Baptismal Waters

October 31 will mark the 500th anniversary of the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany, touching off the Protestant Reformation. A great many people will be celebrating the anniversary who have no business doing so. The fact is that justification by grace alone, through faith alone- the central tenet of the Reformation, and the teaching Luther regarded as "the doctrine whereby the Church stands or falls-" is by no means held, as a practical matter, by all "Protestants." John Wesley chose to unbiblically define "sin" as an "intentional" violation of God's law despite the fact that the Bible abides no such qualification, even providing in the Mosaic Law for sacrifices to atone for unintentional sins! By lowering the bar on the law, Wesley set the stage for his bizarre doctrine of "Christian perfection," a teaching which he spent the rest of his life backing off from bu...

I have a political blog.  It can probably be found with a little effort, but I am NOT going to link to it on this one. That's because as a Christian, I'm conflicted by what's in it. Not that I'm ashamed of it as such. But it's complicated. Like all believers, I try to allow my faith to influence every aspect of my life. Like all sinners, I manage to screw things all up no matter what aspect of my life I'm trying to let it influence. That's basic biblical theology, of course; everything a sinner does is contaminated by his sinfulness to one degree or another. But politics is a particularly tricky area in which to try to restrain one's fallen nature, especially in an age as acrimonious and polarized as ours. When I call that other blog a "political blog," I do not mean to say that it is only that. I've written there about my interest in history, in astronomy, and in my Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks, along with dozens of other things. I...