False teachers are often described as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Eventually, every wolf loses the disguise. It looks like that is exactly what Rob Bell has done in his new book set to be released next month, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. I have had the opportunity to read the preface and the first couple of chapters, and it appears that Bell has embraced some form of universalism—the belief that every person eventually inherits eternal life. Perhaps he is leaving the door open for some kind of annihilationist perspective. In any case, he has jettisoned the doctrine of hell…
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Said Musa Has Been Released
International Christian Concern (ICC) is reporting that Said Musa has been released from his captivity in Kabul, Afghanistan. He had been imprisoned for converting to Christianity from Islam, a crime punishable by execution. Thankfully, aggressive international diplomacy behind the scenes paid-off, and I could not be more grateful to receive this news. Thank you, Lord, for answering our prayers. From the ICC report:
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Update on Said Musa
Bob Smietana of The Nashville Tennessean reports that things are looking up for Said Musa, a Christian imprisoned in Kabul, Afghanistan who is under threat of execution for his conversion to Christianity (read my earlier post). Smietana says that Said’s wife and children have already fled the country, that Said has been moved to a safer prison, and that the Afghan authorities are feeling the pressure from American officials to release Said himself. Smietana’s report appears in this morning’s edition, and here’s the latest on Said’s situation:
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Tim Keller on “Morning Joeâ€
“Morning Joe” is my favorite talking-head program, and Tim Keller is one of my favorite pastors. So I was glad to see that Keller made an appearance on the program Friday morning. Keller discussed idolatry and the sermon that he is preparing for Sunday morning. One interesting tidbit: Scarborough is a Southern Baptist by tradition (as I am), but he reveals in the clip above that he attends Keller’s Presbyterian church from time to time. I am grateful for Keller’s faithful ministry in NYC. God is using him in a difficult field. [Keller appeared at least one other time on “Morning Joe.” It was two years ago, and you can…
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Pray for Said Musa
If you haven’t done so already, please pray for Said Musa who awaits execution in a prison in Kabul, Afghanistan. His crime? Converting to Christianity from Islam. Said Musa is married and the father of six young children. He has been a Christian for eight years. Compass Direct News reports: “In the two-page letter, a copy of which Compass received in late October, Musa addressed Obama as ‘brother’ and pleaded with the international community: ‘For [the] sake [of the] Lord Jesus Christ please pray for me and rescue me from this jail otherwise they will kill me because I know they [have] very very very cruel and hard hearts.’
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Catherine Clark Kroeger (1925-2011)
I just read the sad news that Dr. Catherine Clark Kroeger passed away on Monday. Dr. Kroeger was a noted egalitarian scholar and author who founded the organization Christians for Biblical Equality. She is preceded in death by her husband Richard Clark Kroeger, and she is survived by her five children and ten grandchildren. Memorials have already appeared at several places online: The Boston Globe, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Mimi Haddad (for CBE). RIP.
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Grammy Malaise
I have a confession to make. I watched the Grammys last night. I don’t know how many years it’s been since I’ve seen the Grammys, but I decided this year to break my long streak of paying no attention to them at all. As I watched last night, I remembered why it was that I haven’t given heed to these awards. As a cultural moment, the Grammys are supremely and exquisitely vacuous. In fact, I would say that they are quite depressing. As far as the decline of civilizations is concerned, the Grammys are right up there with gladiatorial games and barbarian invasions.
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Fetal Surgery and Abortion
A moral schizophrenia afflicts our culture on the issue of abortion. There are inconsistencies both in our nation’s laws and in people’s attitudes about the moral status of the unborn. Nevertheless, too many people still seem unable to see the contradictions. A case in point appears in today’s New York Times. Pam Belluck reports on a new study appearing in the The New England Journal of Medicine. A rigorous clinical trial has shown that fetal surgery can help babies with spina bifida to walk and experience fewer neurological problems if operated on before being born rather than afterward. Here’s a summary of the study’s findings:
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Lose My Soul
I love this song, and I love this video. It’s a riff on Matthew 16:26, “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” This text is often mistaken as a verse for greedy rich people. This is a distortion. This text is for everyone. It is for every person who tends to fixate on his idols in place of Christ. It is for all of us—rich or poor, young or old, everyone. We all have hearts that are prone to wander, and this text calls us back to recognize what…
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“Son of God†an Offense to Muslims?
Collin Hansen has an important article in CT on the translation of the phrase “Son of God” in Arabic Bibles. He reports that many Muslims have come to faith in Christ as a result of Arabic Bible translations that avoid the phrase “Son of God.” He also reports that a number of evangelical scholars and missionaries disagree with the aversion towards the ancient Trinitarian moniker (e.g., Jack Collins, Darrell Bock, Vern Poyrthress, and Scott Horrell). I think Robert Yarbrough, however, underscores what is the fundamental difference between Christianity and Islam and on this point. He says,