It's unlikely that people would object the first law of the so-called Four Spiritual Laws (by the Cru): "God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life." It is rather when we introduce the second law that we get resistance. Some find that claim disturbing because they believe they themselves are in fact … Continue reading Absolutely Sovereign God and his Gospel: Our Eternal Comfort
Paul: Far Too Radical an Apostle
I have long been wondering about the word "Radical" in the label that refers to the group of scholars who do not allow Paul to be read outside Judaism, i.e., the so-called Radical New Perspective on Paul (or the Paul-within-Judaism Perspective). I think that the term "Radical" is a red herring because placing Paul back … Continue reading Paul: Far Too Radical an Apostle
García and Miralles, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life (2016)
García, Héctor, and Francesc Miralles. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. New York: Penguin, 2016. Hard Cover. 198 pages. $27.50. This is a book about an aspect of Japanese culture written by non-Japanese authors. Although one of them (García) does hold Japanese citizenship, this book is an interesting description of Japan … Continue reading García and Miralles, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life (2016)
Jewish Pride?
Recently I came across an interesting sermon by rabbi Angela W. Buchdahl at the Central Synagogue in New York city, titled “Jewish Pride: Live Up to Your Name” (preached on September 26, 2022). You can watch it below, or you can read the entire transcript here. https://youtu.be/wUGIztK1A_w The thesis of her sermon is this: Stop … Continue reading Jewish Pride?
The Regenerated Heart
Eugene H. Peterson's Under the Unpredictable Plant (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992) is one of those books to which I keep returning to be challenged and yet encouraged. One of my favorite sections of the book is where he describes the novelist Chaim Potok's (1929–2002) lecture at Johns Hopkins in the 1980s. Potok's Jewish mother tried … Continue reading The Regenerated Heart