Author: mikewittmer
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why rewards?
Here is a devotional for Our Daily Journey that I’ll submit on Monday. Much obliged if anyone spots any errors before then. When my children were young my wife and I gave them money to buy Christmas presents for us. It seemed rather silly from our perspective. Why not eliminate the middleman and buy the…
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ETS 2015
The Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting is different for everyone, as we attend different sessions and meet or miss (sorry, Jim!) different people. Here are a few highlights for me. On Tuesday I attended Ligon Duncan’s session on “Recent Aspects of the Complementarian-Egalitarian Discussion.” Ligon noted that our present cultural moment has changed the dynamics…
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sportainment
Did you feel joy, or merely relief, when your team won this weekend? (Cleveland fans, you are excused). If you were mostly relieved, you have forgotten that sports are supposed to be fun, and you probably have an idol. I know there are more dangerous issues in our world—the refugee crisis, ISIS, Donald Trump—but that’s…
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mob madness
Five thoughts about the faux outrage over bland coffee cups (you can get the gist and more about the non-event here). The Internet escalates the fervor and reach of a mob. In the old days we had to go door to door, make calls on our rotary phones, or send carrier pigeons, but now we…
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built on blood
It’s been awhile since I posted an Our Daily Journey entry for feedback. Here is one that means a lot to me. I won’t submit it for a couple of weeks, so if you see something, say something. The meat section of my grocery store is clean and pleasant. Festive music plays as I select…
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new creation
Earlier this month our seminary hosted a one-day conference on the biblical teaching that our final destiny is the new earth. Check your church’s doctrinal statement, and there is a good chance that it leaves believers either in heaven or the millennium. We’re trying to correct that, and to say why it matters. You can…
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The mystery of the gospel
Here is another quote from Karl Barth that will preach anywhere. “The gospel is not the mystery of incomprehensible darkness (as it has often been for the orthodox) but the mystery of incomprehensible light. It is not that we see so little of what God has done that we are puzzled, but that in the…
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Is this the best we can do?
The first rule of parenting is don’t get into power struggles with your kids. The second rule of parenting is that if you do happen to get into a power struggle, you must win. This pretty much sums up my view on the religious freedom case of Kim Davis. I wish she hadn’t been coerced…
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Thy Kingdom Come
Our seminary is hosting a one day conference on the new creation on October 7. Doug Moo will supply a biblical foundation, Neal Plantinga will deliver an inspiring sermon, John Duff and Martin Spence will give historical context, I will expound on the theological implications, and we’ll close the day with a Getty’s concert in…
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Boom Goes Barth
As I was preparing for this semester’s Karl Barth seminar I came across this poignant story. One morning after his sermon Barth was greeted at the door by a man who said, “Professor Barth, thank you for your sermon. I’m an astronomer, you know, and as far as I am concerned, the whole of Christianity…
Mike Wittmer 