I’ve been following John MacArthur’s ministry for many years now. He is not—by any stretch of the imagination—a political preacher. In fact, he steers clear of politics in his preaching because he believes it to be a distraction from the preacher’s primary responsibility—preaching the word of God. So it is worthy of note that MacArthur has recently included remarks in a sermon that address politics. I could write an excerpt here, but you’ll probably benefit more from hearing it from the man himself. You can download the audio here or listen below. [audio:http://www.gty.org/media/audioblog/AB_90-448_1.mp3] (HT: Dan Phillips)
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Christianity Today’s 50 Women To Watch
The cover story of the October issue of Christianity Today is a list of “50 Women You Should Know.” Sarah Pulliam Bailey writes that these are women who are “profoundly shaping the evangelical church and North American society.” It’s an interesting list that includes both evangelicals (like Beth Moore) and non-evangelicals (like Rachel Held Evans). The list also includes women who you wouldn’t normally find on the Christian speaking circuit—women like Bethany Hamilton (surfer), Condoleeza Rice (former Sec. of State), and Michelle Bachmann (politician).
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Paul’s Rebuke of Red-Letter Christians
Paul really had the Corinthian church’s number. He knew all about their issues, and he never shrank back from getting in their face when they needed it. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, he chastises the Corinthians for dividing themselves into factions based on their devotion to different teachers. He writes:
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What Is Reparative Therapy?
In my last post, I noted that California has just become the first state in the union to outlaw therapies aimed at altering the sexual orientation of minors. If you read the law, you’ll find that the vast majority of it is taken up with explaining the medical basis for prohibiting these therapies—including some rather negative assessments of reparative therapy in particular. In the opening section of the law and in other writings on this story, I see persistent misunderstandings about what reparative therapy actually is. Consequently, there’s a good bit of confusion about how Christian teaching relates to this particular therapy. Here’s the definition given in Joe Dallas’ and…
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California Outlaws Therapies Aimed at Changing the Sexual Orientation of Minors
On Saturday, California became the first state to ban therapy practices that attempt to change the sexual orientation of minors. The new law states, Under no circumstances shall a mental health provider engage in sexual orientation change efforts with a patient under 18 years of age… Any sexual orientation change efforts attempted on a patient under 18 years of age by a mental health provider shall be considered unprofessional conduct and shall subject a mental health provider to discipline by the licensing entity for that mental health provider. This means that even if a minor wants help in battling same-sex desires, mental health professionals in California are not allowed to…
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Owen Strachan Debates Rachel Held Evans
Owen Strachan recently sat down for a debate with Rachel Held Evans on Justin Brierly’s UK radio program. Adrian Warnock joined in the discussion as well. The conversation recaps the recent dust-up involving Rachel Held Evans’ public rebuke of Jared Wilson and Doug Wilson. It also addresses the gender debate in general. I think that Owen has the better part of this argument. No surprise there! You can download the audio here or listen to it below. [audio:http://media.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/835fe16a-0a74-4070-b4ad-692c4d1af203.mp3]
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Delaware the First State to Outlaw Spanking?
Delaware just passed a law that looks to be problematic for parents that spank their children. Here’s what the law says: “Abuse” means causing any physical injury to a child. . . “Physical injury” to a child shall mean any impairment of physical condition or pain. Because the law defines “physical injury” as anything that causes “pain,” it appears that Delaware has effectively become the first state in the Union to outlaw spanking. The law goes on to say that anyone causing “pain” to a child under the age of 3 years could be charged with a felony. Here are the specifics from the Home School Legal Defense Association:
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Is the Stay-at-Home Dad a Man-Fail?
Moody Radio recently hosted a debate about stay-at-home dads. Owen Strachan squared-off against stay-at-home dad Matt Peregoy and argues that the Bible commands able-bodied men to be the primary bread-winners for their homes. This is a fascinating discussion, and I think Owen does a fantastic job representing a complementarian position. You can download the conversation here or listen below. [audio:http://podcasts.moodyradio.org/UpforDebate/2012-09-15_Up_for_Debate.mp3]
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Was C. S. Lewis a Calvinist?
I think I missed this when it first came around. In the video above, Doug Wilson argues that C. S. Lewis was a Calvinist, and he makes the case from various selections from Lewis’ writings. I’m no Lewis scholar, but this sounds really novel and unlikely to me. I wonder if any Lewis-philes would offer an alternate perspective on this. UPDATE: John Piper just weighed-in saying that Lewis was not a Calvinist but now is. (HT: Dane Ortlund)
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McLaren Presides over Same-Sex Commitment Ceremony
Brian McLaren caused quite a stir in 2010 when he announced in his book A New Kind of Christianity that he no longer believes that homosexuality is a sin. Many people were surprised by the news simply because he himself had called on evangelicals in 2006 to observe a five year moratorium on making moral pronouncements about homosexuality (see here). Yet in the book, McLaren not only made a moral pronouncement, he also chastised conservative evangelicals for their views on the matter.