Subway Removes Ham And Bacon From Nearly 200 Stores, Offers Halal Meat Only After ‘Strong Demand’ From Muslims
Fast food giant Subway has removed ham and bacon from almost 200 outlets, and switched to halal meat alternatives in an attempt to please its Muslim customers
‘All our suppliers comply with EU animal welfare legislation as a minimum and we require suppliers of halal products to adopt the stunning of animals prior to their slaughter. ‘All halal meats are certified by the appropriate halal authorities. ‘All halal Subway stores have numerous signs stating that they serve halal food. ‘These are situated on... Continue Reading
Do Children Just Take Their Parents’ Political Beliefs? It’s Not That Simple
A recent study shows that children who are raised to have strong beliefs are also more likely to rebel against those views as they age.
A study recently published in the British Journal of Political Science, based on data from the U.S. and U.K., found that parents who are insistent that their children adopt their political views inadvertently influence their children to abandon the belief once they become adults. The mechanism is perhaps surprising: Children who come from homes where politics... Continue Reading
Trinity Western Blasts N.S., Ontario Law Societies
Law societies in Nova Scotia and Ontario sent a "chilling message" about religious freedom in Canada by restricting or rejecting accreditation for Trinity Western’s proposed law school
In that case, the British Columbia College of Teachers rejected Trinity’s teaching degrees because students had to sign an agreement not to engage in homosexuality. The Supreme Court of Canada said the college was wrong to reject Trinity on the basis of discrimination. The university will press ahead with plans for Canada’s only faith-based law school.... Continue Reading
Back to the Future
What is the future of Protestantism? In short, we need an exile theology, a theology which gives us historical identity, theological resources and future hope.
It is sophisticated theological confession which shapes and drives local pedagogy and gives individual churches their identities and their resources. The ten point doctrinal statement simply is not going to hold any Protestant church together in the coming cultural storm. Mere Christianity is good for building parachurch alliances and good for evangelistic purposes; but it... Continue Reading
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Church
In my experience, looking over the fence into the churchyard next door is the perfect opportunity for sin.
Seeing my neighbor’s church’s spiritual harvest, its abundance of gifts, its overflow of zeal, and then looking back over my shoulder at the all-too-obvious weaknesses in my own? Holding up two sets of membership numbers and budget totals to the light of the same sun? Standing at the property line between ours and theirs? Oh... Continue Reading
3 Wrong Assumptions Church Leaders Make
Much of our angst could be resolved by correcting our assumptions.
It’s easy for people in our congregation to know in their heads that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, but to act and speak in ways that reveal a different understanding: that good works bring good rewards. As a church leader, you’ve probably noticed that when your assumptions are incorrect, you’re more likely... Continue Reading
Did the Earliest Christians Think Jesus Was an Angel? A Response to Bart Ehrman (Part 2)
Ehrman argues that the earliest Christians did not understand divinity as something that was “all or nothing”–it could have gradations.
Ehrman’s core argument is that Jesus was a mere man who gradually, over time, came to be regarded as more and more divine, until he was ultimately (in the fourth century) regarded as the God of the universe. He states, “It will become clear in the following chapters that Jesus was not originally considered to... Continue Reading
How a Dad Loves a Prodigal
One daughter's return to her parents and her faith
Prodigal children do a number on the hearts of their parents. And no one understands that agony more than God does. By understanding my sin against my earthly parents, I grew to understand how my sin against my heavenly Father was far worse and deserved a much stricter punishment. In caring for my physical needs... Continue Reading
On Softening the Evil Word “Sin”
Could anything ever come close to showing us the evil of sin as God pouring His wrath for it on His Son?
The ultimate sin that a contemporary Christian seems to face is that of not being very nice. Maybe we need to spend some time talking more about what sin really is so that we are clear on why we are so desperate for Christ. Maybe the good news doesn’t sound all that radical to someone... Continue Reading
Whither Protestantism?
Having a conversation on what Protestantism is, and where it is going
“Last night, Biola University hosted a conversation on “The Future of Protestantism.” A smashing success, the event was sponsored by the Davenant Trust, First Things, and the Torrey Honors Institute. Moderated by the Davenant Trust’s Peter Escalante, the conversation included Leithart, Sanders, and Westminster Theological Seminary’s Carl Trueman. If Leithart embodied what he calls the... Continue Reading