The issue here is not an aspect of our ever-revisable and often changing understanding of the physical workings of ourselves, our environment, and the universe at large. Rather, we are discussing perennial and unchanging matters basic to who we are as human beings—what it means to be created in God’s image and the kind of... Continue Reading

The defect, crucially, is not this culture’s bias against social conservatives, or its discomfort with stinging attacks on non-Western religions. Rather, it’s the refusal to admit — to others, and to itself — that these biases fundamentally trump the commitment to “free expression” or “diversity” affirmed in mission statements and news releases. This refusal, this... Continue Reading

Persecution is not something that befalls only a few Christians. While it’s possible to read Jesus’ words in John 15:20 as a unique promise for the apostles, the passage from 2 Timothy cannot be read so narrowly. The point is plain: while martyrdom is a special category set aside for a select number of Christians... Continue Reading

What do liberal Christians think these churches have to offer millennials? Social Justice? The Democratic Party offers that. Perhaps lessons in responsible treatment of the Environment? We are supplied a constant dose from Chipotle and Starbucks. Maybe it is the wonderful good news of progress and equality? Alas, we have had that rammed down our... Continue Reading

Christians, of course, are commanded to live chaste lives before and during marriage. But when we decontextualize the purpose and meaning of virginity or attempt to promote it through guilt or gimmicks, the church reflects ancient myths and modern fetishes more than biblical principles.   Even in the midst of a sexual revolution, of a generation drawn to open... Continue Reading

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post explaining why I don’t talk to girls at church about their clothing. One loyal reader (okay, my dad) took the time to write a thoughtful critique of my argument, making a well-reasoned case for why we should acknowledge the prettiness of frilly dresses and the handsomeness of... Continue Reading

“While Christian singles report praying and church attendance are highly desirable qualities in the dating matrix, a troubling and confusing dichotomy arises when the issue of sex before marriage presents itself. Specifically, single Christians enter a sexual fog. That fog clouds and hides the reality that an identity rooted in Christ should manifest itself in intelligent... Continue Reading

“It wasn’t until I took a trek down to the E.K. Bailey Expository Preaching Conference that I found the “great hall of African-American expository preachers,” and found out that A. Louis Patterson Jr. was one of the men who had blazed the trail.  Men from all over paid homage to the living legend.  All attested... Continue Reading

“The words crucial and crux both have their root in the Latin word for “cross,” crux, and they have come into the English language with their current meanings because the concept of the cross is at the very center and core of biblical Christianity. In a very real sense, the cross crystallizes the essence of... Continue Reading

Why did this happen? I don’t know, but God does. Could I have prevented it? Maybe not, but God could have and chose not to. What will the outcome be? I don’t know, but God does. Do I have what it takes to make it through? No, but God is with me every step of... Continue Reading