From The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wasted no time in blocking Republicans’ first attempt at offering legislation in the Senate to repeal the Health and Human Services (HHS) rule that would require employers to provide health insurance that includes contraceptives even if they are morally opposed to it… Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), however, accompanied the amendment to the floor and decried the “odious” outcome of the president’s decision… “Republicans are trying to reaffirm that basic right [of freedom of religion],” said McConnell… “Frankly, I never thought I’d see the day,” concluded McConnell. “[I] never thought I’d see the day when the elected representatives of the…
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Chuck Colson Calls Christians to Civil Disobedience against U. S. Government
Many reports have identified President Obama’s recent HHS decision as a problem only for Roman Catholics. This is an error. The new healthcare law requires a violation of conscience for all pro-life Christians since some of the “birth control” methods included in it cause abortions. It’s not just Roman Catholic hospitals and universities that are affected, it’s all Christian hospitals and universities. Chuck Colson rightly calls on Evangelicals to stand with Roman Catholics in civil disobedience to this law for as long as it stands. That’s right. He’s calling on Christians to risk fines, prison, or other penalties in faithfulness to our convictions about protecting the unborn. In Colson’s own…
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Doug Wilson Confronts Ron Paul on Abortion
Ron Paul showed the limits of his pro-life principles in a recent appearance on the Piers Morgan progam on CNN (see video below). Doug Wilson rightly takes Paul to task: [Ron Paul] was asked about abortion in the case of rape. The answer to this, incidentally, is straightforward — when a woman conceives as the result of a rape, there is one guilty party, and two innocent parties. What the pro-aborts want to do is change the ratios — they want one victim instead of two, and they want two perpetrators instead of one. They want the man who took what didn’t belong to him to be joined by a…
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Eric Metaxas in Rare Form at National Prayer Breakfast
Eric Metaxas had President Obama and distinguished guests in stitches as he shared his Christian testimony at the National Prayer Breakfast. He also shared some reflections about—you guessed it—Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He had some serious and prophetic words about the humanity of the unborn. He even spoke about having a biblical view of sexuality. All of this with the President sitting just a few feet away. This was a courageous talk delivered with winsomeness and joy. Watch it below. If you are not familiar with Eric Metaxas, you should know that he is the author of last year’s best-selling biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
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The New York Times Advises Jefferson Bethke
David Brooks advises Jefferson Bethke on “How to Fight The Man” in The New York Times. It’s a thoughtful piece in which Kevin DeYoung’s critical blog post even gets a mention. I think the most stunning thing about Brooks’ article is the knowledge that someone at The New York Times is paying attention to intramural conversations among the Young, Restless, and Reformed (or should I say “DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed”). If the Old Gray Lady has noticed, it suggests that there is a bona fide cultural phenomenon afoot.
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Daniel Wallace Debates Bart Ehrman
Andreas Köstenberger attended last night’s debate between Daniel Wallace and Barth Ehrman at the University of North Carolina. Köstenberger writes an overview of how it went down, and he says that the audience feedback indicated that the debate had no clear winner. Köstenberger says that the technical stuff flew over everyone’s head. He also offers how he would have closed the debate had he been a participant. He writes: Friends, I think I’ve shown that for every skeptical argument Bart Ehrman advances, there is a reasonable response that shows the Bible to be more reliable than he makes it out to be. But in the end, how many of us…
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Tim Tebow Cancels Event with Prosperity Preacher
Tim Tebow recently cancelled a speaking engagement after finding out he’d be sharing the stage with infamous prosperity preachers, Rod Parsley and Kenneth Copeland. Tebow’s speaker’s bureau did not adequately research the event before contracts were signed, so Tebow is pulling out. Good on him. Read the story here.
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Justin Taylor Weighs-in on the Elephant Room
Now Justin Taylor has added his commentary, and he gives a history of the Elephant Room debacle from September 2011 to now. This is wise and helpful. I won’t attempt to excerpt it. You should read the whole thing anyway.
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Kevin DeYoung Weighs-in on the Elephant Room
I agree with everything Kevin DeYoung writes in his thoughtful reflections about The Elephant Room. On the central question of the Trinity, Kevin writes, I’m not at all convinced Jakes understands or affirms orthodox Trinitarianism. But even if he meant to do so at the Elephant Room, the issue was not pressed far enough. Saying yes to the right formulations is one thing, but on something as fundamental as the Trinity, we ought to be concerned that a pastor celebrates and promotes the doctrine with passion and joy. We want to know that these core doctrines animate, infuse, and inform our pastoral ministry. We want to see that brothers understand…
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Carl Trueman on Trinitarianism and the Race Card
Carl Trueman has a post defending the centrality of Nicene Trinitarianism. Apparently, he is responding to the video James MacDonald released yesterday defending The Elephant Room 2, which seemed to suggest that defending orthodoxy is a “white” thing. Trueman writes: