Another annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is now in the books. We met in Denver, Colorado this year, and it was a really good week. For those of you unfamiliar with ETS, it is a society of theologians and biblical scholars who are dedicated to biblical inerrancy and a belief in the Trinity. At the annual meeting, members come together to present academic papers, meet with publishers, and catch up with old friends. Keep in mind that I only experienced a narrow slice of things, but here are my reflections on what I saw. 1. Denver, Colorado It’s really cold there. It’s also a place where marijuana…
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A Discussion about “Gay Christianity” with Becket Cook
I recently recorded a conversation with Becket Cook about the Revoice conference and the celibate gay Christian movement. Many thanks to Becket for inviting me on his show. The video and the podcast are below.
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A Discussion of Issues Facing the SBC
Albert Mohler hosted a panel discussion about issues facing the Southern Baptist Convention in Southern Seminary’s chapel this morning. We discussed the conservative resurgence, woman as pastors, Saddleback, celibate “gay Christian” movement, and abuse reform. You can watch the video of our discussion below. If you prefer audio, here’s a link to the podcast. I’ll also embed the podcast audio below. P.S. I go by “Denny the Bruce” now. Podcast Video
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Why the SBC Should Remove Saddleback
Over the weekend, a friend sent me a post from one of Saddleback Church’s social media accounts announcing that their new female teaching pastor would be delivering her first sermon on Sunday, October 9. Her sermon streamed live yesterday on YouTube, and I took some time to watch it myself last night. If you are interested in watching it, this link is cued up to her husband’s introduction to her message, and her message follows immediately after. I don’t know either of them personally, but if you take time to watch the message, you are going to see a husband and a wife that seem as sweet as they can…
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Albert Mohler on Evangelicals and Christian Nationalism
Astead Herndon of The New York Times recently interviewed Dr. Albert Mohler about politics, American evangelicalism, and Christian Nationalism. The interview is a part of “The Guardrails” episode of “The Run-Up” podcast. The New York Times has made a transcript available, which I have excerpted below. This is a fascinating interview on a number of levels. The interviewer is adversarial, but in a polite way and allows Mohler to make his points. Mohler does a better job than just about anyone I’ve heard at parrying charges of Christian Nationalism. It’s fascinating that so many media personalities do not seem to understand that there is no such thing as Christian Nationalism…
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Public Opinion and the Christian Conscience
Last week, I predicted on social media that if the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” ever makes it to the floor of the Senate for an up or down vote, there will be more than enough GOP support for the measure to pass. The fact is that a majority of Americans now support same-sex marriage, including a majority of those who identify as Republicans. The base of the Republican party is still largely against same-sex marriage, but everyone else is pretty much for it. That puts GOP senators in between a rock and a hard place. Should they vote to affirm gay marriage and offend their base? Or should they…
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God Is the Sovereign Designer of Sex
“God is the Creator of the human being, and simultaneously also the Inaugurator of sex and of sexual difference. This difference did not result from sin; it existed from the very beginning, it has its basis in creation, it is a revelation of God’s will and sovereignty, and is therefore wise and holy and good. Therefore, no one may misconstrue or despise this sexual difference, either within one’s own identity or in that of another person. It has been willed by God and grounded in nature. It was then, and still is, willed by God; he is the sovereign Designer of sex; man and woman have God to thank not…
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Parents, Don’t Be Gaslighted by Biased News Reports
One of the hardest things to read today are biased news reports aimed at gaslighting parents who are concerned about LGBT indoctrination at public schools. Case in point: A headline in The Washington Post yesterday reads “Claim that sex ed ‘grooms’ kids jolted Nebraska politics a year before it swept the nation.” The story goes on to describe the efforts of parents in Nebraska to push back against the state’s efforts to introduce LGBT propaganda into their children’s public school curriculum. Lest you think this an unbiased report on a bellwether social issue in Nebraska, the subtitle reads: The unsubstantiated claim led to a backlash against sex ed that helped…
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Sexual Immorality Driving a World Health Emergency
Rod Dreher wrote yesterday about the hypocrisy of public health authorities in 2020 who mandated lockdowns for COVID but who made exceptions for Black Lives Matter protests. Our ruling class’s inconsistency during the summer of 2020 was obviously not being driven by hard science but by social concerns. If you belonged to a favored group (like a BLM protest), then you were allowed to gather. If you belonged to a disfavored group (like a church trying to gather for worship), you were not allowed to gather. While churches were being harassed by local governments for continuing to meet, enormous BLM protests continued apace. The entire spectacle demonstrated in spades that…
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Study Denies That Depression Is Caused by Chemical Imbalance in the Brain
Science Daily reported yesterday on a new study calling into question long-standing views about what causes depression. The study was conducted by scientists at the University College London. Science Daily reports: After decades of study, there remains no clear evidence that serotonin levels or serotonin activity are responsible for depression… Lead author Professor Joanna Moncrieff, a Professor of Psychiatry at UCL and a consultant psychiatrist at North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), said: “It is always difficult to prove a negative, but I think we can safely say that after a vast amount of research conducted over several decades, there is no convincing evidence that depression is caused by…
