Last night, President Bush addressed the nation concerning the financial crisis that is gripping the country. In case you missed it, you can watch the entire address above. In addition, here are two recent articles written by reliable Christians that attempt to explain what is happening from a Christian perspective. “A Christian View of the Economic Crisis” – by Albert Mohler (AlbertMohler.com) “Thinking Biblically about the Banking Crisis” – by David Kotter (Between Two Worlds)
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Using “God’s Will” To Manipulate
I couldn’t agree more with S. M. Hutchens’s remarks about how some would-be suitors appeal to the “will of God” in manipulative ways. “A young woman whose family I have known for years called me for advice. She had just been told by a young man that after long and earnest prayer, after seeking the face of God for days, the Holy Spirit had informed him it was God’s will she form a romantic attachment with him. With little deliberation and equal gravity I informed her she could tell her swain and his Spirit to go jump in the lake, and add a boot in my name to their collective…
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Megachurch Faith
The Washington Post reports about a study conducted by researchers at Baylor University. Here’s what they found out about the beliefs of people who attend megachurches: ‘Baylor researchers found that megachurches tend to be more evangelical than small churches. ‘Ninety-two percent of megachurch members believe that hell “absolutely exists,” compared with just over three-quarters of small-church members, the survey found. And eight in 10 megachurch worshipers believe that the Rapture — when followers of Jesus Christ believe they will be taken to heaven — will “absolutely” take place, compared with less than half of those who attend small churches.’ Read the rest here: “Big Churches Not Always Impersonal, Study Finds”…
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David Gushee Highlights ‘Inconsistency’
This is a no-frills post. I am writing this from my phone because Hurricane Ike has left me without electricity. So I apologize in advance for the raw links and the pictureless post. David Gushe writes about the so-called “Palin Inconsistency” in today’s USA TODAY: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/09/the-palin-predi.html We have already discussed on this blog the issues that Gushee raises. Nevertheless, I will try to respond more fully when I have electricity. For now, I will just say that it would really help if Egalitarians like Gushee would take Complementarians on their own terms. For years, Complementarians have been addressing the very questions that he raises. There is a biblical and theological…
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Ray Boltz
From Christianity Today earlier today: Ray Boltz, who sold about 4.5 million records before retiring from Christian music a few years ago, came out of the closet Friday to announce that he’s gay. . . “I’d denied it ever since I was a kid. . . I became a Christian, I thought that was the way to deal with this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was just going, ‘I’m still gay. I know I am.’ And I just got to the place where I couldn’t take it anymore … when I was going through all this darkness, I thought, ‘Just…
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Balancing Motherhood and Governing?
Governor Sarah Palin’s candidacy has provoked much discussion about women who try to balance a career with motherhood (the topic of my previous post). In today’s New York Times, there’s a story describing a little bit about how Palin tries to do it: ‘Many high-powered parents separate work and children; Ms. Palin takes a wholly different approach. “She’s the mom and the governor, and they’re not separate,” Ms. Cole said. Around the governor’s offices, it was not uncommon to get on the elevator and discover Piper, smothering her puppy with kisses. ‘”She’ll be with Piper or Trig, then she’s got a press conference or negotiations about the natural gas pipeline…
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Complementarian Hypocrisy?
In my previous post, we were addressing the question raised by the “On Faith” forum in light of Sarah Palin’s candidacy (a joint venture of The Washington Post and Newsweek): “Women are not allowed to become clergy in many conservative religious groups. Is it hypocritical to think that a woman can lead a nation and not a congregation?” In answer to that question, I noted that the Bible specifically enjoins believers to order their homes and their churches in light of a principle of male headship. There is no complementarian consensus, however, on how these matters apply outside of the home and the church. One other item is related to…
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Sarah Palin and Complementarianism
David Kotter, Executive Director of the Council for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, asks and answers the following question: “Does Governor Sarah Palin Present a Dilemma for Complementarians?” Among other things, he writes:
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A Visit to Palin’s Church
You will not want to miss Newsweek‘s profile of Sarah Palin’s faith and her church. Among other things, the article says, ‘Palin has said she was baptized in the Roman Catholic church. As a teenager, she began attending the Pentecostal Assemblies of God church in Wasilla and was baptized there by the founding pastor, Paul Riley. Todd Stafford, an associate pastor at Wasilla Assembly of God, says Palin often publicly thanks Riley–now nearly 80 and still working as a prison chaplain–for bringing her to Jesus when she visits the church. She attended that Pentecostal church until she was 38 years old, when she switched to Wasilla Bible Church, saying she…
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Russell Moore’s Two-fer
Two items in the news today are related to Russell Moore and are worthy of note. First, The Wall Street Journal features an interview with Moore on adoption and his forthcoming book Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches. It’s a great article, and you should take a look. Second, Senator John McCain announced that Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin would be his vice-presidential running mate. Moore predicted Palin as McCain’s pick exactly one month ago. Prescient indeed. Moore out pundited the professional pundits on this one.