Herman Bavinck taught theology at Kampen in Holland, and subsequently at the Free University of Amsterdam. He is highly regarded for his four-volume Reformed Dogmatics—recently translated into English and published in North America. One contemporary Princeton theologian eulogized Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics saying “[t]he book is so excellent that it seems almost impossible to be too generous in its praise.”1 Bavinck’s work is marked by a deep reverence for the scriptural faith of the church—yet integrates a candid recognition of the difficulties and mysteries encountered by those who confess the one true religion. Here he reflects on some of the […]

  In May 1976, Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge appointed Kang Kek Leu to run their newly established “Security Office 21” (S-21). His assignment was to interrogate and exterminate all those opposed to Angka Loeu (the “Organization on High”), the Cambodian regime’s self-designation. In the appropriately named, Tuol Sleng (meaning “hill of guilt”) in Phnom Penh, he enclosed a former school with corrugated iron topped with electrified barbed wire. On the ground floor, he divided classrooms into small cells, each designed for single prisoners. Given the evil he committed, would anyone have imagined that one of Angka Loeu’s leading “butchers” would, within […]

  1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. 2 Now bands from Aram had gone out and taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 2 Kings 5:1-3 (NIV)

Pastor John Scripture Reference: II Thessalonians 3:1-18

Rusticus, the prefect of Rome, glared at Justin and asked, “What teachings do you hold?” The 65-year-old man quickly replied, “I have tried to learn from all teachings, but I came to adopt the true teachings, which are those of the Christians.”1 Upon further examination, Justin confessed to holding meetings in the house of a man named Martinus in Rome. Rusticus demanded that Justin and those with him offer sacrifice, but they boldly refused. The prefect then commanded them beaten with rods and beheaded. Nevertheless, they passed to their deaths praising God and confessing Christ. After they died, faithful Christians […]

  Philosophy professor Arturo Fontaine Talavera is the director of the Centro de Estudios Públicos (Center of Public Studies) in Chile.1 In a study of the impact of globalization on culture in Chile, he outlines the impact, in the last few decades, of the spread of evangelical (mainly Pentecostal) religion—particularly amongst the poorest people in the capital city, Santiago.

Clichés certainly can be annoying. They can also be right. The popular saying “the family that prays together, stays together” serves as a case in point that “well worn” adages need not be trite or trivial. In 2003, sociologists at the National Study of Youth and Religion examined the relationship between a family’s religious participation and the quality of the bond between teens and parents. Their surveys showed that children in devotionally minded homes had a better perception of their parents: “Early adolescents living in religiously involved families in the United States are more likely to report stronger, more positive […]

The people of our church use a variety of different translations of the scriptures in their personal study. It is helpful that there are a variety of very accurate translations from which to choose. This year our church switched from using the NIV (the New International Version) to the ESV (the English Standard Version) as the translation largely taught from in the pulpit.

Pastor John Scripture Reference: II Thessalonians 2:13-17

  Penna Dexter DALLAS (BP) — To explain the recent British riots, people are using words like greed, selfishness, criminality and lust for violence. The British press, almost monolithically, insists that it’s not politics. Peggy Noonan, in an Aug. 13 Wall Street Journal column, blamed “the distorting effects of the British welfare state.” In part, that does involve politics — the politics of dependency where the state has increasingly displaced the family.