pastoral ministry - though unsure of how that will manifest itself - I am realising a longing for stability.  And also realising that I am probably putting my hope in the wrong things for that stability.  

I desire to know what I will do once my degree is over, but I desire substantially less to have to put in the work to find out.  I desire to have a wife and family, but desire far less the work that goes in to changing my attitude and priorities.

At the moment, I want all that God has got for me but do not want to be working for his mission.  I've only just realised this.  It is time for more change.  I need to step up, man up.  Not saying that in any way I am the cause of any of this.  It is only by God's grace and mercy that he has even opened my eyes to this.  And it will only be by His grace and mercy that I will change, and I am confident that I will, because my confidence that Christ will finish the work he has started in me far, far outweighs my own laziness and sinfulness.

I am forgiven, I am an heir with Christ, I am saved.  It deserves my all, He shall get my all.

Trials of a fourteen year old Tim.

The other day I found this written in the sleeve of the Manic Street Preachers album, 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'.

"Today is Thursday 22nd November 2001.  Missed 1 paper in round, I'm annoyed.  I don't think I did, I just miscounted.  Doing revision for modular tests.  Doing 2nd Science investigation.  Need to do Food Technology project.  Have peer education lessons to take for year 8 coming up.  Got Maths and History homework tonight as well!  Tim."

Looks like I was pretty busy at 14!  Reading that made me glad that I am here in 2008, seven years later, doing other things and being busy in other ways.  But at the same time, pleased that I was that busy at 14, it was clearly good training.

New Look, Books, and Sounding Like Other People

I decided to update the image of the blog.  I quite like the new look, especially the continuous nature of the lists down the right hand side... subtle but nice.

Listening to snippets from Jon Foreman's E.P.'s - he is the Switchfoot front man, and has released four E.P.'s over the last year.  They are good, chilled out, stripped down tunes.  Check him out here.

I have been attempting to write a number of book reviews, reviewing the numerous books I have recently read.  It has only happened in skeleton form, and already I don't really like what I've written.  I seem to end up sounding like the many, many book reviews I've read - and not sounding like myself.  Which I suppose is bound to happen to some extent, but I'm not a big fan of it.  So for now my reviews will continue to be skeletons - one day I may post them up here.

The books I have read have brought up numerous things to talk and think about.  The most prominent are epistemology and postmodernism.  But those two subjects will take up another post (or indeed posts), once I've come to a decision about them or build up enough courage to air my questions and limited understanding.

The Right Mentality

To quote Francis Schaeffer:

"Do not minimize the fact that in reading the Bible we are living in a mentality that is the right one, opposed to the great wall of this other mentality that is forced upon us on every side - in education, in literature, in the arts, and in the mass media."1

What a truth.  We often don't perceive the massive effect that the "other mentality" has upon us.  Only recently have I realised just how much I was sucked into the education system of the UK - learning to pass exams, not learning to think.  Having come out of it, I find it not at all surprising that the education system is failing so many.  The current trend is to blame the lack of understanding teachers have for different people's 'learning styles' - but that has little effect in a system that teaches us to scrape through, instead of teaching us to think.  

I have great admiration for teachers who teach people to think.  I don't remember much of the politics that David O'Dell taught me during my A-Level politics course.  But I do remember that he began to teach me to think.

On another level, it excites me that I have friends that are passionate about the arts - and are seeking to have an influence upon the world of art.  Sticking true to God and his revealed Word, they are not afraid to make the hard choices over their art, knowing that God will provide.  That is exciting, that is inspiring.

1  Schaeffer, Francis A., He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Illinois, Tyndale, 2001.

Are We Theology Students Losing Focus?

A reminder to those who, like me, can all too easily lose the focus of why we're studying Theology.

How To Waste Your Theological Education

A running theme throughout these reminders is the fact that it is all too easy to love the subject of Theology and all that it entails - the essays, the reading, the arguing and debating, the refuting, the thelogising and philosophising - and forget that at the end of it all, is Christ.  And it is our love for Christ that should shine through, and it is our love for Christ the likely brought us to study Theology in the first place.  

That's a sobering challenge.

Murray, Whisky, and the Year Just Gone

It's a quarter to midnight on Monday 30 June.  I'm sitting in my lounge watching Andy Murray's incredible comeback against Gasquet, whisky in hand, Steve Carter playing Football manager on the other sofa, and I begin to contemplate the past year.

It took me a while to realise that the year at LST had ended.  It was a good few hours after I got home from Graduation that I realised that there are some people that I will not see again for a very, very long time.  The oddness has been extended in that I live with a number of graduates now.  They are looking for jobs - looking forward to marriage - looking for houses to rent or buy.  A number of things that seem a long way off for me as yet.  But a year is only 365 days, and then I will have graduated.

And I think it is this realisation that is the most shocking - I have to be thinking about my long term future soon... very soon.  My time at LST is nearly over.  

There have been some highlights this year:

• Freshers week
• 24/7 Prayer week
• Spending my Easter Vac in India
• Crazy juggling ball wars 
• Holidaying in Cornwall over New Year 
• Having a lounge
• Successfully passing exams and assignments
• Forming part of the new Student Committee
• Committee Coy Carp
• Committee Weekend Away
• Late night library sessions
• Early morning prayer sessions
• God's faithfulness.  Unfailing, unmoving faithfulness.

It's been a good year.  It's had challenges and hard times.  But the overwhelming impression that I and many others are left with is that it has been a year where God has proven his faithfulness again, and again, and again.

For that, we offer praise.

Goodbye Guys.

India Diaries Have Moved

I have moved my blogging about my trip to India to another location, in order to keep it together as a coherent whole.

India's Annex

Do have a read.  It will soon be completed, now that my term at London School of Theology has finished!

Flying Away

At this moment in time, I am eating jam on toast and drinking Lady Grey tea in an odd degree of calm... For in 40 minutes I will be leaving my Northwood home to commence my approx. 18 hour journey to Dehradun, India.  

I am staying with a family and doing some work with them, as well as just experiencing the country. Please pray, that I may not get ill, that I may know God's grace and peace.  

I will hopefully be putting up a record of my travels on this blog - so do keep checking!

See you all soon!

A Compendium of Thoughts

A numbers of thoughts have been thought in my mind of late... my intention here is to jot them down briefly, in order to return to them later - when I may more fully dwell on them so as to do justice to both your readership and the thoughts themselves.

Barak Obama has become increasingly interesting when it comes to his seemingly erratic policies and beliefs.

Much of the outworking of theology depends upon language.

There is never enough time to fully do all that we wish to do... and indeed, we must fit ourselves into God's time - not insist on time fitting our own, often misguided and messy, lives.

Our society is generally lazy. It is very interesting reading critiques of our culture.

Integrity and holiness are hugely important... like you wouldn't believe.

Don't Steal Music.

Check this article out...

The Pirate

Has piracy become an acceptable sin among Christians?  Poignant question from Justin Taylor.

Keep it in mind...

A quote found on my pastors blog, originally from John Piper's blog.

Something worth keeping at the fore for trainee theologians like myself.


“You can be so interested in great theological and intellectual and philosophical problems that you tend to forget that you are going to die.”

-Martin Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, p. 193.