Are musical instruments in worship wrong?
Thursday, 20 February 2014
I have touched on this subject on this blog, but not yet delved into it fully until now. Is it okay for Christians to worship God with the accompaniment of musical instruments? This seems like such a silly question to believers outside of the nominal Church of Christ. “Why would it matter?,” they ask. For
- Published in Commentary, Musical Instruments
Live free or die
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
I read an article in the Idaho Statesman noting that Cuba may be angling to get rid of its ration books–the little booklets passed out by the government allocating equal shares of rice, beans, and other staples to all of its citizens. What was more shocking was reading that there are Cuban citizens upset by
- Published in Commentary
What does “inspired” mean?
Sunday, 23 August 2009
The Bible is inspired and authoritative, but many Christians misunderstand what that means. Does it mean that every statement found in Sacred Scripture is true? Absolutely not. I can hear the gasps right now as that statement sinks in, but it’s true. Not every statement in the Bible is accurate, much less authoritative. In fact,
- Published in Commentary
This truth about unity is self-evident
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
When I first heard this truth about unity, it was immediately self-evident. It was corroborated by everything I had ever read in Scripture, and resonated vividly with my understanding of the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament writers. Yet this truth is sadly not often taught in the church, and for obvious reasons –
- Published in Commentary
Instruments of peace
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
It is ironic that musical instruments get the blame for a major division in Christ’s body when music is supposed to be (and is in fact) such a unifying part of Christian worship. There is nothing more unifying than standing and praising God in song together with other believers, whether there are instruments in the
- Published in Commentary
Avoiding the hard job of living Christlike
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Ever notice that when your kids really don’t want to do something, they will find anything and everything else to do before getting to the undesirable job? Forget the kids, I do this myself. Sometimes the hard task gets postponed for something else that truly is a good thing to do. Nevertheless, the good becomes
- Published in Commentary
Was Genesis written by Moses?
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Was the Genesis record authored by Moses, or mashed up from unknown sources by unknown editors, as proponents of the Documentary Hypothesis (DH) would like us to believe? Maybe neither, as it turns out. There is an alternative hypothesis that makes a lot of sense and preserves the notion of divine caretaking of the ancient
- Published in Commentary
Love, legalism, and marriage
Wednesday, 06 June 2007
A frequent subject of my prayers is to thank God for the love of my amazing wife. Because I have her love, I feel blessed and honored beyond measure. I could argue that most everything good in my life flows from the fact that I know without a doubt that I am loved by her.
- Published in Commentary
The law of silence in Scripture
Friday, 11 May 2007
Probably the most thorough, though in my opinion, misguided defense of the so called Law of Silence, comes from a conservative, non-institutional church of Christ website called Bible.ca. I have to admire the creativity of the author in presenting these opinions using the traffic sign analogies. They show a semblance of logic, much like a
- Published in Commentary
The truth about gender