A Review of
By Philip Bartelt
05/28/25
8mins

A Review of "Shaman and Sage: The Roots of the 'Spiritual but Not Religious' in Antiquity" by Michael Horton

Those who venture through these pages will find a veritable gold mine for the task of theology today, especially in the realm of apologetics.
Psalm 9: Blood Avenger and Mercy Seat
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
05/27/25

Psalm 9: Blood Avenger and Mercy Seat

Should you then abandon David’s plea that God use his law against his enemies and send a Legal Avenger? No, the law must be preached to the Christian (insofar as he is not one).
The Forgotten Fire
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
05/26/25

The Forgotten Fire

The Church needs mystics again. Not fringe figures, but saints ablaze with love.

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/10/13

We Are All Beggars

We need not look the part to elicit divine compassion. We need not be on our knees, face downcast, eyes watery, voice quivering, to make sure we get heaven’s attention. We need not play the beggar before God.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/11/13

Let Him Who Is Without Sin

Let him feel the heft of stone cradled in his palm, and consider the gravity of guilt cast upon the hypocrite.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/12/13

Rehearsing Confession

Never are we more Hollywood than when we admit wrongdoing. Our confession is scripted, edited, practiced. Move over Brad Pitt; I’ve got this role down pat, for it’s my version of me.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/30/12

Vulnerability in the Pulpit

A few weeks ago, the pastor of my congregation did something in his sermon I’ve never heard a pastor do: he confessed a failure. He had once been ashamed of his brother, he admitted, and had acted in a way toward him that was not in keeping with love.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/13/12

Washing Down Antidepressants with Eggnog

Perhaps part of the mistake we’ve made is in forgetting that the first Christmas, the actual birthday of Jesus, started out as the worst of times.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/28/12

How a Badger Taught Me That God Has Ears

I didn’t pray for forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, or world peace. All this ten-year-old wanted was a badger. So that’s what I asked for.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/21/12

Whiskey Baptism

A few people can endure a Job-like hell, get up, bless God, and face the future stronger than ever. Most of us aren’t such saints. We hobble along, half-walking, half-crawling into the will-be from the what-was.
Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson
11/21/12

Do You Trust My Love?

Recently I took eleven kids to the movie theater, only three of them were my own. Crazy, I know. When we found our seats, I told the kids that I was going to get popcorn. One child asked me in a panicked voice, “What about me? Will I get popcorn?”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/14/12

Cobwebbed Beauty

Our hearts are half Amish at times, hankering to live in the past, for we dislike the present or fear the future. But therein lies a grave danger, for nostalgia can easily become the gateway drug to despair.
Elyse Fitzpatrick
Elyse Fitzpatrick
10/24/12

Cascading Trials and Showers of Blessing

Yes, this is a time of cascading trial. The Lord has been very kind to comfort and assure us of His nearness and to open my eyes to new truth from a passage that I thought I understood.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/15/12

Laughing Alone at the Circus

The crowds, bored into silence, had left a vacuum in the tent that my little boy’s voice began to fill. He laughed unaware and uncaring that he alone laughed, deaf to everyone’s else silence.
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