Governor Chris Christie has just made New Jersey the second state to prohibit licensed therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation of gay minors. Like recent legislation in California, the New Jersey law is a disaster at a number of levels. This bill not only prohibits “reparative therapy.” It prohibits any and all attempts by licensed counselors to change a child’s sexual orientation. And there’s more. The bill not only prohibits any and all efforts to change sexual orientation. It also prohibits any and all attempts to change sexual behavior in gay minors!
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Why do people like Duck Dynasty?
In the video above, Laura Ingraham explains why she thinks “Duck Dynasty” is such a hit. I think she may not be too far off. My family enjoys the program for all the reasons she cites. We also love it because Louisiana is our home state, and the show is set in my wife’s hometown. Where else on television can you tune in and see live shots of the town you grew up in? (My wife spotted her high school in the season premier.) Also, there’s nothing like hearing some “y’alls” and “fixin’s” to make some expat Louisianans feel a little closer to home. So there’s a lot of nostalgia…
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Why the Trinity must inform our views on gender roles
I am in hearty agreement with Fred Sanders’ critique of Larry Crabb’s new book on gender. The connections that Crabb makes between Trinitarian doctrine and gender roles seem to be entirely speculative and not founded in what the scriptures actually say. In short, Crabb’s paradigm is unmoored from the Bible, and Sanders has shown the flawed basis of Crabb’s thesis. Having said that, there’s one detail in Sanders’ critique that I would take exception with. I’m reluctant to mention it because I’m a big fan of Sanders. He’s one of the bright lights of evangelical theology and has produced some remarkable work on the Trinity. If you haven’t read his…
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When being “radical” is a burden
I like this from Barnabas Piper. Ever feel like this? The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go. Read the rest here.
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Why scholars ignore books like Reza Aslan’s
I think John Dickson may have written the most devastating review of Reza Aslan’s book that I have seen yet. It’s lengthy and does not pull any punches. He catalogues the errors and exaggerations and shows how Aslan’s conclusions are well outside the mainstream of historical scholarship on Jesus. But there is one particular bit at the end that I thought was telling. Dickson writes, For a brief moment, Reza Aslan will be heralded as a breakthrough author. In a month or so, some other theory, equally unsubstantiated and certainly contradictory, will get the same kind of airtime. Such works are generally ignored by working scholars, who tend to be…
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RG3 documentary coming to ESPN on August 27
ESPN will air an hour long documentary on Robert Griffin, III at 7pm EST on August 27. As many of you know, RG3 is the quarterback for the Washington Redskins and a fierce competitor. Ted Kluck has a new book out about RG3 titled Robert Griffin III: Athlete, Leader, Believer. Check it out if you haven’t already. Also, another trailer for the documentary is below.
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Craig Evans eviscerates Reza Aslan’s “Zealot”
Craig Evans is at the top of the heap as far as scholars of the Gospels go, and he has a review at Christianity Today that eviscerates Reza Aslan’s book Zealot. Evans says Aslan’s book makes numerous historical errors, relies on an outdated thesis, ignores the testimony of eyewitnesses, and forces Jesus and Paul into a theological cagematch. In short, it’s a bad book. Here’s an excerpt from the review: There are numerous problems with Zealot, not least the fact that it heavily relies on an outdated and discredited thesis. But it also introduces a number of its own novel oddities and implausibilities. Aslan has canvassed much of the responsible scholarship…
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The Wrath of God and the Heart of the Atonement
“But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” -Isaiah 53:10 “God put [Christ] forward as a propitiation in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness.” -Romans 3:25 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us– for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” -Galatians 3:13
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Loving your enemies even when they’re racists
Brent Campbell is an African American student at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and the captain of the university’s track team. In a recent incident on campus, Campbell was working out on the intramural fields, and five white men in a pick-up truck drove past and screamed racist threats at Campbell, saying “If we see you here again we’ll beat your f****** n***** a**!”
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The Normalization of Porn Is Not Normal
Carl Trueman has some important reflections on the normalization of pornography in Great Britain, but I think his observations apply to this side of the Atlantic as well. He writes: Internet pornography is probably the number one pastoral problem in the world today. I wonder if it is set to become yet more so: as the social shame dimension passes away, it will be harder to maintain discipline on this issue. The Christian church is currently mesmerized by developments relative to sexuality, not least because these development are couched in the rhetoric of civil rights and have serious legal implications. I wonder if a more serious and lethal internal issue…