Dr Paul Allen

Martin Luther, commemorated on February 18 Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Minneapolis: Fortress Press (2006), 15. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” [ Matt. 5:18] Many in history have selectively chosen which sections of Scripture are authentic and authoritative. Thomas Jefferson , for example, literally excised major portions of the New Testament with a razor blade. Christians do not have the prerogative of following Jefferson’s example, but we can discover proper rules that govern our interpretation of Scripture. When properly interpreted, there is no need to excise certain passages, because the inherent unity and harmony produced by the Spirit will be evident. The Protestant Reformation insisted on the right of private interpretation of the Bible . By this they meant that everyone should study ...

Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale in 1800. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In Acts 14, Luke sets forth for us the events that took place on Paul's first missionary journey, a journey on which Barnabas accompanied him. We've seen this pattern emerge over and over again. The apostles would come into the synagogue or the public square known as the  agora . They would proclaim the gospel openly. And there would always be some people who responded in faith by the power of the Holy Ghost while others in attendance would stand up in outright hostility and oppose them. Indeed, it was through great tribulation that the gospel bore fruit in places like Antioch and Iconium. And everyday Paul and Barnabas were subjected to threats, insults, hostility and even physical danger. We can see how things degenerated to such a degree here in the latter part of chapter fourteen: the Jewish leadership actually convenes a kangaroo court and imposes the death penalty upon Paul! A riot...

A photo of author and political commentator Andrew Sullivan. Taken in Amsterdam, Holland with a Nikon D2Xs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I recall with some embarrassment a conversation I had when I was a junior in college, as a young man full of anger at the church and brimming with idealism about the future. I was speaking with a friend who happened to think the institutional church was a pretty good idea, and that hymns in particular (the specific topic of conversation that day) were a rich source for theology and worship. I argued that they were too complex for the modern era, a perfect symbol of bygone and boring ways of doing church. Like the new music that broke out of what I thought was a stifling pattern of verses and rhyme, so the church of the future would free itself from the rigidity of bureaucracy and outmoded theology. We say lots of silly things when we are immature, but the sentiments that drive the passions of youth often hang on stubbornly. Today, I favor hymns over co...

Image via Wikipedia Perhaps the most notable aspect of America ’s revolutionary period was that its chief protagonists were not particularly revolutionary. From Samuel Adams to George Washington , from Patrick Henry to Samuel Chase , the leaders of the American cause were profoundly conservative. They were loathe to indulge in any kind of radicalism that might erupt into violence—rhetorical, political, or martial. For the most part they were the faithful sons of colonial gentry. They were devoted to conventional Whig principles: the rule of law, noblesse oblige, unswerving honor, squirey superintendence, and the maintenance of corporate order. They believed in a tranquil and settled society free of the raucous upsets and tumults of agitation, activism, and unrest. It took more than the Boston Massacre , more than Lexington and Concord, more than Bunker Hill, and more than Ticonderoga to provoke the patriots to commit themselves to forceful secession. Even as late as the first week ...