Last spring I had the privilege of speaking at a conference for NFL players put on by Pro Athletes Outreach (PAO), a group which exists to unite a community of pro athletes and couples to grow as disciples of Jesus and positively impact their spheres of influence. They have a fantastic outreach to professional football and baseball athletes and their wives. I’ve seen firsthand the amazing difference they’re making. In the off-season I exchanged emails and texts with dozens of NFL players and cha..Continue reading→
Home
Thoughts
Motherhood Is a Marathon
I wanted to do great things for God. In the spring of my senior year of college, on the brink of embarking upon my own journey into adulthood, my future was undecided and that was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. As a philosophy major, my path was narrower than I had realized, but I was sure it would take me on some grand and glorious adventure. I knew the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. “Glorify” sounds like such a grand term. It evokes images of battlefie..Continue reading→
1 Peter 5:7–8: How Not to Battle Anxiety
Anxieties attack our faith and torment our peace. The question with anxiety is not whether it will come, but rather, how can I fight it when it does? Watch NowContinue reading→
Is Love of Money Really the Root of All Evils?
Is the love of money the “root of all evils” or only the “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10)? “All evils” is the formal English equivalent of the original Greek (pantōn tōn kakōn). It is remarkable that all older versions of the Bible translate 1 Timothy 6:10 in the more literal way: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (or all evil). This includes the Wycliffe Bible, Luther Bibel, Geneva Bible, King James Version, Douay-Rheims, Darby Bible, and Revised Standard Version. Bu..Continue reading→
Hot Topics
What The Pro-Choice And Pro-Life Miss About Simone Biles
No amounts of tweets or praise can change the fact, however, that the young woman Americans have fallen in love with on their television screens would not be here if her mother had chosen abortion. That’s the thought abortion supporters never want to ponder … What if? Because if we allow the human life to continue to grow inside the womb, that life will develop and become someone we cannot so easily dismiss. What if we didn’t chose abortion? Who would that baby have become? As Simone Biles was ..Continue reading→
Statism and Parachurchism
Even the briefest perusal of recent activities by the most prevalent evangelical and Reformed(ish) para-church organizations of our day seems to support this claim. No longer content with a straightforward task of providing resources (books, media, conferences) which (arguably) improve theological literacy and piety, we see, for instance, para-church organizations attempting to define the Church’s doctrine, or even write her liturgy, by drafting (and, of course, heavily marketing) theological st..Continue reading→
When God “Rightly” Hurts Us
Remember God’s sovereignty. He really is the omnipotent, omniscient, everywhere present King. God really is in control of everything. He foreordains all that comes to pass. Do not listen to your fleshly heart. Do not entertain the lies of Satan. Forget the theologians who presented an impotent God who is powerless to interfere. God is sovereign. The Scripture is full of times when God watched and allowed his children to be hurt. Pharaoh and the Egyptians hurt the Israelites. Satan buffeted Job,..Continue reading→
Are Clergy Underpaid? New Study Reveals Rising Wages, Shorter Hours and a Diminishing Wage Gap
“There are vast differences in the situations of individual clergy, from those serving small rural or urban churches who often work for low wages without benefits to the high-end salaries of some prominent megachurch pastors. Catholic priests are by far on the low end of the scale, earning about half as much as other clergy.” The wages of battling sin are getting better for men and women of the cloth. Non-Catholic clergy have experienced significant increases in income even as their work weeks..Continue reading→
Life & Society
7 Steps to Help You Pursue a New Life Direction
So you want to step out in a new life direction. But you’re afraid. That’s normal. Fear often keeps us from moving forward. What if I showed you the steps needed to move forward with clarity, confidence, and abundant faith to live an authentic life adventure? First let me acknowledge that I did not follow all of the steps I am about to share with you—not intentionally anyway. Some I had to learn the hard way. When I stepped away from a secure paycheck as the principal of a Christian school, I h..Continue reading→
5 Suggestions For Finding Your New Life Direction
Do you know where you are headed next in life? Do you know where you should be headed next? If you’re like a lot of us, you may have accidentally fallen into a life direction instead of intentionally choosing your best path. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn’t be that way. God created each one of us with unique strengths, passions, and skills sets. He gave us each unique relationship connections that open doors of opportunity unavailable to others. And He expects us to use..Continue reading→
Drafting Women: Long-term Cultural Consequences
Lost in the latest egalitarian nonsense about drafting women to serve in the military are two concerns I have about the long-term impact on us as a culture. Aside from the scientific arguments about weakening our fighting force, valid though they are, and the complete collapse of principles by so many on what used to be the ideological right, two glaring concerns remain with drafting women to serve in the military: Our society needs mothers who are not trained killers. Men..Continue reading→
Colorado Court Upholds Re-education Camp for Christian Baker
We are rapidly approaching a tipping point in America. The cultural wildfire is burning. The day is coming, sooner than most think, when we will each have to choose whether to obey God or man, dictatorial bureaucrats or the Constitution, tyrannical judges or our own consciences. The sooner we grasp this truth the better: simply because a court makes a ruling does not make it right. Because a law exists is not sufficient reason to obey it. When Pharaoh ordered all newborn boys to be slaughtered,..Continue reading→
Music
Lacey Sturm’s ‘The Mystery Finding True Love In A World Of Broken Lovers’ Available Today
GRAMMY® Nominated artist and author Lacey Sturm has released her second book "The Mystery Finding True Love In A World Of Broken Lovers," available today. Two years after Sturm's book debut, "The Mystery" includes Sturm's personal account of her own journey and struggles, giving fans a look inside her life from heartbreak to wholeness. Sturm helps readers understand that any loving relationship begins with knowing your own identity in Christ.Continue reading→
Disciple Releases Lyric Video For ‘Erase’
Today rock group Disciple released the lyric video for "Erase," a powerful track off their soon-to-be-released album Long Live The Rebels. The song is instantly available when you pre-order the new album, set to release October 14th. In our review, NewReleaseToday said this of the song "The passionate expression of the love of God, a hallmark for Disciple, is expressed in a new way on 'Erase,' a tender promise f..Continue reading→
Meredith Kinleigh Releases New Single ‘Living Sacrifice’
INOV8 Music Group artist Meredith Kinleigh, who has spent much of 2016 touring with the likes of Grammy Award-winning vocalist Jason Crabb and platinum-selling band Kutless, announces today's release of a new single. The song, titled "Living Sacrifice," was written by award-winning songwriters Mike and Deanna Geier. "Living Sacrifice" is being serviced to Christian INSPO and Christian AC-formatted radio stations and is available on iTunes, Google Play and all digital outlets.Continue reading→
VERIDIA Announces Fall Tour With Evanescence
Today Word Records rockers VERIDIA announced they will be touring this fall with mainstream band Evanescence. "We're hitting the road with Evanescence this Fall! See you at a show," the group posted on their Facebook page. This isn't the first time the two bands have joined forces on the road (they played a few shows together last fall) and fans are thrilled to see them teaming up again. Some ..Continue reading→
Love Lines The Last Horizon by Tanya Godsey
Award-winning singer-songwriter, speaker and worship leader Tanya Godsey, whose artistry occupies the space somewhere between the sincerity of Sara Groves and the passion of Bethel Music's Steffany Gretzinger, releases her third independent, full-length album, Love Lines The Last Horizon, internationally Sept. 30. Produced by Ben Shive (Colony House, Rend Collective, JJ Heller, Mercy Me), the album is framed with Tanya's signature piano playing, fervid vocals and an array of cinematic touches paralleling the spectrum of human emotion. The first single from the album, "We Are Your Song," released June 10 to digital retail outlets internationally. With all the proceeds from the[...]Continue reading→
GRI Live by Greater Emmanuel Institutional (GEI)
On Friday September 30, 2016, Karew Records will release the live album GEI LIVE, from the Greater Emmanuel Institutional (GEI) C.O.G.I.C. presented by Bishop J. Drew Sheard (Senior Pastor) and multiple GRAMMY®-winning Gospel legend and 1st Lady Karen Clark Sheard in Detroit, MI. The first live project to be released from GEI in decades, the new album is available for pre-order now. GRAMMY® Award-nominee Kierra Sheard brings her acclaimed voice to dominate the lead single "Hang On," which is currently impacting radio. Imploring listeners to hang on when facing tests of faith on the uplifting single, fans can also catch Kierra[...]Continue reading→
Meredith Andrews Releases Video Series With Kay Warren
Word Worship artist Meredith Andrews has partnered with co-founder of Saddleback Church and best-selling author Kay Warren in a video series titled "Meredith Andrews Kay Warren Deeper." On the heels of her recent album release, titled Deeper, Andrews is joined by her friend Kay Warren on camera as they share how to dig deeper in their faith in everyday life as well as how to grow with God in each season of life. The five-video ser..Continue reading→
Fred Hammond Releases ‘Worship Journal Live’
Award-winning gospel superstar and producer Fred Hammond releases his much-anticipated new album WORSHIP JOURNAL LIVE today on RCA Inspiration. Recorded live from Houston, the 12 track album delivers an exquisite blend of all-new songs handpicked from Hammond's soul. WORSHIP JOURNAL LIVE is available everywhere music is sold. WORSHIP JOURNAL LIVE is Hammond's first live recording in 17 years and features the popular single "Fa..Continue reading→
GMA Announces More Talent And Special Awards Winners For 47th GMA Dove Awards
The Gospel Music Association (GMA) announces more presenters for the 47th Annual GMA Dove Awards. Bill Gaither, CeCe Winans, David Mann, Hezekiah Walker, Jaci Velasquez, Janice Gaines, Lauren Daigle, Sadie Robertson and Wally from WAY-FM will join hosts for KING & COUNTRY and Tye Tribbett for the sold-out awards show on Tuesday, October 11 at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena in Nashville at 630 p.m. CST. Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) will exclusively air the awards show on Sunday, Oct..Continue reading→
World
Wise Decision-Making in God’s Economy
How do we know that we are pleasing God in all that we do? Who will be our next president? It’s a question that is on everyone’s mind. In light of the upcoming presidential election, economic questions like, “Should we trade with China?” or “How do we pay for our debt?” are swirling in the minds of Americans. Questions like these are important, but they are also overwhelming and seem to best belong with pundits and academics. The reality is, the average American has little impact on the econom..Continue reading→
The Purge: Election Year
The opportunity for biting social critique gets swept away in a torrent of bloody destruction. Few, if any, of CT's readers probably ought to see (or bother seeing) The Purge: Election Year. Like its predecessors (The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy), its world is drawn thinly in ways that don't actually help the very interesting concept of the plot: that in an alternate universe very close to our own, the U.S. is ruled by the NFFA—the New Founding Fathers of America, a party of apparent..Continue reading→
The BFG
Fairy tales need real dragons. Roald Dahl weaves strange yarns for kids, mixing imagination and whimsy with a distinct strand of menace. The enduring popularity of his stories—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published in 1964!—depends on all those threads, menace included. What good is Matilda without the criminally neglectful parents or abusive Agatha Trunchbull? Or James and the Giant Peach without the cruel aunts? Or Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator without the Vermicious Knids?Continue reading→
US giving hundreds of millions to countries that recruit child soldiers
The US is giving hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to countries that use and recruit child soldiers. Around a quarter of a million children around the world have beem recruited as soldiers. Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday condemned the practice, and urged the Obama administration to review its spending. The call came following the release of a new list of countries implicated in the use of child soldiers by the US State Department. The list of 10 countries includes ..Continue reading→
American
Woman Complains About Body Image Issues After Late-Term Abortion of Girl With Spina Bifida
Missouri mom Jessica McCoy had a late-term abortion a few months ago after learning that her unborn daughter had spina bifida and a chromosomal abnormality. The mother of three born children has been sharing about her abortion publicly, both describing her grief at the loss of her daughter and justifying her decision to have her unborn daughter killed because of the girl’s disabilities. Several women’s publications picked up McCoy’s story this week after she posted photos on Instagram describi..
Texas Lawmakers Initially Approve Bill to Ban Abortions on Babies Just Because of Their Race or Gender
Today, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 415, the Dismemberment Abortion Ban, on second reading. The bill was preliminarily approved by the Senate on a bipartisan 22-9 vote. In addition to every Republican of the Senate supporting the measure, two Democrats – Senators Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville) and Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) – voted for the life-saving measure. Senate Bill 415 and House Bill 844, the Dismemberment Abortion Ban, outlaw the barbaric and inhumane procedure that ends the li..
More Patients in Quebec Killed in Assisted Suicide as Hundreds Request Lethal Drugs
CBC news reported (March 14) that the number of euthanasia deaths in Québec significantly increased in the second half of 2016. According to the CBC news report: A total of 461 patients were granted doctor-assisted death during the first year of Quebec’s medical aid in dying law, according to data obtained by CBC’s French-language service, Radio-Canada. The number of requests increased significantly in the second half of 2016. From December 2015 to end of June 2016, 253 patients requested the ..
Woman Was About to Have an Abortion When Something Incredible Happened to Save Her Baby’s Life
Two volunteers at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Pensacola spoke to a deeply troubled young woman who had conceived a child as the result of a sexual assault. “She was hurting and felt that abortion was her only solution to the recent trauma she had experienced,” said Ernie, the local coordinator. Counselors offered encouragement, assistance, prayers and tears. But still, she believed abortion was her only option … and she went inside the abortion center. The volunteers kept praying – and trust..
Australia
Bringing them up in the Lord
BIBLE SOCIETY NEWS Wednesday 21 December 2016 About 60 million children in China are “left behind” in their home villages, to be looked after by their grandparents or relatives because their parents are trying to find work in cities. This enormous group of neglected children – more than a quarter of the 215 million children in China – is in great need of hope, encouragement and care. These “left-behind” children are highly vulnerable to serious crimes such as sexual abuse and assault and suff..
Back where it all began
BIBLE SOCIETY NEWS Saturday 20 December 2016 Next year is a special year. Bible Society Australia will be celebrating its bicentenary, but 2017 is not only about thanking God for all he’s done in the past through his word. Bible Society Australia is calling upon you, your church and your community groups to help us continue the legacy of equipping our people with the life-giving word of God. Get The Word Out (GTWO) is Bible Society Australia’s year-long focus on providing one nation on earth ..
Everything you helped us achieve in 2016
BIBLE SOCIETY NEWS | Greg Clarke Monday 19 December 2016 Bible Society Australia isn’t about any one person. From the very start we’ve been a Society. Bible Society is the thousands of supporters and volunteers like you. And it’s through your generosity this year we’ve been able to: Train 30 literacy teachers in South Sudan under Professor Twong Yolong – so thousands of Collo people, traumatised by war, can read and write Translated the scriptures to the Tay, Nung and Muong people in Vietnam –..
Egyptian Christians killed in bomb attack on church
A bomb blast in St Peter’s church in Cairo on Sunday killed 25 people and wounded 49, mostly women and children. The bombing during morning mass was the deadliest attack on Egypt’s Christians since a 2011 bombing killed 21 people at a church in Alexandria. The Sunday bombing is the latest indication of how challenging it is for Christians living in Egypt, who account for about 10 per cent of Egypt’s 92 million people. The Bible Society of Egypt has requested prayers f..
Law & Government
Men With Scabies Arrested After Committing Homosexual Sex Act on Display Bed at Bed Bath & Beyond
(NorthJersey.com) – Two men were arrested and charged with engaging in lewd behavior on a display bed at Bed Bath & Beyond during regular business hours. Police officers responded to the Route 3 Riverfront shopping center at 5 p.m. Monday on a report from a witness that two men were engaged in a sex act, records show. Police arrested two 28-year-old men, one from Nutley and the other from North Carolina. Both were charged with lewdness, criminal mischief and possession of marijuana, according ..
Alabama Man Charged With Capital Murder for Killing Unborn Child in Beating Girlfriend
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama man has been charged with capital murder for allegedly killing his unborn child while beating his girlfriend. According to reports, Reginald Sharp, 27, knocked his girlfriend to the ground in a domestic incident last July and then beat her with his fists and a belt. She was 26 weeks (six months) pregnant. The woman was transported to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where her baby was stillborn the next day. The county coroner listed the child’s death as “intrauterine feta..
Trump Mocks Schwarzenegger, Jokingly Asks for ‘Prayer’ for ‘Apprentice’ Ratings at National Prayer Breakfast
(ABC News) — President Trump jokingly requested prayer for Arnold Schwarzenegger as he addressed attendees at this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast. “They hired a big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place, and we know how that turned out,” Trump said at the top of his remarks. He continued, “The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster. And Mark [Burnett] will never, ever bet against Trump again, and I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those rat..
Boy Scouts to Allow Girls Who Identify as Boys
(New York Times) — Reversing its stance of more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America said on Monday that the group would begin accepting members based on the gender listed on their application, paving the way for transgender boys to join the organization. “For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-..
Entertainment
Martin Scorsese talks Spirituality and Silence
Comment countSilence was one of the most provocative, moving bits of cinema I saw last year. It’s complex and murky and inspiring and troubling and beautiful–all of which, in a way, reflects how I interact with faith itself. Perhaps, when we attempt to understand and embrace the transcendent, it can be no other way. The movie is arguably one of Martin Scorsese’s most overtly religious works. But as many have noted, almost every movie that Scorsese has ever done is about, in some way, faith. Scor..
Why Silence Deserved Oscar’s Love
Comment countAndrew Garfield and Yōsuke Kubozuka in Silence, photo courtesy Paramount PicturesWhen Academy Award nominees earlier this week, plenty of Oscar’s snubs made headlines. No Amy Adams? No Sully? Where’s Hugh Grant? But the Academy reserved its biggest oversight for one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors: Martin Scorsese. Silence, the film that Scorsese spent 26 years planning and making, earned just a single nomination—for Rodrigo Prieto’s gorgeous cinematography. Nothing for Andr..
The Story of God: Is There Anybody Out There?
Comment countMorgan Freeman from National Geographic’s The Story of GodFor two seasons, National Geographic’s The Story of God With Morgan Freeman has taken us behind the curtain to see the world’s religions, both great and small, at work. This Monday in the second season finale, Freeman and his crew tackle the biggest question of all: Is there a reason for all this religion? In other words, is there a God? But proof of God, as Oxford Theoretical Physicist Ard Louis says on the show, is impossib..
The Story of God: Finding Heaven in Hell
Comment countMorgan Freeman from National Geographic’s The Story of God.What is heaven? What is hell? And how do they impact how we live right now? “Heaven and Hell,” the latest episode of The Story of God With Morgan Freeman (airing Jan. 23) grapples with those questions. They’re questions that have fascinated me, too. They always have, ever since I was a little boy. In the episode, Freeman and others take an interfaith trip through the Good Place and Bad Place. The show takes us to a cave in T..
Health and Science
Is Genesis History? New Film Affirms Truthfulness of Biblical Record
A soon-to-be-released documentary-style film, featuring footage from around the U.S. and interviews with over a dozen scholars and scientists, will provide visual evidence and scientific arguments for the Bible’s accounts of Creation and the Flood. On February 23, hundreds of movie theaters across the U.S. will participate in a one-night showing of the film “Is Genesis History?” The film, produced by Compass Cinema and structured as a documentary, features interviews with respected Christian sc..
Researchers Experiment Creation of Human-Pig ‘Chimera Embryos’ to Address Shortage of Donor Organs
LA JOLLA, Calif. — A team of biologists at the Salk Institute in California has reportedly created the first-ever human-pig chimeras in an effort to test the idea of growing organs in animals that can later be used in human transplants. “This biomedical advance has long been a dream and a quandary for scientists hoping to address a critical shortage of donor organs,” National Geographic writes. “Every ten minutes, a person is added to the national waiting list for organ transplants. And every d..
Why Our Body Destroys Itself
The science and spirituality behind the latest Nobel Prize in medicine. With every patient I treat, I hear myself echo the same sentiment: I know this hurts. I’m sorry. It will be over soon. In the emergency department, healing rarely comes without pain. It may be the wrenching of a joint back into place, the lancing of an abscess, or the administering of antibiotics through the business end of a large needle. But with the exception of the few who decide at the first flash of my scalpel that pe..
Perplexed Scientists Think C-Sections During Childbirth Are Affecting Human Evolution
Photo Credit: Lisa EspinosaWhy is obstructed labor such a common complication during human childbirth? A team of evolutionary scientists thinks recent human evolution and the modern practice of childbirth via C-section contribute to the problem. Obstructed labor happens when a baby is unable to smoothly pass from the mother’s womb through the birth canal. A major cause of both maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality, obstructed labor is especially common in poorer countries and results in ..
US
The Superbowl and vocation
The Superbowl is this weekend, time for the obligatory polls about whether or not God gets involved in the outcome of sporting events. One-quarter of Americans believe that he does. About a half believe that God rewards faithful athletes with health and success. Certainly, the easy answer is that of course God doesn’t care about a sporting event because He has much more important things to do. But if God attends to the fall of a sparrow, why wouldn’t He attend to the fall of a pigskin? The real ..
The anti-Trump “resistance”
French Resistance fighters, 1944 Democrats have gone into full resistance mode, with Democratic Senators boycotting confirmation hearings to prevent a vote on President Trump’s candidates. (Republicans suspended the rules and approved Treasury Secretary candidate Steven Mnuchin and HHS Secretary candidate Tom Price anyway. See this.) Meanwhile, a self-described “alternative left” has emerged that is pressuring Democratic elected officials not to co-operate with the Republicans. Notice how the us..
Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
President Donald Trump has nominated Colorado appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia. Reportedly, Judge Gorsuch is from that same mold: eloquent, learned, articulate, and an “originalist” when it comes to interpreting the Constitution. He is the author of a book against euthanasia and supported Hobby Lobby in its suit against the Obamacare birth control mandate. An Anglican, he would be the only Protestant on the bench, joining the 5 Ca..
“Pregnant people”
The British Medical Association has issued guidelines saying that to avoid offending the transgendered, health workers should not refer to “pregnant women.” Rather, say, “pregnant people.” After all, a biological female–no, that wording is forbidden too; we must say “assigned female”–who identifies as a man can have a baby. And since we must go by self-identification, that means that men can be pregnant. The Transgender movement has at least destroyed feminism. Now that men can claim the identit..
Church & Theology
“Enlightenment” and True Freedom
“I think, therefore I am.” René Descartes penned this popular line in his 1637 treatise, Discourse on the Method, and it’s a good summary of the book itself. Heralding the importance of scientific discoveries and the necessity of doubting one’s own view of the world, Descartes’s work is often considered the first domino to fall in what is now called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, with its explosion of scientific discoveries and philosophical arguments, had one task:..
New Book — Rooted: Theology For Growing Christians
As you may know, my friend Jeff Medders and I wrote a short, accessible book on the most important doctrines of the Christian faith. It’s called Rooted: Theology for Growing Christians, and it released this weekend from Rainer Publishing. As two men who’ve served in church leadership in various ways, we kept running into laypeople who were accidental Universalists, Arians, mystics, and even worse. We’ve found that it’s often not their fault; rather, they spent most of thei..
Church Grammar: Theology as the Language of Christianity
If you’re anything like me, you’ve had your favorite dinnertime evangelists, the local Jehovah’s Witnesses, show up at your door. They’re kind. They smile. And they even tuck in their shirts. To top it all off, they speak Christianese pretty well. Or do they? Though they sound like Christians, they come bearing bad news–an anti-gospel that denies the divinity of Jesus and only offers the possibility of Heaven for a select few people. Their gospel sounds so close to the bib..
Jesus Hanging Out with Wild Animals
The Temptations of Christ, 12th century mosaic at St Mark’s Basilica, Venice. On a recent episode of Word Matters, Trevin Wax and I discussed Mark’s rendering of Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness, particularly the unique insertion of the phrase, “He was with the wild animals” (Mark 1:13, HCSB). After discussing the prominent views of this passage throughout church history, Trevin and I both landed at the same conclusion: Mark is recapitulating the temptation scene of Ge..