Irenaeus of Lyons, writing in the second century, said in his book, Against Heresies (Book 5, ch. 30), that he thought one of the most likely interpretations of 666 was ΛΑΤΕΙΝΟΣ, or Lateinos, for the Latins were presently ruling and were the fourth and last kingdom foreseen by Daniel. But he went on to say…

In the midst of a discussion about Truthful Evangelism at the Spectrum webpage, Dave Larson asked that I sketch some comparisons between Catholic and Adventist teachings on church discipline, specifically, the ultimate discipline that Catholics call excommunication and Adventists refer to as “removal from church membership.” Here’s a revised version of what I had sketched…

Steve Ray was caught promoting superstition on the Catholic Answers radio program: wearing a rosary “around your neck keeps the Devil away – it keeps the evil powers away, because they hate the rosary and they hate the crucifix.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church rightly condemns superstition, defining it thus: 2111 Superstition is the…

My friend Mithun, a graduate of Rice University, is now at Harvard Law School, and writes about his first day here. Day two, in which we are introduced to the expression, “holy pickled mango chutney.”

The historic Protestant position is that the antichrist prophesied in Scripture is not a ruler at the end of time (contrary to futurism, such as current dispensationalism), nor a figure of the distant past (as in the preterist system, favored by Catholics such as Scott Hahn and most liberal scholars), but is instead a power…

Terry Mattingly on secrecy and the Catholic bishops.

Joseph Bottom reflects on The Death of Protestant America in First Things. Forty years ago the Protestant Mainline included half of all Americans; today, that’s dropped to a mere 8%.

Helen Prejean went a bit too far for the Democratic crowd in Denver. A murder victim’s family said she went way too far in her book, Dead Man Walking.

Brian Bull, Fritz Guy, & Ervin Taylor, editors. Understanding Genesis: Contemporary Adventist Perspectives. Riverside, CA: Adventist Today Foundation, 2006. This is a volume that seems to be addressed to Seventh-day Adventists who believe evolutionary theory and who want some reassurance that that’s OK. Process theology and the historical-critical method are lifted up as possible refuges…

The Christian Century has an interesting article about the last Shakers, at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in Maine. Among those interviewed, Br. Arnold Hadd, whom we met when we visited there this summer. Arnold Hadd is the last Shaker man on Earth. And you can find him and three “sisters” in the dwindling faith…

Today was the day! My daughter got her braces off! Need a great orthodontist in Houston? Go to Dr. David Wadler, RocknSmile.com!

It’s my son’s first day of classes at Southwestern Adventist University, and his math professor turns out to be George Parry, my wife’s math teacher back at Riverview Memorial School in Norridgewock, Maine.

Fr. Philip is in Rome; his blood pressure is rising, and he can’t get his medication. It was mailed to him some time ago, but the university canceled mail delivery for a couple of weeks while the gatekeeper was on vacation. Now that it has resumed, a piece or two will be delivered each day…

From Ryan Bell: Missional Church: Recovering Evangelism as Authentic, Credible Witness.

Barna says Young Adults and Liberals Struggle with Morality.

Paul McCain (LCMS) writes about the problem of antinomianism in contemporary Lutheranism.

Loren Seibold has a good post at Spectrum on some apparently unethical practices of an Adventist evangelist in ND. Some nastiness gets into the comment boxes, however, from folks who seem unable to separate the medium from the message. We need to do public evangelism, but we need to be upfront from the start. And…

Here’s a picture of the old school in Northfield, Vermont. We were living in Northfield when my son started preschool and my daughter was born. The preschool was at first located in Roxbury, but they moved it to the historic old school his second year; he attended here for a couple of months before we…

My last (empty) jar of Postum is now in the trash. Now I’m working on some “Kaffree Roma.”

While Andrew was talking to potential campus employers, I took a side trip over to Glen Rose, TX, famous for its many dinosaur footprints in the limestone of the Paluxy River. I waded in the river at Dinosaur Valley State Park, viewing some of the exposed footprints. I drove by Dinosaur World, which looked tacky…

From Beloit College, their Mindset List for the Class of 2012. I’m back (11:15 p.m. on Thursday) from dropping off my son. Yesterday was settling into the dorm; today was registration. Classes start on Tuesday.

The USCCB is making some changes to the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults in the section on the relationship between Catholics and Jews (HT Carl Olson). After mail balloting, the final vote of 231-14, with one abstention, was announced Aug. 5 in a letter to bishops from Msgr. David Malloy, USCCB general secretary. The change,…

Franklin Graham has issued a statement about “Billy: The Early Years.”

My son goes to college tomorrow. My daughter gets her braces off next week (after 2 years and $5275!).

History and science (more) say it’s a painting, a forgery created in the 14th century, when conniving clergy conspired to wrest coins from the hands of credulous commoners. Now, some “true believers” still try to tell us it’s a miracle. Even apart from science and history, the purported shroud is not what Scripture describes: strips…

Pop, Soda, or Coke? Map of regional differences.

Remember the controversy over the Catholic Church refusing access to the Mormon Church, which wanted to make copies of parish registers? Well, over in Ireland the Catholic Church let the National Library make photocopies–but now two Bishops are upset that the library is actually letting people look at them. One bishop claims he holds the…

I’m disappointed that Adventist Heritage ceased publication over ten years ago (but happy to see all the issues are on-line). One of my small contributions was to serve as assistant to the managing editor (then Paul Landa) when I was in grad school at Loma Linda. As such, I got my name listed in two…

Ed Stetzer looks at the recent “Lakeland revival,” in the context of which he discusses “Evangelical Gullibility.” He quotes from Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine: Why did so many people flock to Lakeland from around the world to rally behind an evangelist who had serious credibility issues from the beginning? To put it bluntly,…

Some Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984) videos are on-line. See here; more here. I saw him not long before he died–1983, I believe it was, in Massachusetts.