The Canons of Dort Part 8: Total Depravity

Today we move to my personal comments on the Canons of Dort third main point of doctrine: total depravity.

Parenting Teenagers Part 14: MTDs!

Yesterday I attempted to introduce you to the work of sociologist Christian Smith. Today I want to give you his grand conclusion about the religious and spiritual lives of teens today. His conclusion is this: our teenagers are MTDs!

Following Up “Hotel Rwanda”

Several months ago my wife and I got around to watching Hotel Rwanda. If you haven’t seen or heard of it, here is a synopsis: During the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 in which 800,000 men, women, and children were murdered with machetes, a manager of a hotel saves several hundred lives with nothing but his wits. It’s very moving, and I highly recommend it.

After seeing it, my wife and I were quite affected so I wanted to follow up with some reading - typically, movies stretch the truth to tell a better story, but I like to know the history. So I got the story of the UN general who was in charge of the failed peace-keeping mission (if you’ve seen the movie, the Nick Nolte character is loosely based on this general). His name is Romeo Daillaire, and his book is called Shake Hands With the Devil. He is hard on western nations, and after what he saw in Rwanda, he is right.

Prodigal Sons and Daughters

I read an insightful article by Abraham Piper about what to do with a prodigal son or daughter. This is a must read if you have a wayward kid.  It was good for a couple of reasons:

• It was written by a former prodigal.
• It does not sugar coat the reality of children who choose not to believe in Jesus.
• It gives hope and encouragement to parents.
• It reminds us that parents can do everything right and still have a wayward child.
• It reminds us that God is sovereign in all things - even when a child turns away from the faith.

Parenting Teenagers Part 13: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers

Perhaps the most comprehensive study of the religious and spiritual life of teenagers in America today was completed by Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith. He published his findings in Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. He also released a summary of his findings in Soul Searching: A Movie about Teenagers and God. In two posts I hope to give a very brief summary of Smith’s findings and relate them to church and parenting.

The Canons of Dort Part 7: Total Depravity

Today we move to the third man point of doctrine of the Canons of Dort: Total Depravity. As usual, today I will provide a summary of the Canons and then discuss it in another post.

Galaxies Gone Wild

NASA celebrates it’s 18th launch by publishing Hubble Telescope pictures that show galaxies colliding.

It should make us feel small. It should remind us how amazing God is.

The Canons of Dort Part 6: Limited Atonement

There is no question that the issue of limited atonement is a major divide between Calvinists and non-Calvinists. The significance of this issue is even debated between Calvinists. In my previous post I outlined how the Canons of Dort explain limited atonement, now let me give some of my own commentary.

God’s Poem

God’s creation is a poem so that we may know Him.

The Canons of Dort Part 5: Limited Atonement

Continuing my series on the Canons of Dort, today I want to briefly summarize the content of the second main point of doctrine: limited atonement.