The Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (Clark)

Sometimes Reformed churches and Reformed Christians mix up essential and non-essential religious beliefs and practices. For example, some people are certain that Scripture is without error and they are certain that their favorite translation of the Bible is only true translation. Others are certain that Adam was a historical person and they are certain that …

The Danger(s) of Biblicism

(This is a re-post from June 2017) Biblicism is a problem in conservative Christian churches today.  By "biblicism" I mean an over-rigid adherence to certain Bible texts or teachings at the expense of context and other biblical teachings.  Biblicism is a cousin of legalism since both are often quite rigid, demanding, and unforgiving.  Some examples …

Legalism: A Complex and Deadly Spiritual Disease

Legalism is not a rare thing in Christian circles.  It's not confined to a certain denomination, age, gender, race, or class.  Legalism is not rare because it's the default mode of the sinful human heart.  Thomas Boston said it is "engrained in man's corrupt nature."  From one angle, then, we could even say that legalism …

The Danger of Biblicism

Biblicism is a problem in the conservative Christian church today.  By "biblicism" I mean an over-rigid adherence to certain Bible texts or teachings at the expense of context and other biblical teachings.  Biblicism is a cousin of legalism since both are often quite rigid, demanding, and unforgiving.  Some examples of biblicism would be an inflexible …