I tried to write a reflection on the life of Joe Paterno yesterday. After spending a good bit of time on it, I gave up. There is so much that I admire about the man, and yet it all seems eclipsed by what happened at the end. Still, it seems unfair not to acknowledge all the good that came before the end. How do you put all of that into something that makes sense? Thank you, Barnabas Piper, for putting into words the feelings that so many of us are having about JoPa’s legacy: “Conflicted. Complex. Complicated.” Piper writes: There is no single side to the memory of Joe Paterno…
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An Uncomfortable and Awkward Question
Francis Beckwith asks conservative Christians an uncomfortable and awkward question: Are you prepared for America to have a First Lady who was a home wrecker and was once the President’s mistress (if Gingrich were to become President)? Beckwith presses the point because he was unsatisfied with Gingrich’s fiery answer to a character question in last week’s GOP debate in South Carolina. Instead of addressing a question about past infidelities, Gingrich opined about everyone knowing what it’s like to go through “personal pain.” Beckwith responds:
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Jefferson Bethke Hates Religion on CBS Morning Show
I thought Jefferson Bethke did a fantastic job on CBS News’ morning show earlier today. He said a lot of good things, and he included some of the critical feedback he had received from Kevin DeYoung and others. He even gave a shout-out to Tullian Tchividjian and Tim Keller. He seems like a humble guy who is trying to honor Christ. Good on him. If you don’t know who Jefferson Bethke is or if you have somehow missed his viral YouTube video, you are one of the few. It has been all over the internet that last couple of weeks, and you can watch it here.
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Russell Moore on the Temptation of Pornography
Russell Moore answers a question from a female reader about whether or not she should marry a man who is struggling with pornography. In his inimitable way, Moore explains why pornography seems to be such a widespread temptation among men. He writes: Pornography is a universal temptation precisely because it does exactly what the satanic powers wish to do. It lashes out at the Trinitarian nature of reality, a loving communion of persons, replacing it with a masturbatory Unitarianism. Read the rest here.
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President Obama’s Asinine Remarks on the 39th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Today marks 39 years since the Supreme Court handed down its infamous Roe v. Wade decision on January 22, 1973. That single Supreme Court decision nullified state laws across the country restricting abortion. Roe v. Wade made it possible for women to get legal abortions throughout all stages of pregnancy, and the decision has been upheld in the courts as the law of the land. As a result, the regime of Roe v. Wade has presided over 50 million legal abortions in the United States. It is difficult to comprehend the scale of this atrocity, but we must try. Hitler’s Germany killed 6 million Jews during the Holocaust era. The…
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Christianity Today Goes on the Record against Spanking
In an online editorial, the editors of Christianity Today have gone on the record against spanking. The subtitle of the article says that “misuse of biblical teaching on discipline can have deadly consequences.” The editors then go on to list several instances of fatal child abuse that have been linked to parents who take a literal interpretation of scriptural passages on discipline. They agree with the case William Webb has made against spanking and say that Albert Mohler “seems to miss the point” on the theological ramifications of corporal punishment. Finally, the editors encourage parents to cease spanking and to “explore more creative and effective ways to train up our…
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MLK at Southern Seminary in 1961
On April 19, 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Alumni Chapel at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The speech was titled, “The Church on the Frontier of Racial Tension.” You can read about King’s visit to Southern Seminary here. You can listen to the address below or download it here. The SBTS library has made available a facsimile of the 1961 manuscript here. [audio:http://digital.library.sbts.edu/bitstream/handle/10392/49/A.TR.17.2.mp3]
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How To Convert a Full-Blooded Racist
John Piper says that he grew up as a “full-blooded racist.” Last year he published a book that chronicles his rearing in the Jim Crow South, and he tells how the gospel is the only antidote to the sin of racism. It is a gripping account of the ugliness of racism and of the overwhelming triumph of grace. The book is titled Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, and today Desiring God Ministries has made the book available for you to download for free. This is a remarkable book, and you really ought to read it if you haven’t already. Here’s the link for the free download: Bloodlines: Race, Cross,…
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John 3:16 Showed Up Again in the Bronco’s Loss
John 3:16 showed up again in during last night’s game between the Broncos and the Patriots. But this time it wasn’t the number of Tebow’s passing yards (not by a long shot!) or a verse printed on his eye-black. It actually didn’t have anything to do with what happened on the field. Focus on the Family sponsored a commercial that appeared during a break in the second quarter. The ad features several children quoting the text of John 3:16. I thought it was very well done. Not only did it communicate the simple truth of the gospel in John 3:16, it also emphasized a pro-life message. The pro-life overtones were…
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My Prediction about Broncos vs. Patriots
No matter what happens in tonight’s game against the Patriots, Tim Tebow’s Denver Broncos have given us something special this season. When Tebow took the starting job, the Broncos were in football purgatory. At 1-4, the Broncos organization had all but written-off the 2011 season to begin planning on how to rebuild for 2012. Tebow was given the starter job, but no one really expected him to do anything with it. The owners were placating the fans and using Tebow as a placeholder until the Broncos could find a franchise quarterback for next season. At least that was the conventional wisdom.