persecution

Persecution: Lessons from Pliny, Newsom and Lightfoot

Jeffrey Stivason
Aug 12, 2020
Paul once commented to Timothy, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” [1] This text tends to make the typical American Christian uncomfortable. They immediately compare their experience to that of the underground church in China or something similar. Yet...

Stand in the Day of Trouble

Jeffrey Stivason
Aug 6, 2020
When Freud arrived in America to give five lectures at Clark University he is said to have quipped, “We are bringing them the plague.” He knew of what he was speaking. He wrote to a colleague referring to his invitation to Clark University saying, “By the way, we could soon be ‘up [expletive] creek...

The Karen Pence Rule

Adam Parker
Jan 21, 2019
Recently it was announced that Karen Pence - a private citizen who is not even occupying an elected office in the United States of America - is going to resume her teaching career at a Christian school. Part of this school's beliefs is that homosexual behavior is a sin, and they require their...

Christianity: A Spiritual Contact Sport

David Prince
Nov 1, 2018
For followers of Christ in America, things are changing rapidly. If thirty years ago, you would have predicted where our culture would be on a variety of issues, no one would have believed you. And yet, here we are, with many aspects of the moral fabric of the culture spiraling down at breakneck...

The Persecution Driven Life

Dustin Benge
Aug 31, 2018
John Hooper, the English Reformer and pastor, was burned at the stake for his unwavering stand upon the truth of Scripture. In 1555, just three weeks prior to his martyrdom, John Hooper gave the following charge in a letter: "You must now turn all your thoughts from the peril you see, and mark the...

A Prayer for Persecuted Brethren

Chad Van Dixhoorn
Aug 13, 2018
Dear Father in heaven, you know all things; you know of the great persecution which your church faces, the scattering of your people in regions of the world, and the lamentations of devout men and women over the loss of dear saints. You know by name the people who ravage your church, who enter...

Decerebrated Frogs, the Straight Line and Cultural Accommodation

Nick Batzig
Feb 1, 2018
In 1869, the German physiologist, Friedrich Goltz, published a series of conclusions from tests he performed on frogs. In his book, Beitrage zur Lehre von den Functionen der Nervencentren des Frosches ( Contributions to the Theory of the Functions of the Nerve Centers of the Frog ) , Golz revealed...

Andrew White, Todd Pruitt and John the Baptist

Richard D. Phillips
Jan 31, 2018
Over at Mortification of Spin , Todd Pruitt has made waves by sounding an alarm over Andrew White, the PCA ruling elder who--as a Democratic candidate for governor in Texas--has stated his commitment to legalized abortion and gay marriage . As reported by Pruitt, Mr. White stated on Texas Public...

Conflict, Comfort and the Cross

Adam Parker
Nov 13, 2017
Last week, a gunman entered First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and killed 26 people, wounding 20 others. The massacre was brutal and left what will surely be scars on all of those who survived, many of whom were young children. Usually there is some sort of grieving period that...

Time to Bury the Bibles?

Aaron Denlinger
Nov 8, 2016
Few things bring out the hysteria in all of us like a presidential election. Perhaps only the close of a millennium (anyone remember Y2K?) can compete for catapulting Americans into a posture of fear and anxiety about their nation's collective future (or lack thereof). Don't get me wrong. I like to...