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
Doxological Calvinism
Doxologies punctuate the Bible because they punctuate the life of faith. This at least was Paul’s understanding of the life of Abraham: “he was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20). Let me invite you to take a simple word-association test. The usual procedure for such a test is that the administrator says a word and the subject responds with the first word that comes to mind. Thus, the word horse might immediately prompt the word cart from some people, but race (as in horse race) f..Continue reading→
The Kingdom Comes Not Through Maneuvers But By Repentance
Today’s Essenes are the gnosis-exalting hip churches and the law-exalting fundy churches, each preaching legalism of a different sort and rendering different sorts of people untouchable. They advocate withdrawal from either “church people” or “the world,” as if true kingdom enlightenment exists in an ecclesiological utopia hermetically sealed off and protected by either their cultural savvy or their cultural avoidance. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered..Continue reading→
NT Commentaries Withdrawn Over Plagiarism Allegations
The author, Peter T. O’Brien, was presented with the findings and provided the following response: “In the New Testament commentaries that I have written, although I have never deliberately misused the work of others, nevertheless I now see that my work processes at times have been faulty and have generated clear-cut, but unintentional, plagiarism. For this I apologize without reservation.” At the beginning of July 2016, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. received allegations against one of its New..Continue reading→
5 Lessons My Parents Taught Me About Sexuality
“These days, as I get older and consider marriage and my future, it’s the God-designed preciousness of sex that I think about more often. Sex, I’ve learned from my parents, is something to be esteemed without being glorified. While portrayed as a cheap commodity in culture today, God created it as a valuable gift.” “Sexuality”is an electric buzzword in our culture, igniting opinions like wildfire. With clashing commentary from secular society, Christians in recent years have increasingly recogn..Continue reading→
Life & Society
[Audio] How Pastors Can Preach about Religious Freedom
My friend Dr. McKay Caston (who happens to also be my pastor) preached a sermon recently that demonstrates how pastors can and should preach about religious freedom. It is fine example of speaking the truth in love and preparing a congregation for the rising tide of persecution in America. McKay has agreed to let me post the audio here and share his sermon notes below. You can follow his blog here. I encourage you to share them with pastors and church leaders and prayerfully encourage them to en..Continue reading→
Movies
Watch: Rihanna sings in the final trailer for Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek Beyond isn’t the first Star Trek film to feature a new song on its soundtrack, but it just might be the first to put its song front-and-centre in a movie trailer. The song in question is Rihanna’s ‘Sledgehammer’, and this is the trailer: You can listen to the complete single via Spotify: It is not clear to me whether this song was actually written for the film or whether the filmmakers are simply taking advantage of the fact that Rihanna has a new song to promote. Maybe Spock and Uhur..Continue reading→
Box office: Independence Day and Free State of Jones flop while Finding Dory and The Shallows thrive in the water
They had 20 years to prepare a sequel … and it more or less flopped in North America. Independence Day: Resurgence — which opened over a week before the holiday it’s named for and was not screened for critics in advance, both of which are sure signs that the studio wasn’t confident about the film’s prospects — is estimated to have grossed only $41.6 million between Thursday and Sunday nights. That’s less than the $50.2 million that the original film opened to in 1996. To repeat: the original fil..Continue reading→
Halftime: The best films of 2016 (so far)
We’re quickly approaching the midpoint of the year, and it’s been an interesting one. If you look at the box office reports, it’s been a blase year, unless you’re Disney. But in terms of quality, it’s not been bad. Usually, I reach the midpoint of the year and wonder if I’m going to be able to have enough to fill a top ten list in six months. This year, I already have at least five films that I know will kill me to leave off the year-end list. So I thought, in the interest of getting pageviews m..Continue reading→
Review: “Finding Dory”
Five years after its release, “Cars 2” still instills dread in Pixar lovers. Never mind that the studio’s other weakest films (“The Good Dinosaur” and “Brave”) are both original works, and that the “Toy Story” followups have been lauded as some of the best sequels ever. What most people think of when they hear about returning to a beloved Pixar world is Mater the Tow Truck zipping through Japan and making pee-pee jokes. It’s why the idea of a “Finding Nemo..Continue reading→
Interview with comic book artist Ted Woods
Here’s a new feature I’m hoping to implement more regularly on this blog. Constant readers know that I can be critical about Christian art, and that’s because I think there’s a lot of bad art out there that goes under the Christian name. But I really want to delve more into the artists and crafts people who are passionate about creating great Christian art and improving the conversation about faith. I met Ted Woods, an independent comic book writer, when we brie..Continue reading→
The strange love affair between Christians and guns
This isn’t the first time I’ve addressed this, and I hate that. This post, in fact, is adapted from a now-defunct blog I used to have; I just had to tweak it for the tragedy du jour. I hate that 50 people are dead because one man was filled with hate and had access to a firearm. I hate that this is not the first time I’ve had to deal with this news. Charleston. San Bernardino. Columbine. Aurora. Sandy Hook. All names that strike a chord because of one underlying ..Continue reading→
Orlando: Death in our safe spaces demands love across the lines
Earlier this evening, in response to the horrific shooting at a gay nightclub Orlando that left 50 people dead and just as many hospitalized — the deadliest shooting in U.S. history — blogger Micah J. Murray posted the following on his Facebook page: What makes mass shootings so intimately offensive is that they tend to happen at “safe” places where such tragedy should be off limits. A school. A movie theater. A day care center. A mall. These are wher..Continue reading→
“The Conjuring 2”: Ghostbusting with love
James Wan’s “Conjuring” movies are something rare in the horror genre: warm-hearted stories that scare the hell out of you. The first film, released in 2013, notably received an R rating for being “too scary” — movie marketing that was actually justified. The film was one of the most terrifying, knuckle-clenching haunted house movies in decades, elevated by Wan’s affection for his characters. Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) were real-life paranormal experts car..Continue reading→
Morgan Freeman Explores The Story of God
On the heels of Holy Week, National Geographic presents The Story of God, an ambitious, expansive six-part series hosted by Morgan Freeman. This is an impressive interfaith study, with Freeman traveling to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Guatemala, India and beyond in search of God, or at least humanity’s efforts to reach God. From the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to bathers on the Ganges, we follow Freeman and his guides to spiritual hot spot..Continue reading→
Music
Heartbeat (Single) by The Waiting Kind
Track Listing 01. Heartbeat Continue reading→
All Is Bright – EP by Cristabelle Braden
Track Listing 01. I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day 02. O Little Town of Bethlehem 03. Away in a Manger 04. Jingle Bells Continue reading→
The Thrill of Hope by Christy Nockels
Inspired to share her first Christmas album with the world, Christy Nockels will unveil The Thrill Of Hope on November 4. The Thrill Of Hope introduces Nockels' take on holiday classics mixed with original songs, including "Song In The Air," "Wrap This One Up," Amaryllis" and "Our Christmas Song," penned originally. The album is steeped in scriptural references from Isaiah, Genesis, Micah and more, along with family memories as Nockels invited other family members to take part in the project as well. Nockels worked with husband Nathan Nockels (Passion, Matt Redman, Laura Story) to create the LP. "'The thrill of[...]Continue reading→
Loose Canon Vol. 3 by Canon
Loose Canon Vol. 3 is the third installment of the Loose Canon series. With lead single Eagles, The Family, and Over Do It; Canon has a stacked line up for this EP. Track Listing 01. I'm Back Purchase 02. Eagles 03. Over Do It 04. EZ Purchase 05. My Little Baby 06. Renegade Purchase 07. Expect Us Purchase 08. Hold Up 09. I Ain't Got Time 10. The FamilyContinue reading→
Bethel Music Kids Release ‘Christmas Party’ EP Nov. 18
Dove Award-winning Bethel Music Kids (#BethelMusicKids) releases their Christmas Party EP internationally Nov. 18. The new recording follows their first full-length album and concert film, Come Alive, which launched to the top of the retail charts amidst acclaim when it released Dec. 2015 and went on to receive the GMA Dove Award for "Children's Music Album of the Year" last month after receiving a trio of nominations.Continue reading→
Gaither Music Group’s All-new Docu-musical Rides To The Top Of Three Music Sales Charts
Gaither Music Group's all-new Circuit Rider DVD rode straight to the top of this past week's Billboard Music Video chart in addition to the Christian Music Video chart, according to Nielsen Soundscan, garnering the #1 position on both. The audio version of the docu-musical also claimed the #1 position on the Southern Gospel Album Sales chart and a Top 20 spot on the Contemporary Christian Music chart.Continue reading→
OBB Releases New Single ‘Sweater’
OBB has been teasing something new for a few weeks now through social media images that only said "11-4-16." They finally made the announcement early this morning a new single, "Sweater," available now here. RELATED OBB Back In The Studio With David Thulin As the band preps to appear on Winterjam next year, they promise this is only the beginning of new things. "We're super excited about the new music we have coming out, lots of new imaging, lots of new stuff coming out. So make sure you..Continue reading→
Casting Crowns Celebrates 11th No. 1 Radio Single With ‘One Step Away’
Multi-platinum selling and GRAMMY® award winning group Casting Crowns released their eighth studio album, The Very Next Thing, in September and just celebrated their 11th No. 1 radio single with "One Step Away." RELATED Casting Crowns Releases New Album 'The Very Next Thing' Today The band is currently on their own "The Very Next Thing" 40-city tour, presented by Compassion International and Museum of the Bible. The show offers an encouraging message of hope about doing the next thi..Continue reading→
We Are Messengers Releases ‘God With Us’ Christmas EP Today
Dove Award-nominated band We Are Messengers has announced the release of its first Christmas project, God With Us. Available beginning today, this four-song EP can be found at iTunes, Amazon, Google and Spotify. RELATED We Are Messengers' Darren Mulligan Shares His Story "At Christmas, we see the love of God take on flesh and bone so that He can be with us, rescue us and heal our brokenness," explains Darren Mulligan, lead vocalist, We Are Messengers. "God is not removed and distant, but ..Continue reading→
World
‘Pope Francis’ Says Roman Catholics, Christians Should Seek Forgiveness From Homosexuals
ROME (Reuters) — Jorge Bergoglio, who goes by the name “Pope Francis,” said on Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them. Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia, he also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labor and for “blessing so many weapons” in the past. In the hour-long freewheeling conversation th..Continue reading→
Supreme Court: Texas Can’t Keep Women from Abortion Clinics
Ruling to reverse restrictions interrupts years of pro-life advances on the state level. The Supreme Court sided with abortion providers in a landmark case today, striking down Texas’ stricter requirements for clinics and setting a potential precedent against similar regulations in other states. Ruling on its first abortion case since 2007, the court voted 5-3 that the provisions of the 2013 Texas law known as HB-2 “place a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abort..Continue reading→
ISIS Fighters Launch New Attacks in Eastern Afghanistan
JALALABAD (India.com) — Heavy fighting between Afghan forces and Islamic State fighters has killed dozens of people, officials said today, raising fears the militant group is staging a comeback months after Kabul said they had been defeated. The fighting began late on Friday in the Kot area of the Rodat district in eastern Nangarhar province after a contingent of IS fighters attacked police check posts, provincial governor Salim Khan Kunduzi said. The interior minis..Continue reading→
‘We Can’t Kill This Baby’: Couple Walks Out of Abortion Facility, Saves Life of Down Syndrome Son
SYDNEY — An Australian couple whose son was diagnosed with Down syndrome is expressing their relief that they walked out of an abortion facility instead of ending the life of their unborn child. “I’d made an appointment to have a termination, and we were sitting there, but then my husband dragged me outside,” Claire Martin recalled to the Daily Mail this week. “He said, ‘What are we doing? Lets go home. We can’t kill this baby.'” “I was relieved,” she said. “I needed someone to say they w..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..