Dr Paul Allen

Cynicism among Christians appears as a collection of negative attitudes and expectations. Those attitudes may be directed toward ourselves or others, the church, conversions, gospel progress, growth in sanctification, and even toward God himself. A clear biblical example appears in Malachi: “It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?” (Malachi 3:14). But cynicism may be a deep attitude of heart or mind, even if it is not spoken out loud. Cynicism today, as at any time, contradicts the three vital signs of Christianity according to Paul: faith in Jesus Christ, love for all the saints, and hope as we await the return of Christ (1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:2–3; Colossians 1:3–6). The general cure for cynicism is to cultivate and increase our faith in Christ, our love for God’s people, and our firm hope in the return of Christ. Alongside that general cure, however, God has given us many specific cu...

When I suffer, I become certain of two things: 1. God exists, and 2. he is a traitor. I didn’t always believe that. I accumulated experiences with God. In every unpleasant moment, in every tragedy, in every moment of confusion, a light and deceptive hand turns my mind’s gaze Godward: “He did this.” “He should have stopped this.” “He wants you to think you can be happy, . . . but he’s a mischief maker. A  traitor .” If we can’t identify those arguments in our hearts, they’ll own our thoughts, emotions, and actions. They will drive us as we process pain. Very easily, even subconsciously, we learn that God is a traitor. I could be happy or I could be heartbroken. I’m heartbroken. God is in control. God said he loved me. One of these things cannot be true. Therefore , I trust him a little less now. Multiply that times a thousand losses, pains, or failures, and we can easily descend into a betrayed and victimized theology: God is a traitor. During grief — during a...

On  June 17 , Dylan Roof murdered nine people who had gathered for prayer at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The Supreme Court legalized so-called same-sex marriage nationwide on  June 26 . Finally, July 14 saw the release of disturbing undercover footage of a Planned Parenthood director discussing the sale of tissue and organs from aborted babies. A second video — no less unsettling — emerged last week, with more likely to come. In the face of these developments, we shouldn’t fall into alarmism or fear-mongering. Jesus has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church (Matthew  16:18 ). Nor should we exaggerate the plight of the American church, as though our sufferings were on a par with what believers elsewhere have experienced under Boko Haram or ISIS or Kim Jong-un. Things may seem bad in America, yes. But not as bad as they could be. And yet, we can’t deny that the American church faces opposition...