The Bogus Case for Cathedrals

https://thefederalist.com/2025/11/18/why-christians-should-build-cathedrals/

Nathanael Blake, the author of this piece was recently on LPR's Issues Etc., in order to promote this article and its ideology. I was disappointed with Todd Wilken that he was willing to give voice to this, but given some of the other voices and ideas he promotes, I guess I'm not too surprised.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) is clearly fighting its own internal battles. They're struggling with Far Right and Nazi-esque revisionists on the one hand and a still vibrant Evangelical-style movement that wants to take them into a low-church direction. Having examined and even visited some of the LCMS congregations in my area, the battle lines are clear. We have everything from High Church practice with statues of Jesus, the sign of the cross, and chanting to (at the opposite end of the spectrum), low-church Evangelical-style worship with pop music, screens, and the rest.

The Church in Dark Ages - A Call to Dissent and Nonconformity (II)

Medieval Romanism formulated its notions of law and justice in terms of a fusion between old Roman jurisprudence and the tribal codes and customs coming out of the Germanic world. Over time this would be re-tooled by other influences. The point being - Scripture had little to do with it.

The Church in Dark Ages - A Call to Dissent and Nonconformity (I)

or,

An Examination of the Twin Sisters of Medieval Roman Catholicism and American Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism has moved much closer to Rome in recent years and unthinkable as it was just a few decades ago, many now consider Roman Catholics to be fellow Christians. In recent days this has been most evident with the way Evangelicals speaks of figures like JD Vance and Erika Kirk. These Roman Catholics who worship Mary, partake of the idolatry that is the Mass, venerate a tradition of false prophets that claim to speak in the place of Christ, and find salvation in a merit-based sacerdotal system, are deemed inspiring fellow believers. The term 'Christian' has itself has been run through so many filters and redefined to such an extent that theologically and even culturally it struggles to have any kind of actual meaning. The same is true of Evangelicalism which describes more of a cultural attitude and ethos (if not a political movement) than any kind of ecclesiastical movement, theology, or identity.

Attending Church in America - the Day after Trump Bombed Iran

Attending church this Sunday, I was struck once again by the different approaches and understandings as to what we're doing there, who are we, and why do we gather?

Realms of Enchantment and Mystery

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/living-wonder/

I rather enjoyed reading this review though I have not decided whether I will pick up Dreher's book. The work in question is Rod Dreher's 'Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age'. I found myself disagreeing with both Dreher and Darville the reviewer, but there's a great deal of food for thought.

Where to go to Church? - My Three Options

Where to go to church? What is one to do in these troubling times? There are many articles written about this topic. Some are helpful, others less so. We could talk about the Reformers criteria regarding the preaching of the Word, administration of sacraments, and (to varying degrees) Church discipline. But these discussions aren't always helpful because on a practical level there are numerous entangling ecclesiastical questions especially regarding worship and polity.

What Kingdom Fellowship?

Recently I discovered a new congregation in the area. It's not really in my area but I decided to make the drive and investigate. There was very little online and I couldn't really find a lot of information about it but the name indicated to me that they were Kingdom Christians. As such I figured they were Anabaptists of some stripe and committed to the kind of Kingdom life and ethics associated with New Testament passages such as the Sermon on the Mount.

Another Exchange with an Evangelical Pastor

I recently called an Evangelical pastor with some questions as his church website provided little in the way of substantive information.

Ignatius on Worship as Spiritual Warfare

Recently re-reading some Early Church Fathers, I was both pleased and inspired to discover this exhortation on the part of Ignatius of Antioch who was martyred in the early second century. Quoting from the longer extant version of his epistle to the Ephesians, we read in Chapter XIII:

 Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when ye come frequently together in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and his "fiery darts" urging to sin fall back ineffectual. For your concord and harmonious faith prove his destruction, and the torment of his assistants. Nothing is better than that peace which is according to Christ, by which all war, both of aerial and terrestrial spirits, is brought to an end. "For we wrestle not against blood and flesh, but against principalities and powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places."

A Final Appeal: The First Reformation Applied to the Contemporary Context (Part 2)

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XVIII)

While our Biblicist theology is necessarily high and has high regard for revealed mysteries and supernatural efficacious elements and means – our ecclesiology is about as low as it gets – but this in no way implies casualness or irreverence.

The First Reformation and the Present Ecclesiastical Crisis

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XV)

The time is now. Dominionism and the reactionary re-casting of Sacralism in the wake of 19^th and 20^th century secularism is on the verge of swallowing up the remaining (if paltry) testimony of the First Reformation, its lifeline to the Early Church and New Testament Christianity.

An Encounter with a Church Consultant: A lesson and a warning (Part 2)

He criticised the congregation for reading Scripture passages that were too long. Also, they should abandon hymn books because a lot of people can't follow along in them and don't know how they work. They should suspend the Sunday evening service because the lack of numbers was depressing and it was wasting people's time. They should turn the Sunday School room into a 'welcome center'.

And the day he was visiting for the final time, the day he gave his presentation after the luncheon, we happened to sing a hymn that mentioned 'propitiation'. He fixated on this and mentioned it more than once. Hymns shouldn't use 'big words' like that, words that visitors won't understand.

An Encounter with a Church Consultant: A lesson and a warning (Part 1)

This is both a report and perhaps a warning for churches of a certain mindset and polity. The congregation where we now assemble recently went through a long period without a pastor and a fairly sharp decline in numbers. Now, much could be said about the 'pastoral' system but we can leave that aside for the moment.

During the interim one of the men filling in convinced the congregation to hire a Church Growth Consultant. This gentleman visited the congregation on a few occasions and was given carte blanche to investigate the congregation's records, finances and the like. After a few months he returned and presented his report.

Christians and Tattoos: Wading Through the Bad Arguments (Part 2)

What about the idea of being marked out as a Christian, having one's self covered with Christian themed tattoos?

This is even more problematic.

Depictions of Christ (Part 2)

Is the problem with pictures of Christ a question of devotion? Is it because people will 'worship' the picture? And thus the question implies that if it's non-devotional in nature, is it then permissible?

Depictions of Christ (Part 1)

Should Christ be depicted? For many this question is confused by debates over whether or not such depictions are appropriate for 'church' or whether they should be restricted to the arts. Some believe such depictions are appropriate for a children's Bible book while others would forbid even this. Can Christ be depicted in the movies?

Christmas: Obfuscation and The Lord's Day Gambit

I have to confess this was an argument for Christmas I had not encountered before.

The US Fifth Republic

This is a subjective exercise to be sure but it is certainly in keeping with the frameworks imposed by many others on the American narrative and its historical development.

Many countries occasionally will replace their constitutions, re-write their laws and effectively re-create themselves. This can be occasioned by a huge political shift, a coup, a war or something along those lines.

Christmas: Dan and Bethel Revived

The embrace of Christmas is a rejection of Scripture as the ultimate authority and arbiter of all matters concerning the faith and Kingdom. Christmas is perhaps the perfect example of syncretistic religion and worldliness wedded to the Church. There is no better way to bear witness to our culture than to categorically reject Christmas. This will say more to people you know than any attempt to 'keep Christ' in something that He was never part of to begin with.

Baptist Polity, The American Flag and Idols in Worship

A local Baptist Church recently and perhaps unknowingly called a Calvinist to occupy their pulpit. He's a good man and I've enjoyed conversing with him. To my very pleasant surprise he also revealed to me that he had removed the 'flags' from the front of the auditorium. The flags of course would refer to the American and so-called Christian flags that are almost ubiquitous in American Churches.