Tornadoes, Tsunamis, and the Mystery of Suffering and Sovereignty
Thoughts on the Oklahoma tornado
Great natural disasters such as this tell us nothing about the comparative sinfulness of those who are its victims. Please do not conclude that the residents of Moore, Oklahoma, are more sinful than any other city that has not as yet experienced such devastation. Please do not conclude that we are more righteous than they... Continue Reading
Divorce, Remarriage, and Abuse
Part 3 of the review of Pastor Jeff Crippen's book, A Cry for Justice
In the case of abuse in marriage, the abuse victim is not the one destroying the marriage when he or she decides the marriage contract has been rendered null and void. That has already been accomplished by the abuser who has refused to love, honor, and cherish as he vowed before God to do. The... Continue Reading
The “Why” Behind the IRS Scandal
The Agency’s decisions to pursue individual organizations that oppose the administration’s public policies, is legally, morally, politically and ethically unacceptable. Perhaps more simply, however, it is linguistically unacceptable. Where Bob Jones lost its tax exemption for running afoul of “established public policy,” the IRS is targeting groups that disagree with the “administration’s public policies.” ... Continue Reading
Tragic Worship
A church with a less realistic view of life than one can find in a movie theater?
Bonhoeffer once asked, “Why did it come about that the cinema really is often more interesting, more exciting, more human and gripping than the church?” Why, indeed. Maybe the situation is even worse than I have described; perhaps the churches are even more trivial than the entertainment industry. After all, in popular entertainment one does... Continue Reading
The Boy Scouts of America and “The Fork in the Road”
The result is the BSA has come to a “fork in the road” and will have to “take it” in a vote by its General Council this week.
But at the moment it is the BSA which is at a “fork in the road” and you must “take it.” The path of “principled leadership” promises not only to maintain a marvelous legacy but actually build on it with that glorious leadership attribute of moral courage even in the face of an assured response... Continue Reading
Speaking Terms: Witnessing and the Military
What happens to free speech in a regulatory era?
What’s so ironically outrageous about the bureaucrats’ suggested restrictions on free speech among military personnel is that anyone anywhere even thinks about imposing such limits on the very uniformed people who have pledged their lives to protecting our freedoms. We should be ashamed to let such thoughts cross our minds. Not sure what all the... Continue Reading
Who Are Your Heroines?
Scripture gives us real heroines who did the little stuff, the messy stuff, and the necessary stuff.
Adult women need heroines, too. But these extraordinary women are little overwhelming to me. Truly, I can’t conquer the laundry, let alone find a cure for cancer. I take joy in the fact that the heroines in Scripture are outwardly less splashy than those from women’s history month. “Mother shuns Disney Princess ideal and... Continue Reading
Four Further Thoughts on the Complementarian Conversation
It seems to me the current conversation is mainly about two things: abuse and application.
Where have complementarian principles been abused? How are complementarian principles best applied? Those are fair questions. There are black and white issues, but just as many gray ones (which is why Danvers is thick on principles and thin on specifics). We should be able to talk about the applications without assuming that everyone to the... Continue Reading
A Prayer for the People of the Oklahoma Tornado Tragedy
As part of our support, praying for the people ravaged by the Oklahoma tornado
Lord, we are desperate to release our burden for the grieving people of Oklahoma as we lift their needs before Your throne of mercy… Encourage those who sit amidst the ruin and rubble of what was once their homes, like Jeremiah weeping, and help them to rebuild and give them a faith beyond their own... Continue Reading
A Biblical and Scientific Adam
A challenge to evangelicals who have backed away from an historic Adam, using a theologically informed look at ape ancestry genetic claims
In a just-published article from the Westminster Theological Journal, Westminster Theological Seminary professor Vern Poythress brilliantly explains why such a surrender is wrong biblically and scientifically. Poythress, with both a Th.D. and a Harvard Ph.D. in mathematics, is well-positioned to write about both theology and evolutionary theory. He has published 13 books, including Redeeming Science... Continue Reading
The Mass Exodus of Christians from the Muslim World
A mass exodus of Christians is currently underway. Millions of Christians are being displaced from one end of the Islamic world to the other. We are reliving the true history of how the Islamic world, much of which prior to the Islamic conquests was almost entirely Christian, came into being. A mass exodus of Christians is... Continue Reading
Thoughts on Culture Wars
Christians in America must remember that our greatest goal is not to preserve a Christian America, but to advance the gospel throughout the country. The preaching of the gospel, fueled by prayer and service to our neighbor is our greatest weapon–not getting into debates about homosexuality, abortion, etc. There is a time for debate, but... Continue Reading
Big Question
What Day Changed the Course of Christian History?
For the inaugural article in our new series “Big Questions,” The Gospel Coalition asked four Christian historians, “After AD 70, what day most changed the course of Christian history?” Robert Louis Wilken … at the University of Virginia. … George Marsden … at the University of Notre Dame… Philip Jenkins … at Baylor University. …... Continue Reading
How Fornication Messes Up Marriage
The great harm of sexual sin is not that someone becomes “used goods” but instead that these behaviors become a liability in a marriage, whether future or present. People that trespass sexually and are repentant should not be shamed, but they will have to wrestle through some difficult issues in their matrimony. There can be... Continue Reading
Religious Freedom Watch
What the IRS Wants to Know About Your Religion
From the 16 May 2013 Memo to the Hon. Aaron Schock, Member of Congress, Committee of Ways and Means, from Thomas Brejcha, Peter Breen, Sally Wagenmaker, Esqs. Thomas More Society. The IRS asks: Please explain how all of your activities, including the prayer meetings held outside of Planned Parenthood are considered education as defined under... Continue Reading
Happy Are The Mourners
Blessed Grief
There are 2 kinds of grief: godly and worldly. Worldly grief is feeling bad because you got caught or things went wrong after you sinned. It’s regret because you look bad in others’ eyes or you messed up your life. … Godly sorrow regrets hurting God and we want to change, not to improve our... Continue Reading
Lawsuit Claiming Church Conspiracy To Conceal Child Abuse Adds More Names and Charges
Sovereign Grace Ministries finds allegations 'serious, grievous, and difficult to read,' but says no evidence of cover-up.
A controversial lawsuit alleging leaders of Sovereign Grace Ministries conspired to conceal the sexual abuse of children has been amended a second time … SGM responded promptly, stating in part: “The charges in this amended complaint are serious, grievous, and difficult to read. The thought of such alleged abuse is extremely disturbing. Because of our... Continue Reading
Church of Scotland Votes To Allow Gay Ministers
Halting between two opinions: Church of Scotland affirmed the Church’s “current doctrine and practice in relation to human sexuality,” but will allow congregations to depart from this doctrine if they choose.
Church commissioners backed his motion to “affirm the Church’s historic and current doctrine and practice in relation to human sexuality, (but) nonetheless permit those Kirk Sessions who wish to depart from that doctrine and practice to do so”. Today’s historic vote effectively means that the traditionalist position holds, but congregations will be able to choose... Continue Reading
This is the PCA – We Want to be Players
We're not a Main Line denomination but we desperately want to be important
Here’s one way we see this lack of awareness today. There is a large swath of young pastors whose ministry sensibilities have been informed by older men very set in we-should-be-players. They’ve also cut their teeth on watching and learning from Tim Keller who is indeed (I think for all the right reasons) an influence... Continue Reading
Living with a Sense of Eternity
Living in the "already" but "not yet" focused on the future
Calvin sought, personally, to develop a balance of contempt for the present life with a deep gratitude for the blessings of God and a love and longing for the heavenly kingdom. The sense that the Lord would come and issue His final assessment on all and bring His elect to glory was a dominant motif... Continue Reading
Kermit Gosnell’s America — What His Trial Really Reveals
Dr. Gosnell is not alone in having the blood of babies on his hands
What the pro-abortion movement fears most is that Americans will pause to consider what this trial really means. It means that Dr. Gosnell would not be on trial for murder if he had killed those three babies while inside their mother’s body. His murder convictions have everything to do with the fact that the abortions... Continue Reading
The Crazy Culture of Complementarianism
Right beliefs do not always lead to healthy cultures.
Culture is a lot harder to pin down and define, and yet culture communicates, sometimes more than our statements. In some churches that affirm a complementarian view of manhood and womanhood, a culture develops that goes beyond the complementarian beliefs into a skewed version of manhood and womanhood that we did not discern from the... Continue Reading
Search Begins for Executive Director of Great Commission Publications
GCP publishes covenant based, Reformed discipleship materials and is owed in a joint venture by the OPC and PCA.
The Search Committee for the Executive Director reported to the full board on Monday, April 22, with recommendations for a plan of procedure, a job description, and a list of desired attributes for a new director. All three of these recommendations were approved and the search has officially started. The deadline for nominations is May... Continue Reading
Communicated Happiness
True happiness is a joy that doesn’t depend on circumstances.
How do we communicate happiness to those around us? It is easy for me to write about finding my joy in the Lord no matter my circumstances, but is this really what I am communicating? Do my children see me living this way? Do I say one thing, and then send a different message about looking for... Continue Reading
Pastors’ Positions on Creation vs. Evolution Vary by Region, Church Size
Pastors agree that division over origins harms outreach, but disagree on why.
While 85 percent of YEC pastors assert that “Christian disagreement on matters of creation and evolution is compromising our witness to the world,” 63 percent of TE pastors disagree with the statement. Meanwhile, 63 percent of TE pastors assert that “The church’s posture toward science prevents many non-Christians from accepting Christianity”, while 59% of their... Continue Reading
Christian Rights Challenged More Often
“I have a great deal of worry about the fact that courts tend to say that when there’s an encroachment on the interests of others, when there’s a conflict of rights, religious rights always lose. The freedom of religion is always outweighed by something else. I think the great problem in these cases is that... Continue Reading
Christianity Declining 50pc Faster Than Thought – As One In 10 Under-25s Is A Muslim
Christianity could be facing a catastrophic collapse in Britain according to official figures suggesting it is declining 50 per cent faster than previously thought.
The number of Muslims in England and Wales surged by 75 per cent – boosted by almost 600,000 more foreign born followers of the Islamic faith. While almost half of British Muslims are under the age of 25, almost a quarter of Christians are over 65. The average age of a British Muslim is just... Continue Reading
‘Pure Grace,’ A Review
Antinomianism is cheap grace, the idea that one can be saved and then do nothing at all
Biblical Christianity teaches that believers live a day to day struggle against temptation and sin and that the journey of discipleship involves recognizing our sin, confessing it and letting God transform it. At the heart of the antinomian is a false assurity that he can do whatever he wants now he is saved. By contrast,... Continue Reading
Are Women More Open To Counseling Than Men?
Women are more open to counseling than men
Some men who hold a position of leadership think wrongly that it’s a sign of failure or weakness to appear to be in need of help. They feel that they are supposed to have the answers not need them. This is sad and inconsistent with the gospel. The poor in Spirit inherit the Kingdom, not... Continue Reading
Another Group Targeted for IRS Scrutiny
The IRS is targeting political as well as educational groups that appear not to align with the executive branch’s policy preferences
Z STREET’s initial hearing is scheduled for July 2 in federal district court in Washington, D.C. What is lamentable is that any nonprofit educational or charitable organization would find itself pressured by the federal government to prove that it’s charitable, religious, or educational goals are not incongruent with the foreign or domestic policy agenda of... Continue Reading
