Words Can Be Slippery Things
It’s not enough just to use the right words, you also have to be holding to the correct understanding of those words.
People will insist that they believe that Adam and Eve were real historical people, that they were the first human beings, created in the image of God. It sounds orthodox on the surface. But we need to dig deeper: what do you mean by human being? Was Adam ever a baby nestled at his mother’s... Continue Reading
A Warped Worldview: Another Moral Effect of Pornography
The link between pornography and changing attitudes towards same-sex marriage
Put bluntly, our worldview is shaped by what we allow to enter our minds. Given the massive psychological and physiological effects of pornography on male users, we should hardly be surprised that exposure to porn is so closely associated with the development of a generally permissive sexual morality and, specifically, with increased support for same-sex... Continue Reading
Your Heart Matters More Than Your History
We mustn’t think the ways things were have determined the way things are
There’s no doubt that where we’ve been has an effect on who we are. Sanctified common sense tells us not to ignore the past. But the post hoc fallacy warns us against giving too much power to the past. According to the Scriptures, the most important stuff in life flows inexorably from the human heart,... Continue Reading
What We Talk About When We Talk About Oldsmobiles
A summary of Rob Bell's new book trailer
The trailer makes the book sound like it will be a total redefinition of the Christian faith, and I suppose such a trailer will be quite a tease for some people. Nevertheless, it sounds like the same song, second verse. That’s why I doubt that this book will attract the same attention among evangelicals as... Continue Reading
Surrogate offered $10,000 to abort baby
Ultrasounds showed the baby she was carrying for another couple had severe medical problems
“They were both visibly upset. The mother was crying,” she remembers. “They said they didn’t want to bring a baby into the world only for that child to suffer. … They said I should try to be God-like and have mercy on the child and let her go. I told them that they had chosen... Continue Reading
The 10 Plagues of The Bible Mini-Series
Thoughts on The History Channel’s “The Bible” Miniseries
THE BIBLE is not The Bible: Let the reader understand. Of course THE BIBLE is claiming to tell the Biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. Christians who know and read their Bible and who attend Bible study and Divine Service regularly will see the movie for what it is: another attempt by Christians (even if... Continue Reading
They Don’t Deserve It!
The Idolatry of Wealth Inequality
Near the end of the video the narrator commits a fatal error, which ultimately reveals a possible motive behind the production, when he asks why CEOs should earn a salary “380 times” more than their average employee. The narrator then says, “we don’t have to go back to socialism to find something that is fair... Continue Reading
Rod Mays, National Coordinator for RUM, to Step Down Next Year
Mays to accept a call as Executive Minister of Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church, Greenville, S.C.
Dr. Rod Mays, National Coordinator for Reformed University Ministries (RUM), announced this week that he will be stepping down from his leadership position next year. Dr. Mays has been the Coordinator for RUM for the past 14 years. During this time, RUM, the campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America, has grown from 40... Continue Reading
Aging Pushes Churches to Fiscal Brink
Some aging congregations are merging with younger, multi-cultural congregations in order to stay alive
Estimates of annual church closures range from 3,500 to 7,000. That’s likely to increase as younger generations, including the rise of the “nones,” increasingly avoid organized religion. One of the biggest dangers facing those churches is the failure to see the financial trap that puts them in,” said Chris Gambill. “A lot of established, traditional congregations... Continue Reading
End of the Mainline
The declining National Council of Churches abandons New York City for shelter in D.C.
The mainstream, Mainline Protestantism began its decline into radicalism in the mid 1960s, mostly in reaction to the Vietnam War. No longer moored to a firm theology, groups like the NCC were easily susceptible to take-over by radical activists. And having tied themselves to American culture and modern secularism, they were ever anxious to stay... Continue Reading