This story is huge. A California appeals court ruled yesterday that parents without teaching credentials cannot homeschool their own children. This development not only has implications for the homeschool movement, but also for parental right in general. Here are some resources so that you can get informed about exactly what has happened. The Albert Mohler Program (3/10/2008) [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/totl/2008/AMP_03_10_2008.mp3] James Dobson’s Focus on the Family Broadcast (3/7/2008) [audio:http://swn.edgeboss.net/download/swn/saved/oneplace/mp3/2581632/ffd20080307.mp3] *California Appeals Court Decision
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John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel
(HT: Justin Taylor)
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Questions for the Emerging Church about Abortion
Michael Patton questions Emerging/Emergent churchers about their attempts to downgrade the abortion issue among evangelical voters. Patton’s penetrating queries could also be addressed to Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, and the rest of the evangelical left. The questions are worth quoting at length:
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Robbie Sagers and Friends on Elmer Gantry
My friend Robbie Sagers commented on the fictional character Elmer Gantry on NPR’s “All Things Considered” this week. He contributes along with two other students from Southern Seminary, Jenny Clark and Philip Bethancourt. You can read about and access the audio here, or you can listen below. [audio:http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/17914370/19355657/npr_19355657.mp3] (HT: Russell Moore)
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Tommy Nelson on the 60’s
Pastor Tommy Nelson says that the 1960’s were the best of times and the worst of times. He also says that understanding the philosophical and theological questions driving the upheavals of that decade is essential for the Christian to understand—like “the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). This particular series is a bit of a departure for Nelson, who is a consistent and tenacious verse-by-verse expositor of scripture.
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Bart Ehrman on God’s Problem
Bart Ehrman has a new book out titled God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question–Why We Suffer. I have not yet read this book, but I note it here because I just listened to an interview with Ehrman in which he talks extensively about the book and his reasons for leaving the Christian faith. You can listen to the interview by pushing the play button below or by visiting NPR’s website. [audio:http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/13/19186602/npr_19186602.mp3] I won’t give a point-by-point analysis of this interview, but I do have a couple of reactions that I will write here. 1. First, grief. It’s not a happy thing to listen to…
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CT interviews Keith & Kristyn Getty
Perhaps Keith and Kristyn Getty are best known for writing the worship song, “In Christ Alone.” It’s doctrinal and devotional depth have made it a favorite among English-speaking evangelicals. There are few people writing music like the Getty’s. Christianity Today interviewed the Getty’s and asked them a series of questions about their songwriting. Their music really contrasts with the vacuity of much of the songs coming out of the modern worship movement. Here’s are a couple of exchanges that go directly to this point:
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Jim Wallis’ Less Than Prophetic Voice on Abortion
In an interview with The Boston Globe, Jim Wallis says that evangelicals must not “allow politics to trump our prophetic voice.” Yet when asked about abortion, Wallis’s “evangelical” voice is anything but prophetic. He writes, “This new evangelical agenda is not one issue, it’s broader and deeper. . . What ties it all together is the defense of the vulnerable. Let’s not pit unborn children against poor children — they’re both in the category of the vulnerable, and Jesus calls us to defend the vulnerable. I think we’ve got to embrace a full range of concerns. For example, I’m going to press really hard the Democratic nominee, whoever that is,…
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ER on the Bankruptcy of Postmodern Spirituality
The dramatization below puts some flesh and blood on what for many is an esoteric theological point—the question of atonement. Yet in the real world, there is real evil, real guilt, and a real need for reconciliation with the God with Whom we have to do. Postmodern, therapeutic platitudes have nothing to offer in the face of those realities. But the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and raised for sinners does.
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Eric Redmond Profiled in the Washington Post
The Washington Post has a fascinating profile of Southern Baptist pastor Eric Redmond. “The young Temple Hills minister is the highest-ranking African American in the 16 million-member denomination and a representative of the changing times confronting Southern Baptists and other mostly white Protestant denominations. . . “These days, the faith that was once proudly white now touts the fact that almost 20 percent of its congregations are predominantly black, Latino or Asian. Hundreds of minorities serve in leadership posts in its state conventions, seminaries and other organizations.” Redmond’s blog is here: A Man from Issachar. [HT: Justin Taylor]