Gary Shogren's Blog
This has been the most difficult election season, at least since 1948, perhaps since 1860. For that reason, may I request that, when someone didn't vote the way you or I did, that we not automatically respond: "Oh, that means you don't care at all about ____." "Oh, you're ignoring the sins of your candidate,... Continue Reading →
If I asked you “Who were the martyrs of the early church?” you would, quite properly, begin with Stephen in Acts 7; James in Acts 12; and then go on to Peter and Paul. “Brave, godly men were early martyrs” = a right answer But not a complete answer. Why not? Because we all, simply... Continue Reading →
With all due respect to the original, this is my thorough paraphrase, condensation, and updating of George Whitfield’s, “Worldly Business No Plea for the Neglect of Religion,” Sermon 20 of his Collected Sermons Matthew 8:22 – “Let the dead bury their dead.” When Paul preached at Athens, he observed that they were “very religious.” But... Continue Reading →
Thom S. Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources and has a very popular blog on church life. Having read with approval a number of his other articles, I was surprised to find one that I roundly disagreed with. It is titled “FIFTEEN REASONS WHY YOUR PASTOR SHOULD NOT VISIT MUCH” And he... Continue Reading →
A fresh preface to my essay, “The Forgotten Sign of the End Times: icy relations among God’s people.” I include here not only things I observe in others, but principally the things I'd like to root out of my own heart. The Lord's return may - or may not - be near, but no-one who reads church history... Continue Reading →
This was a commencement address that I gave in 1998 at Biblical Theological Seminary. You can download the text here. Shogren_Christianity without Christ In the last century, during the heyday of Liberal Christianity, a fringe group of thinkers raised the question, “Does a person really have to believe in Christ in order to be a good... Continue Reading →
In Part I I began an extended-play rant against internet disinformation. I'm against it for two reasons: I don't like false information; I don't like to look foolish when I fall for it. Here are other areas where we need to show some healthy skepticism: ECHO CHAMBER EFFECT In 2015 the social media were packed with... Continue Reading →
"You must not pass along false rumors." Exodus 23:1 My friends know what a skeptical soul I am. Whenever I see a post on the social media, my first reaction is to shake my head and say, “Yes, but, how do you know this to be so?” And they know me as the one who... Continue Reading →
The doctor has paid a house call and left, shaking his head. The diagnosis? American Christians have come down with a bad case of the Woulda-Dones. The symptoms? We are irresolute about making tough, righteous decisions today, but we know exactly what we bravely and clearly and boldly “woulda-done” if we had faced the moral... Continue Reading →
Download the article as a pdf: Shogren_The Emperor Constantine the Great – a villain or a hero, or something in-between To many, the Emperor Constantine was a saint: in the Orthodox church he is one of the “Equal-to-Apostles” (isapóstolos) a title given to people (such as Patrick, Cyril the evangelist of Russia and others) who were... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 