Who Do You Think You Are? A Youngish Mother Examines Internet Culture
I am sure we have all heard the phrase, “Who do you think you are?” maybe in a movie when one character feels particular disgust toward or frustration with another character. Maybe you have asked this question of a person in your life, seriously or sardonically. I think, though, that this a good question for us to ask ourselves, and I fear that, for many more of us than would like to admit it, the answer to the question could involve...
Motherhood: The Ideal and the Diabolical
Mother’s Day evokes strong emotions, both good and bad. This is partly because, since the Fall, each of our mothers fits roughly into either the ideal type of motherhood or the anti-ideal—the diabolical type—of motherhood. In our annual cultural celebration of Mother’s Day, we tend to elevate the bare position of motherhood itself—as if it is a good in itself—or even just the fact of womanhood (which, perhaps, was not originally a...
Lemuel Haynes and the Call of the Minister
Under the influence of Georg Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, modern historians lost their faith in the ability of the individual to effect change or to make decisions that were not manipulated by invisible social pressures. Instead, historians began to describe historical change as the competition of social groups based on class, race, gender, or sexuality. The group-identity and competition approach to history is most cynical and...
Nine Early Baptist Texts on Religious Toleration Everyone Should Read
by Jesse Owens and Jake Stone One of the hallmarks of early English Baptists is their defense of religious toleration. I (Jesse) have argued in previous essays (here and here) that early Baptist arguments for religious toleration were neither dependent on Enlightenment ideals nor were they accidental to Baptist theology. These two points are closely related. First, early Baptist arguments for religious toleration were not dependent...
Recommended Books (Spring 2023)
Reading allows us to consult the broader wisdom of mankind as it works out ideas and beliefs in specific circumstances and reports back on the results. Authors from vastly different times and places can give us insight into the issues of our day, providing much-needed counsel to help us be wise as serpents. Below, you will find reading suggestions from our group that come from a wide range of disciplines and topics. We think these...
Jesus Is Glorious and His Glory Is for the Nations
by Daniel Speer In my last essay, I argued that the glory of Christ is at the heart of the missio Dei, and, thus, our work in missions. Unfortunately, many have forgotten the true nature of their callings and have embraced sociologically based growth models and watered-down doctrine to achieve numerical results while ignoring the importance of developing true Christian discipleship. In this essay, we will look to see how...
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