Adam McIntosh, Author at Kuyperian Commentary

On May 29, 2024 By Adam McIntosh In Culture, Politics, Sexuality 3

Praying against sexual sin every day in June

In light of the upcoming “Pride Month,” heralded by the LGBTQ community, the elders at my church have decided to pray against sexual sin every day in June. We are inviting our members to do the same, and we invite you to join us as well.

There’s been a lot of discussion recently among Christians on how to transform culture and governmental institutions. Some Christians are advocating a form of nationalism that sounds too close to fascism for comfort. Similar types are waging “meme-warfare” with white-pride-evangelism, as if that’s how you Christianize the world. It’s also an election year, wherein some Christians start acting like progressive leftists: “Get out the vote! It’s your moral duty!” And apparently: “Smash the Constitution!” (Lord, deliver us from Twitter.)

But what are the primary tools God has given his church? Worship and prayer. Regardless of your political stance and whether you vote or not, it is worship and prayer that transform the world. Not every Christian can vote, not every Christian can be a political activist. But every Christian can pray. We confess our sins to King Jesus and intercede on behalf of the world. This is our priestly service. Critics will call it retreatism, but this is how we wage war against evil. We fight by faith, not by sight.

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On August 23, 2023 By Adam McIntosh In Theology, Women 5

Uncovering the Headcovering Movement, pt. 3

When exploring the practice of headcovering, it is of utmost importance to deal with the exegesis of 1 Corinthians 11. Part 2 of this series attempted to do just that. By process of elimination, we were able to determine which interpretations are the most biblical and which ones are lacking in biblical evidence. It is my position that 1 Corinthians 11 in no way requires headcovering as a universal command for the church.

Beyond 1 Corinthians 11, headcoverers frequently appeal to history to defend headcovering. Indeed, some headcoverers focus on this aspect more than the biblical aspect. If your position on headcovering doesn’t match the historical consensus, it can be disregarded right away. “Two-thousand years of church history can’t be wrong,” you might hear. Or, “All Christians were pro-headcovering until the 1960s.” Are these claims accurate? The history isn’t as simple as you might think.

Female (and male) coverings, and not just in church

Yes, it was very common for women throughout history to wear headcoverings (scarfs, hats) as part of their regular attire. There is much evidence for this – written and photographic – even into the early 1900s. The claim is true, as far as it goes, and we need not say otherwise. But merely asserting this truth does not justify the headcovering movement. There are problems with this line of thinking.

First, the evidence shows that women wore coverings as regular attire in daily life. Headcovering wasn’t only for Christian activities, which works against the headcovering position. Most headcoverers do not require coverings all day, every day. They acknowledge that Paul was not teaching such in 1 Corinthians 11. Instead, they limit the practice to corporate worship. But this exposes the inconsistency of their argument: They are appealing to historical practice without actually following historical practice.

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On August 16, 2023 By Adam McIntosh In Theology, Women 7

Uncovering the Headcovering Movement, pt. 2

In my previous article, I attempted to show that 1 Corinthians 11 is one of the more difficult passages in the Bible. There are at least 10 questions posed by the text that aren’t immediately answered for us. While I’m certain that the Corinthians knew exactly what Paul meant by his words, we don’t have the same luxury. Every theory on 1 Corinthians 11 must rely on assumptions from outside the text. The task before us is to examine those assumptions and see which ones are the most biblical.

What follows are my conclusions on each of the 10 questions. Please remember that I acknowledge the impossibility of proving every point with certainty. In fact, my goal is not to provide the definitive interpretation of headcovering. As we examine the assumptions, we’ll find that there are multiple valid interpretations. But each of them come to the same conclusion: that artificial headcovering is not an on-going practice for the church.

My hope is to sort through the questions in the most logical order possible. We will start with some of the easier ones and move to harder ones. (Don’t miss the footnotes along the way.)

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On August 9, 2023 By Adam McIntosh In Theology, Women 7

Uncovering the Headcovering Movement, pt. 1

In 1 Corinthians 11 the apostle Paul writes, “Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head…the woman ought to have authority on her head, because of the angels” (vv. 5, 10). At first glance, this could be taken as an on-going command for all generations. Thus, the practice of wearing an artificial headcovering (for Christian women) has gained popularity in recent months and years.

Upon second glance, Paul’s teaching is not as clear-cut as headcoverers say it is. Exegesis of the text will reveal 10 vital questions that must be answered. The majority of these questions are not answered for us by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11, which means they will be answered according to one’s presuppositions. By God’s design, we have to insert assumptions into the text to make sense of it.

Is Paul speaking of husbands and wives, or men and women in general?

Verses 3-5 pose a dilemma. The words for “man” and “woman” in Greek are the same words used for “husband” and “wife.” The context is what usually determines if the subject is men or husbands, women or wives. Paul refers to creation later in the passage, so Adam and Eve are clearly in view. But this alone doesn’t help much. Adam and Eve were the first man and first woman, as well as the first husband and first wife. Is Paul talking about the genders broadly or marriages specifically? Arguments could be made for either case, and even headcoverers are split on this question. Some think headcovering is for married women only, others think it is for every woman including children. But if headcovering is an on-going command, there should be no ambiguity on this question. We must be able to determine who is required to do it and who is not.

What does Paul mean by “praying and prophesying”?

Is Paul speaking of any regular prayer in verses 4-5, or does he mean something more specific? He places it together with “prophesying,” which is a miraculous sign-gift. Is the “praying” also a miraculous sign-gift, such as praying in tongues? Since “praying and prophesying” is the only time Paul requires a headcovering, we must be able to determine what these phrases entail.

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On July 18, 2023 By Adam McIntosh In Film, Music 2

HBO’s ‘Barry’ converts to Christ and listens to David Crowder Band

If you’ve never heard of Barry, it’s a dark comedy on HBO starring Bill Hader (viewer discretion advised). The show debuted in 2018, with its fourth and final season ending in 2023. The main character, Barry Berkman, is a former-Marine-turned-hitman. He uses his military sniper skills to murder people for money. That sounds pretty dark, right? Where’s the comedy? The comedy kicks in when Barry decides to take up acting classes as a hobby. Quirky and eccentric characters give the show a satirical edge.

Seasons 1, 2, and 3 contain little to no religious elements, at least none that I can recall. Imagine my surprise when Season 4 depicts Barry as a convert to Christianity. In Episode 5, Barry is in his secluded home, hiding out with his wife and son. They are watching a live-streamed worship service on their laptop. At the end of the sermon, the pastor says, “Peace be with you.” Barry’s family promptly responds, “And also with you.” They then hug and share the peace with one another.

In other scenes, Barry teaches his son to honor God’s creation and not resort to violence. He teaches the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. He makes reference to St. Augustine. This is a Barry that we’ve never seen before. He is raising his son in the faith, and it appears that his murderous ways are behind him.

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On June 7, 2023 By Adam McIntosh In Church, Culture, Film 2

‘Love & Death’ stands or falls with the church

Warning: Spoilers ahead

HBO’s Love & Death is a 7-episode miniseries set in the late 70s and early 80s. It tells the true story of an adulterous affair in Wylie, Texas that resulted in a killing. The show portrays Candy Montgomery as the initiator of an affair with Allan Gore. Candy eventually kills Betty Gore, Allan’s wife, with an axe in Betty’s laundry room (viewer discretion is advised).

Why Candy killed Betty is a matter of debate, but you’ll have to watch the series or research the case if you want to know more. The focus of this article is on what drew me to the series in the first place — the Christian faith of the main characters.

Episode 1 begins with a traditional church service. Candy, Allan, and their spouses are members of the choir. They are singing the Gloria Patri in Sunday worship, donned with choir vestments. I was instantly intrigued and wondered what kind of church they belonged to.

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On March 28, 2023 By Adam McIntosh In Theology 3

A.D. 70 or the Future: Which Passages Are Which?

Eschatology has been at the forefront of recent debates within the Reformed world. The debate is particularly between partial-preterists and full-preterists. A partial-preterist is someone who believes that many — but not all — of the apocalyptic prophecies in the New Testament were fulfilled in the first century, by the year A.D. 70. A full-preterist is someone who believes that all of the apocalyptic prophecies were fulfilled in the first century. For example, partial-preterists believe that a bodily return of Jesus, a final judgment, and a resurrection of the dead are in our future. Full-preterists deny that these things are in our future.

These views are in contrast to what we might call “full-futurism.” A full-futurist believes that all of the apocalyptic passages are yet to be fulfilled. This is the most popular position among Christians today. I was raised in a full-futurist home, but I have adhered to partial-preterism for nearly 20 years. I believe it is the most biblical and balanced position. Partial-preterism (and therefore partial-futurism) avoids the opposite extremes of full-futurism and full-preterism.

Having come from a full-futurist upbringing, I can attest to the excitement of learning deeper truths of scripture. There is perhaps no greater paradigm shift than an eschatological paradigm shift. Consequently, once you dive into the preterist perspective, you’ll find yourself asking, “Which passages are still future?” That’s the question this essay attempts to answer.

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On October 31, 2022 By Adam McIntosh In Culture, Film, History, Music 2

Jeffrey Dahmer: The Monster Who Ate Jesus

During the late ’90s and early 2000s, there was nothing more exciting to me than the underground Christian music scene. In 1997, at age 12, I started devouring all the Christian punk music I could find.
One of my favorite bands was called Blaster the Rocket Man. They were perhaps the most unique of any other band. Their lyrics centered on horror and sci-fi themes – like werewolves, vampires, and aliens – but from an explicitly Christian worldview. In Blaster’s songs, monsters could be saved from their monstrosities if they put their faith in Jesus. It was very Kuyperian if you think about it: Every square inch belongs to Jesus…even the horror genre.

One of Blaster’s albums was called The Monster Who Ate Jesus. That title might seem sacrilegious on the surface, but I’ve always taken it as a reference to the Lord’s Supper (eucharist, communion). In one of the band’s earlier songs, “American Werewolf,” the only way for the werewolf to end his curse was to eat and drink Christ’s body and blood. I was reminded of this concept while watching Monster, the Netflix show about Jeffrey Dahmer. (Warning: mature audiences only.)

Dahmer was one of the most notorious serial killers in US history, nicknamed the Milwaukee Cannibal. From the late ’70s to the early ’90s, Dahmer drugged, raped, killed, and ate his victims (mostly gay black men). Most people – Christian or not – find these crimes utterly reprehensible. Dahmer’s level of depravity cannot be overstated.

And yet, one of the most fascinating things about Dahmer is that he claimed to become a Christian in prison. Mind you, jailhouse conversions aren’t that fascinating. Many people claim to find Jesus behind bars and many of those conversions are dishonest and/or short-lived. What’s always fascinated me about Dahmer was that he never used his faith to try to get out of prison. In fact, he wanted to be executed, which is the biblical penalty for rapists and murderers (Genesis 9:6, Deuteronomy 22:25-27).

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On September 1, 2022 By Adam McIntosh In Culture, Politics 2

Pastoral Prayers at City Council

My church meets in a small city in the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. Our city council meetings always begin with an opening invocation. A local pastor is invited to lead the prayer at each meeting. I am grateful to be in the regular rotation of pastors. It is an honor to represent Christ before elected officials and pray for them as the Bible commands (1 Timothy 2:2).

How should a pastor pray at such meetings? Praying at a public event can be intimidating. Any type of person, with any type of belief, might be in attendance. You have to assume that a variety of religious and political affiliations will be present: Christians, non-Christians, conservatives, liberals, and anyone in-between. You know going in that not everyone will like your prayer. Some might be offended by it.

Because of this, a pastor could be tempted to offer a shallow prayer. A short, generalized prayer would avoid controversy. Being vague would keep everyone happy. But this temptation must be avoided by every minister of the gospel. We shouldn’t be controversial for the sake of being controversial, but we must proclaim the truth boldly and clearly.

As a public representative of Christ, a pastor should want to emphasize the basics of the faith: The Triune God (not a generic “God”), the sinfulness of man, redemption through Jesus’s death and resurrection, and that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. The prayer should then address city-specific issues: That elected officials would rule according to godly wisdom, that judges and police officers would be a terror to evildoers, that crime would cease, and that there would be true peace in the community. At the end of the prayer, no one should have to wonder what you believe or what kind of Christian you are.

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On August 19, 2022 By Adam McIntosh In Church, Theology 1

Does Romans 6 require submersion baptism?

In Romans 6:3-4, Paul says, “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Does this passage require submersion as the proper mode of baptism? I was baptized by submersion and believe that submersions are legitimate baptisms, but my church practices baptisms from above (sprinkling or pouring). We believe this mode lines up best with biblical commands and imagery.

Submersionists appeal to Romans 6 as proof that baptisms must be done by submersion. The thinking goes like this: If baptism represents the death and burial of Jesus, then the recipient must go completely under water, similar to being buried underground. They think that the visual component of baptism must symbolize a visual burial. But there are problems with this argument.

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