Showing results by author "Douglas Wilson" in All Categories

The repetition of Christmas traditions can appear to dull the powerful nature of the holiday. God Rest Ye Merry is meant to rekindle the Christian's understanding of Advent on every front, from politics to shopping to uproarious celebration.

Prostitution, incest, drunkenness at the Lord's table, sectarianism, and babble all were problems in Paul's rag-tag startup church in Corinth. Paul's letter was a course-correction for many in the church, bringing people back to the Gospel as the basis for right unity, sexual ethics, observation of the sacraments, and worship.

Easy Chairs, Hard Words offers an honest look at difficult passages in Scripture. Presented as a series of fictional conversations between a curious young Christian and a seasoned pastor, these dialogues speak with clarity to those new to the Reformed faith. They begin with the question, "Can salvation be lost?" and from there wrestle with other hard-to-swallow doctrines, including the freedom of the will, election, and original sin.

It's election season - America's most lucrative sport - and there are no rules. When climate scientist Dr. Helen Gardner accidentally reads an email from the International Task Force on Climate Change which proves that global warming is a lucrative scam, she's shocked and horrified. But that's nothing compared to how she feels the next day when her boss (the head of the Task Force) tries to have her killed. Helen goes into hiding with the help of her neighbor, a "fundy" Bible college professor named Cody, and an anti-eco-activist lumberjack-writer.

Stymied and stumped by arguments that wrap around you like web of mystification? The Amazing Dr. Ransom's Bestiary of Adorable Fallacies is here to help! This "Field Guide for Clear Thinkers" is filled with descriptions, exercises, and analysis to help you identify and avoid fallacies you might encounter in everyday life.

So begins a dark, but sturdy epic full of warriors, dragons, monsters of the deep, mead halls, and mounds of treasure. Beowulf is the great Norse epic poem, and one of the great inspirations for J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In this bold and truly innovative translation, Douglas Wilson reproduces the alliteration and stresses of the original, though being more dynamic with particular wording.

This does not mean a withdrawal from politics to our own communities and churches. Instead, we Christians must take what we have learned from the wreck of secularism and build a Christendom of the New Foundation: A network of nations bound together by a formal, public, civic acknowledgement of the lordship of Jesus Christ and the fundamental truth of the Apostles' Creed.

Many conservatives are ready to give up fighting against the legalization of marijuana. “Hasn’t the war on drugs been a failure?” they ask. Libertarians turn this surrender into a virtue: “People should be free to do what they want, as long as they’re not hurting anyone.” But as Christians, we must be ready to swim against the tide, even when it’s no longer cool. Liberty for potheads means tyranny for everyone, including the smokers enslaved by the drug.

In Five Cities that Ruled the World, theologian Douglas Wilson fuses together, in compelling detail, the critical moments birthed in history’s most influential cities —Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York. Wilson issues a challenge to our collective understanding of history with the...

In this collection of essays, Douglas Wilson talks about one of the most beloved Christian writers of the 20th-century: C.S. Lewis. Lewis was the kind of writer who, whether you agree with him or not, will edify and sharpen you. Douglas Wilson discusses everything from Lewis's odd images of salvation in The Last Battle to Lewis's view of creation to his take on Heaven, Hell, and education.

It is no secret that our world desperately needs change. Politicians know this and use it to collect votes. Journalists exploit it to sell newspapers and magazines. Advertisers, to sell everything else. Each of these groups (and countless others) spend their lives working to convince others that they hold the key to a better country, a better life, a better future. But what exactly is this change we all long for? And how can it ever come about?

America's first poet, Anne Bradstreet, wrote poems regularly for her family's private enjoyment. But in 1647, unbeknownst to Anne, her brother-in-law set sail for England with a manuscript of her poetry. Upon his return, he presented her book to her: The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America. Anne was thoroughly embarrassed but also pleased. Subsequent generations have valued her gifts as a poet as well, and her poetry remains in print to this day.

Young Thomas Monroe was bred for the sea. At his first chance he sets off on a merchant’s ship, but Thomas gets more of an adventure than he’d expected when his ship is captured by the pirates whose treasure map he stole! He somehow must keep himself and his captain alive and beat the pirates to their treasure. Meanwhile, hundreds of years in the future, Jim Monroe—Thomas’ descendant—is also in desperate need of that treasure, or he and his mother will lose the family land. Embark on this thrilling tale of piracy and derring-do, Douglas Wilson’s first foray into children’s fiction.

Doug provides a primer to help understand and respond to the infinitely elastic sexuality demanded by nihilistic evolutionary postmodernism. Once you deny God and reality, sexual identity is free to be defined however we want. These and other issues are addressed in this short series of punchy pamphlets. These bite-size guides—digestible in a sitting or two—are great introductions to cultural hot topics.

CAUGHT IN AN EMOTIONAL WEB Does your friend have a verifiable brain tumor . . . or hallucinations of little pink spiders? Empathy demands that you accept “his truth” and feel his distress as keenly as he does. And get as stuck as he is in his delusions. Douglas Wilson examines the empathy trap and calls us to anchor our love for our neighbor in objective truth. Only then can we remain free from the web ourseives and offer effective help to others who are caught. It’s time to shine the light of the gospel into the cobwebby corners of our culture and send the spiders scurrying.

They all walk toward the Abyss for different reasons, each of them with varying persuasions. Along the way, they meet Evangelist, and as a result, they face the Great Persuasion. Some of their conversations are recorded in this audiobook.

Postmodernism has infiltrated the academy, including the Evangelical academy. Christians must not be intimidated or bullied when they are told they need to be less tied to dry things like "propositions" and "abstractions". But truth is truth. As Chesterton said, “Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”

Doug discusses the seven deadly sins (a list first formulated in the 16th century) as only an experienced pastor of decades can, with pithy analysis of the temptation and the antidote from the Word of God.

This anthology of over a hundred poems written by Calvinists is a surprising introduction to the aesthetics of the Reformed tradition. Who knew there was such a host of Calvinist poets? Containing notes and short biographies to aid your enjoyment, this collection is the perfect starting point for appreciating these men and women—and the faith that inspired their words.

Obergefell v. Hodges and the legalization of gay marriage was wonderful -- in that it's now forcing every Christian to decide whether their allegiance is to the Supreme Court or to the Supreme Being. In every other way, Obergefell was terrible. Same-Sex Mirage starts with the fundamentals of marriage and then traces the effects of this foundational institution in every area of life. Is marriage a private matter -- an agreement before God alone? Or is it public -- a matter for legislation?