Dr Paul Allen

Figures 059 The Erection of the Tabernacle and the Sacred Vessels (left plate) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ And the Word became flesh, and  dwelt  among us… ” – John  1:14  - If we’re reading through this verse in our daily Bible reading, we’re likely to zip right by it with little fanfare.  We read, simply, that Jesus “dwelt” among us. And when we think of the idea of “dwelling” we just think of “hanging out.”  But there’s much more going on in what John is saying than it sounds to us English-speakers. He uses a peculiar word here. There are more common Greek words for “to dwell,” but he chooses  skēnoō .  Now, the word  skēnē  in Greek means “tent,” and  skēnoō  is the verb form. So we could render it, “to pitch a tent.” John tells us that this Word became flesh and  pitched his tent  among us. That’s a weird way to talk, isn’t it? Especially since we don’t have any Scripture tha...

In August, Moody Bible Institute lifted its alcohol and tobacco ban for its 600 full-time employees, following recent similar moves by Wheaton College, Huntington University , and Asbury Seminary . Moody spokesperson Brian Regnerus said the change "came out of a desire in Moody's leadership to reflect a high-trust environment that emphasizes values, not rules," and to "require no more and no less than what God's Word requires." "We are giving employees the freedom that God gives them," Regnerus said. "We trust that they have the wisdom and spiritual maturity to make appropriate choices for their lives and the communities in which they are a part." He also said that Moody is not advocating for alcohol use. But some conservative Christians really are advocating for it. Ben Smith, cofounder of Reclamation Brewing Company in Butler, Pennsylvania , said that for too long, American evangelicals have talked more about the "evils" of...

I don't think you can tell it from reading on the internet, but among many younger leaders with Reformed and evangelical convictions there may be a slow convergence coming on the subject of the mission of the church and the relationship of Christ and culture. On the surface, the Reformed and evangelical world seems divided between "Cultural Transformationists" and the " Two Kingdoms " views. Transformationists fall into fairly different camps, including the neo- Calvinists who follow Abraham Kuyper , the Christian Right , and the theonomists. Though different in significant ways, they all believe Christians should be about redeeming and changing the culture along Christian lines. On the other hand, the Two Kingdoms view believes essentially the opposite---that neither the church nor individual Christians should be in the business of changing the world or society. Again, there are very different camps within this stance. The Reformed and Lutheran propone...

Image via Wikipedia “On the surface,” Tim writes, “the Reformed and evangelical world seems divided between ‘Cultural Transformationists’ and the ‘ Two Kingdoms ’ views.” Although the Transformationists include disparate camps (“neo-Calvinists, the Christian Right , and the theonomists”), “they all believe Christians should be about redeeming and changing the culture along Christian lines.” “On the other hand, the Two Kingdoms view believes essentially the opposite—that neither the church nor individual Christians should be in the business of changing the world or society.” Here, too, there is a spectrum. Then you have the neo- Anabaptists who “much more pessimistic than Reformed 2Ks about the systems of the world, which they view as ‘Empire,’ based on violence and greed.” Yet 2ks and neo-Anabaptists both “reject completely the idea that ‘kingdom work’ means changing society along Christian lines. Both groups believe the main job of Christians is to build up the church, a counter-c...