• News

    Adoption and China’s One-Child Policy

    Two stories appear in the news this morning that are related to one another only in this sense that they are likely to be of interest to pro-life readers. First, as many of you know, the pro-life movement has become increasingly pro-adoption in recent decades. This is a wonderful development that we can all be thankful for. The New York Times reports, however, that the “color blind” approach to some adoptions is coming under criticism.

  • Theology/Bible

    How To Read 500 Books a Year

    D. A. Carson recently revealed that he reads about 500 books a year . . . sort of. During a question and answer session at a conference in New Mexico, Carson was asked about his reading habits, and he explains how he approaches the reading of books. Some books, he will read every word. Others, he gets the main idea and skims. He doesn’t necessarily read every line of every book he reads. “There’s reading, and then there’s reading,” he says. If I remember correctly, this is in keeping with Mortimer Adler’s advice in How To Read A Book (but I can’t be sure because I think I skimmed it).…

  • News

    Ross McGinnis Gets Congressional Medal of Honor

    Memorial Day is a fitting occasion to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7). The Associated Press has the story: WASHINGTON — The White House announced Friday that a Pennsylvania soldier who jumped on top of a grenade in Iraq and saved the lives of his comrades will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor.

  • Theology/Bible

    Are we all cessationists?

    Are we all cessationists? Jim Hamilton says we are in an interesting essay on the cessation of the gift of apostleship. His conclusion: “So it seems to me that everyone who thinks that there are no more Apostles like Peter and Paul thinks that at least one spiritual gift has ceased. It seems, then, that this discussion is simply over the degree of cessationism that we hold, because anyone who holds that there is no one in the church today with the same kind of authority possessed by Peter and Paul believes that the gift of Apostle has ceased. In conclusion, it seems to me that, at least as it…

  • Christianity,  Politics

    Defending the Unborn: An Evangelical Priority

    God bless Stan Guthrie for speaking more clearly in one sentence than I have been able to do in many posts on this subject. In a piece on Christianity Today‘s website, Guthrie confronts the likes of Jim Wallis and Ron Sider who say that defending the unborn is one among many issues that evangelicals should be concerned about. Guthrie’s response gets right to the heart of the matter: ‘If everything is a priority, then nothing is.’

  • Christianity

    CT on the Maria Chapman Tragedy

    From the editors at Christianity Today: “Steven Curtis Chapman’s music has touched millions over the last 20 years, and many of us feel like we’ve come to know him and his family through his songs and through his consistent witness for Christ. Most can only imagine what the Chapman family is going through right now in the aftermath of such tragedy. The ‘who,’ ‘what,’ and ‘how’ of all this is undoubtedly weighing heavily on their hearts, leading them to wonder ‘why’ such a thing could happen. “As brothers and sisters in Christ, I would encourage you to keep the Chapman family in your prayers as they wrestle with the grief…

  • Christianity,  Music

    Pray for Steven Curtis Chapman and Family

    From The Tennessean: Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home. Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name. The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson…

  • Theology/Bible

    Calvinism and the SBC

    Last Fall, I wrote about the “Building Bridges” conference that was held in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. Featured speakers included Calvinistic Baptists and non-Calvinistic Baptists. The presentations from that conference are being published as a collection of essays, and the book is available for pre-order from Amazon.com. Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue. Ed. Brad J. Waggoner and E. Ray Clendenen. B&H Academic, 2008. Here is the table of contents:

  • Politics

    Why This Man Should Never Be President

    I already knew what his views were, but it is jarring to hear the words coming out of his mouth. In a speech to Planned Parenthood from last year (see video above), Senator Barack Obama favors the right to an abortion at every stage of pregnancy. In addition, he cites his opposition in the Illinois State legislature to the legal protection of babies that are born alive as a result of a failed abortion. This opposition was based on the argument that giving medical treatment to such babies after they are born might erode a woman’s right to choose as established by Roe. In Obama’s America, some babies who are…