An Invitation: Roger Scruton and the Intellectual Heritage of Conservatism
Early in 2020, as the nations of the world began tearing themselves apart in fear of a projected global pandemic, one of the most important minds of our time quietly passed away. Sir Roger Scruton (1944–2020) was a British philosopher and public intellectual who succumbed to lung cancer shortly after he was first diagnosed. More than any other intellectual of the late twentieth- and early twenty-first century, Scruton invited others...
Francis Schaeffer’s Politics: An Exploration
For many evangelicals Francis Schaeffer is a household name as an apologist and a cultural observer and commentator. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Schaeffer became more involved in politics than he had been previously. Political activists in favor of the prolife cause utilized books like A Christian Manifesto and What Ever Happened to the Human Race? as political and cultural resources. Other books had strong political-public...
The Community, the Call, the Comforter, and the Cure: A Pastoral Reflection on Anointing the Sick with Oil
Recently, a fellow pastor and I were discussing fruitful ways we have discovered to serve the sick in our congregations. Yet my friend was surprised by two narratives of ministering to the sick that I recounted for him. First, I spoke about one of my congregants who was bedridden with a cancer that began in her pancreas and rapidly spread throughout her body. Following one Sunday morning service, a deacon and I journeyed to her house...
Announcing a New Contributor to the HSF
The Helwys Society Forum is pleased to announce that we have added a new regular contributor: Josh Colson. Over the past year or so, he has contributed several guest posts, including one on evangelicalism and another on Free Will Baptists. Colson is a native of Southern Illinois but presently serves as the senior pastor of Brandon’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Stewart County, Tennessee. In addition to pastoring, Josh is an...
Christianity, Philosophy, and Natural Theology
While some may associate the subject of philosophy with eggheads who talk about old, dead Greeks and Romans, the truth is much more layered and exciting than that: Fundamentally, philosophy concerns our views of life, truth, the world, ethics, and other topics that form our basic worldviews. Consequently, it is relevant to our Christian confession. Yes, it includes discussion about history, but it is not limited to that by any means....
Christianity, Philosophy, and Presuppositions
Approximately one year ago, in the spring of 2020, I was invited to begin teaching Welch College’s offering of Christian Philosophy, which occupies a place in the general education curriculum. Since that time, I have taught four iterations of the course and have loved every minute of it. The subject of philosophy is not simply about philosophers and their ideas. It is also about what and how we think; to that extent, it is relevant to...
Recent Comments