Do dead people praise God? The Psalmist says that they don’t. Read for yourself the last two verses from Psalm 115: The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor do any who go down into silence; But as for us, we will bless the LORD From this time forth and forever. Praise the LORD! For those of us grew up in evangelical churches that teach about saints praising God in the afterlife, this text can come across as quite a jolt. Can it really be true that departed saints no longer praise God?
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DC Comics Creates First Lesbian Superhero
Just a quick note about another sad milestone in popular culture: DC Comics is shaking-up its comic book universe. They have decided to do a giant do-over of 52 of their titles, which means that Superman, Batman, and a host of other comic book icons will be starting-over from issue number 1. What does this mean? For starters, it means that Lois Lane will no longer be married to Superman. There will be brand new story lines and brand new characters. America is a lot less “white” than it was when DC Comics started 76 years ago, so the new series will feature more ethnic diversity among its heroes. But…
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Was the Apostle Paul Married?
It is generally agreed that the apostle Paul was an unmarried man for the duration of his ministry. Not only does Acts omit any mention of Paul having a wife, but also Paul’s own letters seem to indicate the same. Nevertheless, there is some disagreement over whether or not Paul had been married at an earlier point in his life. In this post, I will argue that Paul was in fact a widower at the time of his writing. I’ll make the case in seven points:
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A Compelling Case against Inerrancy?
I’m reading Thom Stark’s new book arguing against biblical inerrancy, The Human Faces of God (Wipf & Stock, 2011). In the preface Stark says this about proponents of inerrancy: “As for died-in-the-wool fundamentalists and biblical apologists, I have no expectations that anything I have said within the pages that follow will convert them (although I hope it will); neverthless, I have tried to pay them the deep respect of extensively engaging their arguments” (p. xvii). I have to say that I am forearmed against believing that Stark will meet the ideal of that last sentence. I have just perused Stark’s bibliography, and there is not a single reference to the…
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Douthat Takes Lizza to the Woodshed
Ryan Lizza’s piece from The New Yorker a couple of weeks ago gets another critique—this time from Ross Douthat. In a follow-up piece to Douthat’s article in today’s New York Times, Douthat goes to his blog to challenge Ryan Lizza’s misrepresentation of Francis Schaeffer. Douthat is charitable, but tough. Here’s the conclusion:
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Should Wives Submit to Their Husbands?
The front page of The Nashville Tennessean has an article by Bob Smietana titled “Should wives submit? Debate resurges.” Though Michele Bachmann’s candidacy for president is the catalyst for this piece, the article is not really about her. It’s about how American Evangelicals approach the question of gender roles in the home, in the church, and in society at large. Smietana interviews folks on both sides of this question and even deals briefly with the various interpretations of Ephesians 5 and how those readings play out in the lives of real families. Smietana even uses the proper theological designations for each view, complementarianism and egalitarianism. This is an unusual article,…
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American Theocracy Revisited: Douthat Tweaks Press Coverage of Religion in GOP Primary
Ross Douthat doesn’t have the religion beat, but he writes with more insight than many reporters who do. He rightly argues that the press has every right to ask how a political candidate’s faith relates to his political agenda. But in doing so, Douthat offers “four points that journalists should always keep in mind when they ask and then write about religious beliefs that they themselves don’t share.” Here they are:
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Joseph Bottum Takes Joe Biden to Task over Abortion Remarks
Joseph Bottum has written a scathing criticism of Vice President Joe Biden’s recent remarks about China’s one-child policy. In a gaffe on August 21, Vice President Biden said that he didn’t want to “second-guess” China’s one-child policy—a policy that has led to countless forced sterilizations and forced abortions in China. Bottum responds:
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The Story of Indelible Grace Music and the RUF Hymns
If you enjoy singing the hymns of Indelible Grace, you might be interested to know that there is a documentary chronicling the history of Indelible Grace music and the RUF hymns. The trailer is above, and you can order the full documentary here.
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LSU Down and Out a Week before Season Opener
I’ll start my annual Saturday blogging on college football in earnest next week. But I thought it might be worth making at least one early post today in light of the situation in Baton Rouge.