Advent season was designed to be a season for repentance, which begs questions like, “What is repentance?” or “How do I repent?” and “How does repentance prepare me for Jesus’ coming?” Sometimes when I hear about repentance, I don’t hear much grace and I don’t see much Jesus. It’s more about examining myself, focusing on [...]
iMonk Classic: On Re-Baptism
17 Sep by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer Series from Sept, 2008 Note from CM: A reader wrote me this week and asked about whether she should be re-baptized. After being baptized as an infant, she grew up in a nominal Catholic home, came “back to God” (her words) as an adult, and now the church she [...]
Let’s Discuss…The Lord’s Supper
3 Aug by
By Chaplain Mike One of our most popular posts this year so far was our discussion of baptism back in May. It’s time for another. Today, I’d like our iMonk community to weigh in on another primary sacrament (or ordinance) of the Christian Church. Whether we call it Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, or [...]
My View of Scripture (at this point)
29 Jul by
By Chaplain Mike Today, I would like to present, for your consideration and discussion, a ten-point summary of my perspective on Scripture (at this point in my understanding). The Bible is from God. It is one of the means by which God has made himself known to human beings. The various books of the Bible [...]
Do We Really Want God to Intervene?
17 Jul by
photo © 2006 Jenny Bauman | more info (via: Wylio)By Chaplain Mike In today’s worship, we heard the Gospel parable from Matthew 13 about the wheat and the weeds. Jesus told them another parable: The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. One night, when everyone was asleep, [...]
Our Relational God
17 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike This Sunday upcoming is Trinity Sunday, the day that bridges the two main divisions of the Church Year. We have been walking through the life of Jesus from Advent to Pentecost since last November. Now, we begin the days of “Ordinary Time,” when we live out the faith daily as Christ’s church, [...]
Another Look: Surd Evil, Serpents, and the Cosmic Battle
7 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. • Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking I had not planned on re-running this post, but I think our discussion on death before the Fall demands that we review it. A common Christian viewpoint attributes all the [...]
One of the Stickiest Issues
7 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike The interpretation of the creation narrative in Genesis 1 and the subsequent stories in Genesis 2-3 forms one of the battlegrounds in the current “creation wars.” However, the arguments go beyond Genesis. In fact, the stickiest issues grow out of the way the Apostle Paul makes use of the story of Adam [...]
Get Ready for the Next Battle
4 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike “So, is the Adam and Eve question destined to become a groundbreaking science-and-Scripture dispute, a 21st-century equivalent of the once disturbing proof that the Earth orbits the sun? The potential is certainly there: the emerging science could be seen to challenge not only what Genesis records about the creation of humanity but [...]
A Way Forward for Eschatology
22 May by
By Chaplain Mike Two years ago, Scot McKnight did a five-part series called “The Future of Christian Eschatology” on his Jesus Creed blog. We have all had this subject on our mind this week, thanks to the looney predictions of Harold Camping and all the press they received. Today, I offer a summary from one [...]
