I can tell you two subjects on which I’m not an expert: the Trayvon Martin case and racial reconciliation. As to the former, I did not follow the Zimmerman trial carefully and have nothing to add to the many fine pieces that have already been written (see, for example, Trillia Newbell’s post). And as for... Continue Reading

This new creating work brings deliverance from sin’s guilt and power and allows for freedom for a new life.  We don’t want to get the idea that in this new condition we will no longer have to wrestle with sin.  On the contrary, our struggle with sin may well intensify.  Born the way we were, sin was natural to... Continue Reading

Orthodox scholar David Bentley Hart doubts that Paul is talking about natural law as we understand it. Nature, says Hart, is limited in her instructional capacities, unable to tell us “that abortion is murder, that lying is wrong, that marriage should be monogamous, that we should value charity above personal profit, and that it is... Continue Reading

The study committee’s mandate is to guide churches, pastors and members on how to apply the biblical view of the 1973 report regarding the legality of same-sex marriage, how to communicate this view with truth and grace in this society; address the legal, ethical and spiritual ramifications; and identify resources and best practices to facilitate... Continue Reading

Two countries reached five-year, worldwide highs in either governmental restrictions or social hostilities – Egypt and Pakistan. The report also listed China, Syria, Bahrain and Myanmar, among other countries, as having unusually high levels of religious restriction and social hostility.   Governmental restrictions on religious freedoms and social hostilities related to religious differences have increased globally since the... Continue Reading

But there is one talk I never had to have with my son, and my father never had to have with me. That is the talk about what to do when the police pull you over and you are a young black man. The talk about what to do when you are eyed suspiciously by... Continue Reading

We need encouragement from the SBC, not discouragement. We need to hear, “Keep on keeping on,” not, “Most SBC churches are either plateaued or declining” as if we can simply “flip a switch” and reverse the trend. If we could do something to change the declining trend beyond sharing the gospel, we would. The point... Continue Reading

And when our true identities are understood rightly, it actually affects the way we view (and respond to) our sins. We might think that the best way to appreciate the depth of our sin is to think of ourselves primarily in the category of “sinners.” But, this can actually have the opposite effect. If we... Continue Reading

But introducing the emotional, subjective, and pejorative language of “demeaning,” “humiliate,” and “second tier” to issues of judicial review is beneath his dignity as a sitting justice, and merely contributes to what James Davison Hunter calls the “politics of ressentiment.” Such language, rather than grounding an opinion in such reasoning as all reasonable people can... Continue Reading

In the New Testament, most of the letters are written to rip the “coexist” bumper stickers off the new assemblies’ doors or to warn of its danger. Jesus condemned the same diabolical spirit when He warned the Church through St. John at Patmos of the deadening effects and judicial consequences of relativism on the Church,... Continue Reading