The images and the stories that have been coming out of Aurora, Colorado since last week have been difficult to bear. I can only imagine what it must be like for those who are living it and not merely watching it on television like I have been. Like everyone else, my heart has been heavy for the victims and their families. Of those who died, the one that really gripped me was the six-year old girl who was killed. She died on the scene in the arms of a police officer. Her mother was shot in the throat, paralyzed, and in a coma for days before awaking to the news…
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Chick-fil-a and the Irony of the Tolerance Police
The irony of the tolerance police never ceases to amaze me. Perhaps you’ve heard about their latest sting operation aimed at Chick-fil-a. It all began earlier this week when Dan Cathy, the President of Chick-fil-a, told a reporter that the company was pro-family. He did not mention gay marriage. Nor did he say anything specifically about homosexuality. Cathy simply said this:
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Praise God for Jared Wilson’s Humility
If you haven’t taken time to read Jared Wilson’s latest blog post, go read it now. He has removed his “50 Shades of Gray” commentary that caused such a stink this week. He also explains why and offers an apology. There is much wisdom and humility in what he has written, and we all have something to learn from it. I know I do, at least. Jared stood accused of some pretty horrendous things these last few days (as did Doug Wilson)—things that were demonstrably false. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to watch the false accusations accumulate across the internet. How much more difficult finally…
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Evangelicals and Catholics Together…in a Lawsuit
I think this is what Francis Schaeffer meant by co-belligerence, and the stakes have never been higher. In today’s Wall Street Journal the presidents of Wheaton College and the Catholic University of America penned an Op-Ed together announcing this: The trustees of Wheaton College joined The Catholic University of America in filing a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services. They did so because the HHS mandate requiring the college to provide and subsidize insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs violates the conscience of the school and its members, and denies their First Amendment freedom of religion…
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Doug Wilson’s Book “Fidelity”
Okay, this will probably be my final word on the Wilson-vs.-Held-Evans kerfuffle. If you want to get the full context of Wilson and Wilson’s remarks, you’ll have to read Douglas Wilson’s book, Fidelity: What It Means To Be a One-Woman Man. The book is available, of course, on Amazon.com. But the full text is also available instantly at Google Books. I am posting the full text below.
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Matthew Lee Anderson on the Dust-Up
Matt Anderson has some good thoughts on the dust-up between Rachel Held Evans and the Wilsons. He argues that the larger point Jared Wilson was making about 50 Shades of Grey has been lost in arguments about authorial intent and trigger words. He writes: What strikes me as tragic in all of this is, well, that Jared’s worthy intention to object to a cultural trend that is doubtlessly present in our churches has been entirely and completely superceded. There’s an important lesson here for communicators, as when the jot and tittle gets away from us then it’s the substance of our point that loses. For what it’s worth, I don’t…
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Hosoi: From Christ Air to Christ Heir
When I was a kid, I idolized Christian Hosoi. I rode his skateboards. I followed his professional career. I thought he was the best thing going as far as skating was concerned—even better than Tony Hawk.
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Pete Enns Takes on John Piper over Scripture
Pete Enns critiques John Piper’s recent remarks about the Jewish conquest of Canaan in the Old Testament. Piper argues that God’s judgments are just and shouldn’t be questioned. Enns objects and argues that the biblical accounts are historically inaccurate and at odds with Jesus’ ethic in the New Testament. In other words, Enns response presumes that the Bible has mistakes in it. Enns questions whether or not the conquest even happened. He writes:
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An Opportunity To Support a Missionary
Philemon Yong was born and raised in the Kom tribe of Cameroon, Africa. You may remember him from the message he delivered at Desiring God’s 2003 conference for pastors. Philemon is now a missionary with the group “Training Leaders International” (TLI), an agency whose mission is to bring theological education to pastors all over the world (their advisory board includes John Piper and D. A. Carson).
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Alan Chambers, Exodus International, and Lordship Salvation
Alan Chambers has just published an opinion piece for Christianity Today that confirms what I wrote a couple of weeks ago. The recent controversy surrounding his tenure as President of Exodus International has less to do with his views on homosexuality than it does with his views on salvation. Chambers still affirms a biblical sexual ethic. He simply argues that Christians can ignore that ethic and still be considered Christians. As I noted two weeks ago, Chambers seems to be advocating the non-lordship view of salvation that was made popular by Zane Hodges back in the 1980’s. This so-called “free grace” view teaches that an ungodly lifestyle need not trouble…