Yesterday, the Vatican released a statement saying that the Roman Catholic Church should not engage in an “institutional mission work directed towards Jews.” Why? The statement is long—too lengthy to summarize here. But the gist of the argument goes like this. God has spoken to the Jews in the Old Testament. The Old Testament bears prophetic witness to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World. We know from Paul that “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” Therefore, whether they realize it or not, the Jews are saved by Christ.
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Duggars Return to TLC: “Jill and Jessa: Counting On”
From the YouTube description: “Here’s the extended sneak peek of Jill & Jessa: Counting On, premiering Sunday, December 13 at 8/7c on TLC.”
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Calvin College features gay alumni in school paper
Calvin College recently published an article featuring to gay alumni who were the first couple in the county to receive a legal gay marriage. An excerpt: Both Zach and Colby struggled with their identities while they were students. But they said they came to the conclusion that God does not desire for them to hide part of their identity at the cost of being a Christian. “It is often times thought of as a dichotomy — that you can’t be gay and Christian at same time.” Colby said. “God takes precedence in both of our lives … and so trying to reconcile homosexuality and engagement in the homosexual community, which…
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“Giving away the store” on same-sex attraction?
On Thursday, The Gospel Coalition posted an excerpt from Ed Shaw’s new book Same-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life. Yesterday, Doug Wilson took issue with the excerpt, saying that it “gives away the store” on the issue of same-sex attraction. Wilson writes, The upshot of the article is that Christian parents should care about whether or not their children grow up to be godly, and that they really ought not to care — provided the godliness is there — whether or not their children grow up to have same sex attraction. This is presented so smoothly, in an evangelical cliche sort of way, that…
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Christmas means that God IS fixing this
“God is not fixing this” is the headline at The New York Daily News in the wake of the horrific shootings in San Bernardino yesterday. The message reflects an unfolding social media dispute about gun control laws. Several Republican candidates for president had tweeted that their “thoughts and prayers” were with victims and families of the shooting. A backlash against such prayer followed. The backlash basically consisted of the idea that prayer is not enough. One must do something if one really cares about gun violence. And that something is to publicly support gun control legislation. Since “God is not fixing this” in response to our prayers, we have to…
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Christian Mingle Inspector
This humor of this video only works if you have some familiarity with evangelical subculture. If that’s you, enjoy. From the YouTube description: Christian Mingle, the popular Christian dating website, employs standup comedian John Crist to approve or reject applicants to their website. Note: This video is a joke.
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I’m Marco Rubio, and I approve this message
Marco Rubio recently told a group of Iowa pastors what he believes about the gospel (watch above). It is pretty extraordinary. In fact it sounds like a typical evangelical gospel presentation. It turns out, however, that Rubio’s religious affiliation is a little more complicated. As The Brody File reports, Rubio is a Roman Catholic who also happens to attend a Southern Baptist Church from time to time. He explains: I didn’t learn about the Catholic Church until I went to a non-Catholic church (Christ Fellowship) and became infused in the Bible and became infused in the written word of God and then, and only then did the liturgy of the…
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Glory Books Podcast interview about “Transforming Homosexuality”
Thanks to the guys from the Glory Books Podcast for this interview about our new book Transforming Homosexuality: What the Bible Says about Sexual Orientation and Change. Listen above or download here.
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Thanksgiving Is for the Dogs
I saw a tweet last week asking whether Jesus would ever call someone a dog. The comment was related to a recent news item, and almost immediately, a text from Matthew’s gospel came to mind in which Jesus did in fact call someone a dog. He was talking to a Gentile woman asking him for help. Rather than answering her request immediately, he compares her to a canine. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region, and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His…
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The Evangelical Theological Society after Obergefell
Last week the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) met in Atlanta, Georgia for its 67th annual meeting. It is the first meeting of the ETS since the Supreme Court declared gay marriage to be a Constitutional right in its landmark decision Obergefell v. Hodges. How does ETS look now that we are inhabiting a post-Obergefell culture? Here are three snapshots that I observed and now pass on to you: