Your Testimony Is Not the Gospel
Evangelism takes place when the evangel is proclaimed and announced to people—that is the gospel.
In any case, the gospel is not what happened to R.C. Sproul. God makes no promise that He will use my story as His power unto salvation. The gospel is not about me. The gospel is about Jesus. It is the proclamation of the person and work of Christ, and of how a person can appropriate the... Continue Reading
Life Imprisonment For Adulterers, Thieves, Drunkards, Slanderers?
Should we imprison for life homosexuals? Is that the best way to impress upon sinners the wondrous joy of having a share in God’s kingdom?
The Family Research Institute blast at me quotes the apostle Paul: “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6). That’s absolutely true. The question again is:... Continue Reading
Pursuing Prodigals
What exactly should be the response of parents and those in fellowship with them that are thrust into this unwanted situation of having a prodigal?
Go repeatedly to the wandering young person. Though the prodigal will distance himself from the church and likely blame it for such things as hypocrisy, legalism, and lack of love, the parents and the congregation should not allow the prodigal to become a successful “prophet” with these remarks by withdrawing from him. Instead, in the early... Continue Reading
Is It Really Inconsistent To Be Pro-Life On Abortion While Favoring Capital Punishment?
Pro-lifers assert the intrinsic value of life, which leads us to react strongly against murder, murder of innocent victims in or out of the womb.
Rather, it is precisely the sanctity of life which leads many in the movement to favor capital punishment for murderers; capital punishment being the clearest and severest social reaction to the taking of innocent life. So it is opposition to murder which leads many pro-lifers to be pro-life on abortion AND pro-death penalty as well.... Continue Reading
Let Him Without Sin, Strike The First Match
Genesis 38 is one of the saddest portions of Scripture, dealing with one of the sorriest men in Scripture
Judah is one born in the covenant community. He is one acquainted with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet, he is one with despicable character, and his greatest transgression is not yet listed. He encourages the burning of Tamar due to her sexual indiscretions, when he is the one who impregnated this woman.... Continue Reading
Race and the Ecclesiastical Politicians: Race and Realism
The importance of making principled decisions in the area of race and the church
Benjamin Johnson, whom Bishop Cummins sent to South Carolina to receive the African-American Episcopal churches and people, wrote, “It is enough for us to know that we have accepted the Divine policy. In its true Catholicity our Church is no ‘respecter of persons’; Barbarians, Scythians, bond and free, have their rights of the Church and... Continue Reading
This Is Irrefutable Evidence of the Value of A Humanities Education
Humanities and social science majors earn a similar amount as pre-professional majors do over a lifetime
Career-specific skills can often be learned on the job — whereas critical thinking and problem-solving skills are invaluable benefits of a humanities education — as demonstrated by the many Wall Street executives who studied humanities in college. The proof is in the pudding: Stereotypes and statistics asides, a number of liberal arts and social sciences... Continue Reading
Can You Read This Essay?
Many college athletes are reading at the fifth-grade level (and some not even that), is there something terribly wrong with education in America?
Of the 38 public institutions CNN attempted to survey, 18 provided no data. Some of these claimed that they do not track the aptitude scores of their athletes. (Really?) Others refused the request. Yet others failed to respond. Of the 20 who responded, 13 provided data in a standardized format that enabled the researchers to... Continue Reading
Millennials Invent New Religion: No Hell, No Priests, No Punishment
Students held a romantic view of the idea of meditation, reincarnation, pilgrimage and other elements of major world religions
The problem, as I see it, is not with the lack of imagination of this new generation, but with religious institutions themselves—many of which have allowed their leaders to become rock stars, their communities to become clubs of like-minded believers, and their doctrines to become rigid, with an over-emphasis on discipline and damnation for things... Continue Reading
Christians, Don’t Give Up on the Homosexuality Debate
Every generation has watershed cultural issues in which Christians cannot be silent; for our generation abortion and homosexuality are key watershed issues
Even as we exercise our voice, we need a generation of Christians who are willing to do even more; willing to be courageous enough to minister with compassion and truth to the homosexual community. We need brothers and sisters in Christ, who know the depths of grace and are deliberate in ministering to others by... Continue Reading