Overload
Do you ever get overwhelmed by all the things you need to get done, and discouraged by all the things you probably won’t? Almost every day, right? I felt overloaded when we made a few small domestic renovations, leaving our…
Tag Family
Bathsua Makin and the Education of Women
As the news challenge us to think biblically about the place of women in today’s world, it might be useful to remember there was a time when women were discouraged from reading, studying, and thinking independently. In fact, the Roman…
Jonathan Edwards as Father
Many see Jonathan Edwards as a terrifying preacher. Some consider him one of the greatest American theologians. A few know a couple of endearing details of his life, such as his loving relationship with his wife Sarah. Very few know…
Persecution in Turkey – From Polycarp to Fikret Böcek
If it’s true, as the ancient Tertullian said, that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church,” much seed has been sown on Turkish soil, from the 2nd-century martyrdom of Polycarp to the massacre of Christian Armenians in…
Walking in the Light: Insights from Vaclav Havel
My father’s family escaped the Soviet Union in 1934, a few months after the United States established diplomatic relations there, in 1933. They had Russian roots and naively returned to visit an ailing relative in 1922. The Russians said “Welcome…
Getting the Garden Right: Eve and the Diverse Strands of Female Identity
Within the early verses of Genesis, we find not only the source of the universe but also the source of every woman’s identity. The story of our first mother, Eve, has much to tell us about the purpose of women…
Dhuoda and Her Handbook – A Mother’s Cry
In 841, Dhuoda’s world fell apart. William, the son she had nurtured and loved for fourteen years, had just left for Aachen (in today’s Germany), to live at the Frankish court. It had been a sudden decision, made by Dhuoda’s…
Faith at Work – Adam Ross (1964-) CEO
In my next two columns, I want to tell the stories of men who seek integrity at work, men who strive to live by principles, and bring constructive change as a result. I will begin with a Christian businessman…
Giovanni Diodati – An Italian at Dordt
In 1618, the situation in Europe was tense. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) was only a natural consequence of the religious and political conflicts of the previous century. On top of this, the Protestant camp was becoming dangerously divided by…
‘No longer Orphans’
Jesus is simultaneously the master theologian and the perfect pastor. He sets the deepest of truths before his people, but in a way that pastorally meets their deepest needs. This should give pause for thought for thought on different fronts.…