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.
-
-
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…
-
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.’
-
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…
-
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…
-
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:
-
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…
-
Carson on “Red-Letter Christiansâ€
D. A Carson has a theological wallop for the Red-Letter Christianity promoted by the likes of Tony Campolo. In the most recent issue of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Carson writes: “I’m suspicious of anyone who uses ‘kingdom’ only as an adjective, for usually it is merely a theologically posh way of approving one’s current theological and ethical agenda. If we like some ethical course, we label it ‘kingdom ethics’ and bless it with a text, and epistemology is satisfied. “A particularly virulent form of this approach is hidden behind what Tony Campolo now approvingly calls ‘red letter Christians’. These red letter Christians, he says, hold the same theological…
-
Albert Mohler on Gay “Marriage†Case
Yesterday, Dr. Albert Mohler’s radio program covered the Supreme Court of California’s decision to overturn the statewide Gay “Marriage” ban. His guests are Maggie Gallagher and Dr. John Eastman, and you’ll want to hear this one. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/totl/2008/AMP_05_15_2008.mp3] One of the most troubling aspects of this decision is that the court classes homosexuality as if it were a characteristic like race or gender. Mohler writes: ‘The court also declared sexual orientation to be a class protected by a “strict scrutiny” test of all legislation and regulation. In so doing, the California court became the first in the nation to apply this test on the basis of sexual orientation. This move also…
-
SBC’ers Call for Integrity in Church Membership
Here’s some inside baseball for all you fellow Southern Baptists out there. This summer at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, messengers will likely have the opportunity to vote on a resolution calling for integrity in church membership. What that means, in short, is that there’s likely to be a resolution calling on Southern Baptists to keep their membership limited to those who are regenerate. I won’t be at the Convention in Indianapolis this summer and unfortunately won’t be able to cast a vote. Readers may remember that I spoke in favor of Tom Ascol’s resolution last year and even interviewed him about it in advance of the…