Culture

Mary Sidney Herbert and the Poetic Depth of Her Psalter Mary Sidney was one of the most influential women of the Elizabethan age and received high praises for her writing skills. Forgotten for many centuries, she has recently been recognized and included in almost every anthology of English...
The dangers facing the church today are subtle. They are like those facing the family. Imagine a young man sits his parents down at the kitchen table for a talk. He then outs himself as gay or perhaps transgendered. The danger facing that family at that moment is very real. Traditionally they have...
Constancy is something every human being craves. Knowing that, in the midst of all the upheaval and change that marks the course of life, there are anchor-points that provide stability along the way. But where can we find such certainty? It is an issue we become more acutely aware of as one year...
Christine de Pizan – Theologian and Mother Christine de Pizan was the first professional woman writer in France, if not Europe. She is normally seen as an early feminist rather than as a theologian and a mother. But many of her writings are based on her study of Scriptures and the church fathers,...
At face value, the 9 th commandment could be read as merely a prohibition against committing perjury or lying under oath. However, this commandment encompasses so much more. According to both the Westminster Shorter and the Baptist catechisms, “The ninth commandment requires the maintaining and...
Our dynamic duo brings up a topic that is usually difficult, and—many times—hard to swallow in the local church. Church leaders and congregants alike can also often misunderstand its procedure and purposes. What is church discipline, and what does Scripture teach about it? What’s the purpose of...
…he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. John 12:6b NKJV We often consider stealing to be a minor sin. Especially if it is only shaving a few dollars off of our tax returns, borrowing a few items from work, adding a few minutes on our timecards, remaining a...
The issue of abortion is one of the most divisive in modern political discourse. The option for a woman to end a pregnancy has been proclaimed by some to be a basic right, while others have decried it as the murder of a fellow human being. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult for so-called "pro-...
Theodulf of Orleans – Poet and Theologian in the Carolingian Court Theodulf belonged to the group of bright minds Charlemagne gathered at his court in order to boost education in his empire. Born in a Visigothic family, probably in Spain, around the year 750, he is named after the French city where...
I was once struck by a brief radio address given by a Jewish Rabbi on the morning of Yom Kippur. She spent the whole time allotted to her talking about Isaiah 58 and how it links to the deliverance of Israel in Jewish understanding. Very helpfully she reminded her audience that all ethnic Jews can...