Why Abraham Was Right
A Reply to Rachel Held Evans's post "I Would Fail the Abraham Test"
Having asked some questions regarding Rachel Held Evans’ view of God, let me take my own stab at this subject. For I pray that I would pass Abraham’s test and I applaud Abraham for doing so. Evans states that while she is not yet a mother, she knows “deep in my gut” she would sooner... Continue Reading
Idaho Ministers Sue To Prevent Gay Weddings At For-Profit Wedding Chapel
Owners of an Idaho wedding chapel have filed suit against officials in Coeur d’Alene, claiming the city is unconstitutionally forcing them to violate their religious beliefs by performing same-sex marriages
Pastors have raised concerns about being forced to conduct same-sex weddings, though most experts call that concern a red herring. The lawsuit in Idaho raises a larger question of whether ordained ministers who run a for-profit business conducting weddings can be required to conduct same-sex weddings under nondiscrimination laws. (RNS) The owners of an Idaho wedding chapel... Continue Reading
7 Things Your Church Needs From You
Here are seven ways you can serve, honor, and help grow your local church
“Every church has people who make the public gatherings of the church a low priority. These are the people who only come to church when it is convenient and who use any excuse to miss a day or miss a service. Every church desperately needs people who will make the public gatherings a top priority.... Continue Reading
Practical Principles Of Biblical Interpretation
The supreme arbiter in interpreting a verse's meaning is the overall teaching of the Bible
“Our assumption is that God, because of His omniscience, would never be guilty of contradicting Himself. It is therefore slanderous to the Holy Spirit to choose an interpretation of a particular passage that unnecessarily brings that passage into conflict with that which He has revealed elsewhere. So the governing principle of Reformed hermeneutics or interpretation... Continue Reading
7 Signs You Are Dealing With A Spiritual Attack
Satan is a deceiver who instigates problems and disappears before anyone recognizes his influence
“There’s nothing Satan wants more than for the people of God to stop praying with regularity. Our prayers hinder his work in the world. Many times we underestimate the power of prayer and begin to neglect the fervency and consistency of it. We must never forget the amazing works of God in our lives through... Continue Reading
Mental Illness and the Church: An Analysis
What do the stats tell us about how the church deals with mental illness?
“A couple of weeks ago, LifeWay Research released new data on mental illness and how churches and pastors respond. David Murray, as a pastor and thinker, has written a couple of great blog posts analyzing the data. This is the first. David served on the working review team that reviewed and approved the project direction... Continue Reading
The Gospel According To Enoch: Calvin On Gen. 5:21-24
Enoch's admission ticket first to the intermediate state and then to the eternal state of glory was purchased by the coming Seed - the one who would conquer death and secure eternal glory
“Calvin discovers further value, first of all for the historical Church just described and secondly for the Church in subsequent centuries, in the specific albeit rather terse record of the miraculous translation from this world to the next which befell Seth’s great-great-great grandson Enoch (the godly counterpart to the ungodly Lamech, both men being seventh... Continue Reading
Winsome, Beautiful, Gracious … Rejected And Despised
Despite her loving intent, the church of Jesus Christ should expect to be a body hated by many
“The Savior was full of unconditional love; he was winsome and beautiful. However, despite his unmatched charity and glorious work, he was despised and rejected. His Gospel got in the way of a certain group’s preferred lifestyle, and so he was deemed undesirable. In the end, while one begged to be in his presence, many more pleaded... Continue Reading
Episcopal Church Continues Shedding Members
The church has faced steep losses since the early 2000s with a perfect storm of changing demographics, low fertility and departures by traditionalists
“While the Episcopal Church has established a continued pattern of steady decline since the early 2000s, the unbroken trend is relatively recent: the church lost only 18,000 members in the 1990s, a plateau that dropped off about the time Gene Robinson of New Hampshire was consecrated the church’s first openly partnered gay bishop. Overall, the... Continue Reading
The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It
A review of Peter Enns' new book
In the end, The Bible Tells Me So is a book about contradictions. Enns intended it to be a book about contradictions in the Bible. But it becomes quickly apparent that the contradictions are really in Enns’s own worldview. He claims the Canaanite conquest is immoral, yet argues the Bible provides no clear guide for... Continue Reading