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God’s Image, My Irritation: Learning to Love the People Who Frustrate Me

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  by Bart Denny I believe every human being is created in the image of God—the imago Dei . Genesis tells us, “God created mankind in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). That declaration comes before differences in nationality, politics, occupation, social standing, education, religious affiliation, or usefulness to society. People have worth because God made them. Their value isn’t something the government grants, the culture recognizes, or actions and opinions I personally approve of. I believe all of that. The harder question is whether anyone could tell I believe it by the way I treat people who frustrate me. James confronts this inconsistency with uncomfortable directness: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness” (James 3:9). That verse doesn’t allow me to separate my theology from my tone. I can’t praise the God whose image a person bears while casually belittling, mocking, or dehumanizing that person...
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Did the Early Church Fathers Believe in a Pretribulational Rapture?

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by Bart L. Denny, Ph.D., Th.M. I wrote this article years ago, and while I still see value in some of the arguments presented, my view has become more settled with time. Let me say it plainly: No, the early church fathers did not believe in a pretribulation rapture —at least not in the way John Nelson Darby and modern dispensationalists since the 1800s have taught it. They didn’t believe in it for one very good reason: the Bible didn’t teach it that way , and they were far closer—both chronologically and culturally—to the apostles than we are. But what did they believe? Let’s explore. Reading the Fathers with a Clear Eye Some scholars and popular writers have tried to find early traces of the pretribulation rapture among the church fathers. The argument often goes like this: If these early Christians believed in the imminent return of Christ and held to a millennial reign, then maybe—just maybe—they also believed in a secret rapture of the church before a Great Tribulation. Sounds in...
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