The New Intolerance: Will We Regret Pushing Christians Out of Public Life?
In this provocative challenge to the left, the former New Statesman deputy editor Cristina Odone argues that liberalism has become the new orthodoxy – and there is no room for religious believers to dissent.
Intolerance is no longer the prerogative of overt racists and other bigots – it is state-sanctioned. It is no longer the case that the authorities are impartial on matters of belief, and will intervene to protect the interests and heritage of the weak. When it comes to crushing the rights of those who dissent from... Continue Reading
This is Why We Need a Minimum Wage Hike
Minimum wage provides fewer jobs and less freedom.
Worker: “But… I’d rather make under 10.10 than be unemployed. Why can’t I enter into a private employment contract with this establishment if we both feel that the arrangement benefits us? We are both consenting parties, aren’t we?” The Argument for Obama’s $10.10 Minimum Wage Hike, Explained in Dialogue Form: Worker: “Hi, I’d like to work... Continue Reading
My Wife and I Are Atheists, But Our Daughter Wants to be Baptised Catholic
I'm proud of my daughter, but I can't deny that she stopped us in our religiously disinterested, bleeding-heart liberal tracks.
Our little girl, however, has made a life-defining decision by herself. I couldn’t be more proud of her. But I cannot deny that what she said to my wife and I stopped us briefly in our slightly smug, religiously disinterested, bleeding-heart liberal tracks. For decades, god and religion have played no part in my life. I... Continue Reading
Belhaven University Names Hal Mumme Head Football Coach
Mumme comes to Belhaven from Southern Methodist University
Mumme not only brings experience as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level, but has been a head coach at Division I Kentucky, New Mexico State, and Southeastern Louisiana. Mumme was also the Head Coach at NCAA Division II Valdosta State, Iowa Wesleyan (NAIA), and most recently McMurry (Division III and now Division... Continue Reading
The Danger in Hedging the Law
What does hedging the law have to do with us? Quite a bit, actually
As Ecclesiastes says, “there is nothing new under the sun.” There is always a tendency to “hedge” God’s law. There is always a trend towards self-righteousness. We want rules that are easy to follow, check lists with bite-sized pieces of law that we can obey and feel good about ourselves and how we match up... Continue Reading
Abortion Meets a New Generation
Progressive evangelicals can't tout social justice while side-stepping the sanctity of life
We’ve heard well-meaning, but cautious lovers of the gospel say that the cause of the unborn is too political, that it casts a harmful pall over the church, damaging gospel witness. To be sure, politics has not always brought out the best of God’s people. A renewed embrace of the grace-truth tension is needed. And... Continue Reading
Grace for Our Grieving
How do you deal with grief in ministry?
We all need to remember that we never grieve alone. Because God is a God of tender mercy and grace, he weeps for and with his people. He always gives you the grace you need to do what he calls you to do in the places where he leads you. He is the God of... Continue Reading
In Praise of Fat Pastors
American evangelicalism is obsessed with image, with cool, with seeming impressive
So no, I am not advocating gluttony here, just a Christward self-disregard, a godly un-self-consciousness. I am praying for an increase in the tribe of self-forgetful pastors — if not all-out dorky ones — with platforms thrust upon them genuinely “aw shucks”-wise, men who will love not their images even unto death. Men who at... Continue Reading
Evolution Is Most Certainly a Matter of Belief—and so Is Christianity
Answering those who claim evolution is "settled science"
There can be no doubt that evolution can be squared with belief in some deity, but not the God who revealed himself in the Bible, including the first chapters of Genesis. Krattenmaker asserts that “it is more than possible to accept the validity of evolution and believe in God’s role in creation at the same time.” Well,... Continue Reading
How Obamacare Provides Taxpayer Funded Abortions
Can’t citizens simply buy a health plan that doesn’t fund abortions?
For the first time, the federal government will provide an “affordability tax credit” to millions of low-income and middle-income individuals and families to help subsidize the purchase of health plans on the exchanges. By allowing health insurers that sell plans on many state exchanges to cover abortion while remaining eligible for federal subsidies, Obamacare opens... Continue Reading