The doctrine that makes Christianity Christian

JP: A good read
The Most Important Doctrine Many Never Think About
Introduction:
If any doctrine makes Christianity Christian, then surely it is the doctrine of the Trinity. The three great ecumenical creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—are all structured around our three in one God, underlying the essential importance of Trinitarian theology. Augustine [...]

1969: Credit and Banking

It’s hard to explain how much banking and credit have changed in 40 years. Banking has improved significantly, in my view; and credit has become a little too available.
Funding for college: Kathee and I don’t recollect that there were any student loans available then. I can’t think of one friend who financed his education. Education [...]

On the historicity of Adam

JP: James Anderson on Was Adam a Real Historical Individual?
Conclusion:

On the face of it, the basic literary genre of Genesis 1-4 is that of historical narrative (as opposed to, e.g., poetry, legal code, or apocalypse). This isn’t to say that these chapters can contain no figurative language; many conservative OT scholars would readily grant that [...]

I want to grow up

“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 [...]

Til the Storm Passes By

JP: From Jim Korth (a close friend):
Jim Korth: Storm Stories
Over the last week there has been a lot in the Charlotte and Raleigh news looking back at some past storms. It was 20 years ago when Hurricane Hugo wrecked havoc on Charlotte and points west, and 10 years ago when Hurricane Floyd brought great flooding [...]

Tullian Tchividjian: When Churches Have Disputes

JP: One pastor comments on an upcoming vote to dismiss him:
Tullian Tchividjian: When Churches Have Disputes
Excerpt:
You may have read, in this paper or elsewhere, six members of our church recently circulated unsolicited letters and a petition voicing their opposition to my leadership and requesting a congregational meeting to vote on whether to keep [...]

Think soberly

JP: Comment on the images above: Back in the days when Kathee and I worked at IBM, every IBMer had a “Think” sign on his or her desk. Why …. because IBM founder Tom Watson (picture above) had one! What does “think” have to do with this week’s text?
For I say, through the grace given [...]

Flight 93, the Crater and the Open Book

JP: Found this interesting
Flight 93, the Crater and the Open Book
Excerpts:
But I knew none of this at the time. What I knew was that a plane had crashed in Somerset County. There was a fire ball, smoke, and a crater. The black box was driven 25 feet into the earth, the plane and its inhabitants [...]

Abortion is the debris of the sexual revolution

JP: Good read from Christianity Today
Sex, Lies, and Abortion
Excerpt:
The pro-choice slogan offers no explanation, because the legitimacy of “choice” depends on what is being chosen. Abraham Lincoln exposed this argument a century and a half ago. He argued that if Negroes are hogs, then there can be no question that people have the choice to [...]

1969: First inauguration of Richard Nixon

While I was 20 at the time of the 1968 Presidential election, this was before the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution that lowered the voting age to 18.
As I recollect the major issue was the Vietnam war! Richard Nixon campaigned on a theme to restore “law and order“, end the draft, and appoint [...]