Free Republic

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a conglomeration of Lutheran denominations, had over five million members when it was launched in 1988, joining three independent Lutheran confessions with nearly 10,000 congregations and 65 synods. But now, in spite of the word “Evangelical,” this union is in decline. One of its churches, in Edina, Minnesota, throws a pagan sparkle into the deep meaning of “decline.”[1] This June, Anna Helgen, an LGBT Lutheran “minister,” stood in her Lutheran pulpit, dressed in pastoral robes, and recited what she called a “Sparkle Creed” as part of the church service. This liturgy was riddled with...

... The misunderstanding has historical, cultural and political roots but fundamentally it can be attributed to the universalist, Manichean (good vs evil) worldview of what Brown refers to as the Enlightenment West – and the projection of that attitude onto a civilization that doesn’t share the same history. “The distinctiveness of the intellectual and cultural history of inhabitants of the space now occupied by the People’s Republic of China is undeniable,” Brown writes. “In terms of language, modes of governance, economic behavior, and fundamental view about how the world operates and how society should be shaped, the Chinese tradition is...

Is the church a pillar & pedestal of truth? I’ve discussed this verse (1 Tim 3:15) on more than one occasion, but since Catholics keep citing it as a prooftext for Catholicism, I have to correct them more than once. To some extent I’ll repeat myself since they repeat themselves, but I’m also going to expand on some points. Catholics always quote this out of context. But what questions should we ask ourselves when we approach this verse? 1. How should we render the Greek phrase? The Greek construction is anarthrous. There is no definite article. Therefore, there’s no...

I have a young friend, an acquaintance by e-mail, who was raised as an evangelical christian, as a young man entered into liturgical christianity, became greek orthodox for a while, and has recently come out as an Atheist! He is very articulate and highly educated, but tells me that he just can't remain a christian, or even a theist, and maintain his intellectual integrity. We exchanged several e-mails, he was touched that I cared for his soul, and agreed to dialogue with me. I was going to give him an apologetic,(from 1 Peter 3:15, "always be ready to give an...

As a former skeptic, I have a particular interest in Christian apologetics: the defense of the Christian faith. I've read and recommended many excellent books on the subject but want to call your special attention to one I've most recently read because of the uniqueness of its approach and content. "Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend" is a compilation of essays by renowned Christian apologists compiled and edited by my friend and Christian philosopher and apologist, Ravi Zacharias, that together "suggest a new vision for Christian apologetics in this century." I love apologetics because it helped me overcome certain...

Many people do not believe that Jesus was the Son of the living God. While some are actively hostile to any idea that Jesus may have been God’s son, many simply consider Jesus to have been a good teacher, or a good moral person who set a good example for everyone. Still, these people do not believe that Christ was in any way divine. Anyone who believes that the biblical account of Christ’s life was even remotely accurate would likely view him as a good person. However, what Jesus said of Himself presents some problems for those who want to...

When Incrementalism Really Means Compromise I was a mere high school student when I attended my first "contemporary" church service during the "Jesus Freak" movement of the early 1970's in Costa Mesa, California.  Up to that point in my life, I was exposed to more formal type church services only.  Nevertheless, this new kind of church service shocked me very little, because I was made aware (many times, until the point was driven home), of the "logic" behind this modern type worship. The example I heard most promoting the positive aspects of this new movement was, "we are building bridges to...