Commission Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Decorate Bible Cakes Against Homosexuality
Colorado baker refuses to decorate two Bible-shaped cakes that featured messages and images against homosexuality, judged not to have discriminate against the Christian who placed the order.
But Jack says that he placed the order and filed the complaint to make a point that business owners should have the right to operate in accordance with their conscience and convictions, and that if bakers have the right to refuse cakes against homosexuality, Christians should also have a right to decline cakes in favor... Continue Reading
Why Aren’t Calvinists Pacifists?
If the Word of God is our final authority for faith and practice, we should be willing to ask why Reformed Protestants have tended not to be pacifists
But Reformed Christians could use more skepticism about the wisdom and value of war, and about the aims of the nation in which they live. We should pray for leaders’ wisdom, and regretfully support wars when they meet standards of just conflicts (they should be limited, defensive, and so on). Instead, Reformed Christians, and American evangelicals... Continue Reading
I Was Wrong About Same-Sex Marriage
And here's a public announcement of my profound change of heart.
Once the moral status of homosexual behavior has been surrendered, it’s easy, if you don’t think too hard, to smoosh together the moral objections to that behavior with the old-time visceral loathing that racists felt toward “race-mixing.”…To abandon the argument on the moral merits of homosexual relationships, as I foolishly advocated, is to freely accept the position of disenfranchised... Continue Reading
“Yes, You Are Imperiling Originalism:” A Response To Professor Barnett
“Why should we, the living, obey those long-since dead?”
This is a foundational disagreement between us. Barnett’s theory begins by rejecting the rule of the dead; he disclaims any right of the dead to bind the living. Rather, Barnett thinks that the living—quite apart from any duties to the dead—should obey the past only insofar as (1) the living affirmatively consent to such authority or... Continue Reading
How God Defines Success
What does it mean to successful?
If success is defined in terms of the passing pleasures of this life (like fame, fortune, and immediate fulfillment) then those listed in Hebrews 11 might probably don’t qualify as being successful. But if success is defined from God’s perspective, where faith in Christ and faithfulness to Him is what matters most, then the men... Continue Reading
Rolling Stone and the Culture of Lying
In our society, it’s become acceptable to lie about people and ideas, as long as the crisis created is in line with a perceived social good.
As the people of the Book, we ought to know that words matter. Words create realities. The Word of God holds the universe together (Jn. 1:1-14). The Word of God in the Scriptures forms and shapes the church. The preaching of the Word is what calls us to and conforms us to the image of... Continue Reading
The Joy of Stuff (Re-thinking the Cult of Tidying Up)
Sans chairs and cookbooks and candles and crock-pot, sans towels and toiletries and tablecloths, my home is perfect for exactly one person: me.
But my house is not a show-place, nor is it a personal retreat. It an arena for God’s glory and a factory for his kingdom. My house is a place of dirty-work, of washing the dusty feet of weary pilgrims. It’s a refuge for grace-redeemed sinners, who sometimes melt the crock-pot lids. It’s a place to welcome little ones,... Continue Reading
Help Me Face Today
A review of Trillia Newbell's new book, Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves
As she recounts fears and anxieties that range from going through turbulence on an airplane, to “not measuring up” to expectations of her family, church, or the world (or other mothers, wives, or body images), to imagined tragedies like losing her husband or children, Trillia invites readers “to crawl, wobble, and walk with [her] through... Continue Reading
NY Boy Scouts Hires Gay Leader Despite National Policy
The national organization changed its policy in 2013 to allow openly gay youth as Scouts, but not adults as leaders,
While some other local Boy Scout councils also have let it be known they are accepting of openly gay employees, the 103-year-old New York councils’ move presents an unusually acute departure from the national policy. Wahls said it was the first case he was aware of in which a council publicly acknowledged that one of... Continue Reading
Hope Beyond Wrinkles
So how do we live in the face of death's reality, as our wrinkles remind us every day that we are not immortal?
Jesus also said that he was going to his Father’s house to prepare a place for us. This place is what Christians call heaven. There are many descriptions of heaven: a place with no more sadness, sickness or tears. No more struggles, conflicts, wars or broken relationships. It’s a place where all things are made... Continue Reading