URC Learning: Sinners & Saints

The sales numbers don’t lie: “Got Jesus” coffee mugs, “Huggy-Jesus” teddy bears, and “O.C.” t-shirts (“only in Christ”) have become the preferred piety of many professing Christian people. Underlying this triviliazation of Christ and culture are life-denying, idolatrous beliefs that are just as much a threat to the Reformed churches as they are to the broader evangelical world.

Yes, politics again. This is part two of a very brief, whet-your-appetite-for-further-study series on how to begin answering political questions from the biblical, Reformed perspective. Here, we introduce our approach to defining government and addressing a Christian’s political responsibilities.

Yes, politics. This is part one of a very brief, whet-your-appetite-for-further-study series on how to begin answering political questions from the biblical, Reformed perspective. Here, we critique “theonomy” in order to lay the foundation for answering political questions from Scripture.

In an unexpected, un-planned Calvary Chapel series post-mortem, we take our cue from a recent Los Angeles Times article about Chuck Smith, Sr. and his son, Chuck Smith, Jr. The article solidified earlier critiques of the Chuck Smith/Calvary Chapel movement as market-driven and more concerned about reflecting happy cultural moods than the biblical faith.

Part three of three in a series evaluating the Chuck Smith/Calvary Chapel movement addresses the Calvary Chapel position on the Arminian/Calvinist debate. The Calvary Chapels are decidedly “Arminian,” but the historic Protestant church is “Calvinist.” These labels are important because they describe how different people understand the basic biblical answers to life’s most important questions.

Part two of three in a series evaluating the Chuck Smith/Calvary Chapel movement addresses Smith’s self-understanding as an authority like unto Old Testament Moses. Also, the Calvary Chapel “Statement of Faith” is analyzed.

Find out what all the controversy was about. Listen to the shows that made babies cry, women scream, and slick-speaking “pastors” with Hawaiian shirts, cargo shorts, and flip-flops run scared. Okay, not really, but at least we shook up the chicken coup a little bit. Part one of three in a series evaluating the Chuck Smith/Calvary Chapel movement addresses its roots in marketing strategy and unbiblical anti-authoritarianism.

You probably have seen the recent Christianity Today cover story titled “Young, Restless, Reformed: Calvinism is Making a Comeback–and Shaking Up the Church.” It misdefines “Reformed,” “Calvinism,” and “church;” and it rehashes bad, old objections to Calvinism. Its chief value, however, is that it should cause you (if you happen to be one of these young and restless “Calvinists”) to finally realize you have to junk the martyr complex and get into a true church

Many people are uneasy with the charasmatic/pentecostal practice of tongue-speaking, but are also hesitant to condemn it as unbiblical and a scam. We are more sickened by that stuff than uneasy, and are NOT hesitant to say that whatever is going on in those circles, it is NOT the tongues and prophecy the Bible talks about.

Let’s face it–Christian churches seem to attract more than their share of people who lack basic social graces. We must give more effort to cultivate our social skills in obedience to Christ’s command “Love your neighbor as yourself.”