Category: The Gospel Coalition

The Gospel Coalition

Blog can be found on:

http://theologica.blogspot.com/

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By micoots
30/08/2016 0

9 Things You Should Know About the Opioid Epidemic

Last week, an estimated 174 people overdosed on heroin in Cincinnati. The Ohio town is the latest to be plagued by a spike in opioid-related drug overdoes—but it’s not the only city to deal with the problem. The abuse of heroin and other opioids has become such a epidemic that the U.S. Surgeon General is sending a letter to every doctor in America asking them to help combat this public health crisis.

Here are nine things you should know about America’s opioid epidemic:

Lightstock

1. Opioids a..

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By micoots
29/08/2016 0

Bring Back the Church Prayer Meeting

Some of my earliest memories are of my dad, a fly fisherman, carefully selecting tiny bits of feather and horsehair for his fly box. He knew the importance of carrying a colorful and varied selection of flies: Once on the river, he would identify the newly hatched insects on the stream’s surface and notice which were attracting the fish. He could then “match the hatch” from his box, tying onto his line a fly that resembled the real ones on the water.

In the Christian life, too, we should “match..

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By micoots
29/08/2016 0

Loving through Disease and Death

Death brings closure, we might say. But surely that’s too nice and neat. Though death may not finally sting (1 Cor. 15:55), it surely jars, jolts, and stuns. Death brings about a stop. And in its own way, disease—a precursor to death—repudiates the ongoing flow of life.

Not for nothing, then, some of the most powerful memoirs of recent years have lingered over the question of death and the stultifying experience of disease. Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking looked over the death of a s..

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By micoots
29/08/2016 0

On Empty Nests, Christian Mommy Guilt, and Misplaced Identity

Back-to-school time is always a tough transition, not just for kids but for moms. And I’m no exception. I’ve certainly been happy-sad sending them off, though, if I’m honest, the sad is currently winning the tug-of-war by a mile.

For the third time in three years, I left a piece of my heart in a dorm room at a giant university hours from home. There’s only one chickie left in the nest that used to hold four, and his traitorously giant feet are dangling over the side of it. In a short time our n..

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By micoots
27/08/2016 0

Millennials Don’t Need Your ‘Cool’

The generation we call “millennials” (individuals born between 1980 and 2000) has been the subject of countless Christian articles and books in the recent years. How do we reach them? What are they looking for in church? Why do so many, even those raised in Christian homes, seem disillusioned and frustrated with the local church?

I should add that, at 33 years of age, I’m technically a millennial. As a college pastor and now as leader of a campus ministry at Princeton University, I also minist..

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By micoots
27/08/2016 0

God Doesn’t Owe Me Children

They are three dates I know well: May 13, 2016; June 10, 2016; July 7, 2016. They are marked in red, testifying to the vacancy of my womb. I’m technically infertile with what is known as secondary infertility—a couple who’s already produced at least one child faces sudden difficulty conceiving another. In most cases, couples are considered infertile after a year of trying without pregnancy.

My husband and I are the thankful parents of two precious daughters—ages 5 and nearly 3. We would be grat..

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By micoots
26/08/2016 0

We Need (Religious Freedom) Reinforcements

There’s an unforgettable scene in We Were Soldiers, the 2002 movie based on the first major battle between the United States and the North Vietnamese. American ground troops under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore (played by Mel Gibson) are losing ground to enemy forces. In a last and desperate act, Moore hails the radio and calls for “Broken Arrow”—the Hail Mary play that brings in planes for close air support. There’s no guarantee the planes will succeed, but one thing is certain: Without thos..

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By micoots
26/08/2016 0

What You Should Know About the American Solidarity Party Platform

Editors’ note: This is the second in a series examining the social positions of several minor political parties. A previous series covered the Democratic Party platform and the Republican Party Platform.

Although minor parties—often called “third parties” to distinguish them from the dominant two—have always been a part of American politics, the dissatisfaction with the Republican and Democratic parties in the current election season has led some Christians to give them more consideration than ..

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By micoots
26/08/2016 0

How Celibacy Can Fulfill Your Sexuality

A friend of mine has an interesting spoon. (Bear with me.) Its slightly larger than a teaspoon and has a large hole in the middle, making it incapable of holding—let alone carrying—the sort of substance that typically requires a spoon. My friend keeps it in his sugar bowl, waiting for unsuspecting guests to attempt productive engagement with it. Some will quietly (but unsuccessfully) persevere with it, not wanting to make a fuss and assuming the fault must somehow lie with them. Others will imme..

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By micoots
25/08/2016 0

Meet a Reformed Arminian

The first time I heard Matt Pinson speak, he repeatedly dropped a term that rolled around in my mind for several days: “Reformed Arminian.” Such a phrase seems an oxymoron along the lines of jumbo shrimp, heated ice, or left-wing conservative.

As a trained church historian, I was fairly certain that by “Reformed Arminian” he meant one who affirms the teaching of Jacob Arminius, a figure who arose out of the Protestant Reformation, a figure whose theology departs at numerous key points from much..