A look at Christian selfishness Savonarola once wrote, “In the primitive church the chalices were of wood and the prelates were of gold; to-day the prelates are of wood and the chalices are of gold.”1 Paul told the Corinthians that we are less than wood, we are clay (“ostraka”) vessels. “Clay vessels are cheap, utterly […]
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Author: Rick Shrader
The Obvious Lie
Mark Twain once said, “The secret of success is sincerity. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”1 He should have been living today, we would hire him to teach leadership seminars. And it wouldn’t matter whether it was business, politics or church, the image we present has become more important than what we […]
The Real Issue of the Dimpled Ballots
The real issue of the election was not how to count the Florida votes. That game had been played many times before in major cities where the outcome of close elections had to be secured. No, the real issue was played out in the Supreme Court of Florida and of the United States. It is […]
Culture: The Incarnation Of Our Religion
There may be no more important word in today’s Christian vocabulary than “culture.” R.C. Sproul wrote, “Adjusting to the customs and worldview of one’s environment is one of the strongest pressures people experience. To be ‘out of it’ culturally is often considered the nadir of social achievement.”1 Everything has to be relevant to the culture […]
If Everything Is A Miracle, Nothing Is A...
It is the opinion of the contributors to this volume that a number of new authorities threaten modern evangelicalism directly. These authorities are often grounded in what the above confession calls “custom, or numbers, or human wisdom, or judgments . . . or visions, or miracles,” and they must be challenged when they stand against […]
The Words Are Still What Count
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word! What more can He say than to you He hath said, To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled? I’m late with this article. I have spent the first five days of November in Los Angeles […]
The Absent Second Person
If eternity and universality is to be found, not in dogma, but in worship—that means, in a common form of worship which will mean to the worshippers anything that they like to fancy, then the result seems to me to be likely to be the most corrupt form of ritualism. T.S. Eliot1 G.K. Chesterton […]
Generic Christianity
[Real] Christianity seldom occupies the attention of the bulk of nominal Christians. Thus we may expect them to be ignorant also of its tenets. They will be acquainted merely with those doctrines and principles that the law of the land commonly holds or sanctions. But whatever is unique in real Christianity and should be habitually […]
A Harp, A Bowl, and A Crown
Life’s day will soon be o’er, all storms forever past, We’ll cross the great divide to glory, safe at last; We’ll share the joy of heav’n—a harp, a home, a crown, The tempter will be banished, we’ll lay our burden down It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus Life’s trials will […]
Our Daily Reading
Special Note: Debra Conley is a regular contributor to Aletheia as the creator of “The Little Corner” (Now called “From the Catbird Seat”). Mrs. Conley is a veteran English and Literature teacher in the Atlanta area. She has published several articles in magazines and journals and works as a proof-reader for text-book publishers. In addition, […]