10 Articles to Read Through in One Sitting

Note: I do not necessarily agree with all of the assumptions or expressed views in the articles below. Nevertheless, I applaud and support their overall purpose.

1. Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. The Cambridge Declaration. An invaluable document. It is the result of many church leaders from a variety of evangelical Protestant denominations coming together to call for widespread repentance from the worldliness that has infected the church, as well as recovery of the five "Solas" of the Reformation.

2. Armstrong, John. The Contemporary Church. Here is a penetrating critique of the "seeker-sensitive" movement. While it has passed its peak of influence - it took the evangelical church by storm mostly in the 1980's and 1990's - its impact is still being felt today.

3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration. In our age, the good news of Jesus Christ has often been truncated, distorted or denied altogether. For a long time, we've needed a carefully worded, detailed statement of it. Here it is! Read it carefully and discover what might be missing in your understanding of Christ's life, death and resurrection. It was put together by several reputable Christian leaders, including D.A. Carson, J.I. Packer and R.C. Sproul.

4. Groothuis, Douglas. How the Bombarding Images of TV Culture Undermine the Power of Words. Groothuis, a professor at Denver Seminary and a noted expert on the New Age movement, goes beyond typical Christian critiques of television (which deal merely with the medium's content) to make a strong case for how inherently problematic the medium itself is. He also makes some helpful suggestions for how we can eliminate TV's power to control our lives.

5. Linden, David H. The Current Downgrade of the Doctrine of the Atonement. The problems addressed in this paper will show you why "An Evangelical Celebration" (#3 above) was necessary. I am privileged to know Mr. Linden personally; he is a local teacher/evangelist in Calgary who works with international students and is a member of Calgary's Bethel United Reformed Church.

6. Linden, David H. A Study of Justification. Mr. Linden has been greatly used by God to sharpen my own understanding of this doctrine, which is at the very heart of the gospel. Do you have doubts about its importance? Read this paper carefully and prayerfully.

7. McDowell, Josh. Evidence for the Resurrection. This essay demonstrates the historicity of Christianity's central event - the resurrection of Jesus - and bludgeons to death the idea held by many scholars/historians that it is just a "myth".

8. Rhodes, Ron. Manuscript for the Bible's Reliability. Those who take issue with the historicity and divine authority of the Bible will have many things to chew on after reading this brief, fine article.

9. Veith, Gene Edward. God's Double Sovereignty. Veith describes four different ways Christians have tried to relate to the world around them, and then he gives his view as to which one is the closest to biblical teaching.

10. Wells, David F. The Bleeding of the Evangelical Church. A sobering little article about how worldliness has manifested itself in the evangelical church today. This is a great distillation of Wells' thoughts, especially for those who find his books difficult to get through.

© 2002-07 Sean McCausland