• Christianity,  Politics

    Marco Rubio’s faith: A circuitous route to Catholicism

    Kudos to Sarah Pulliam Bailey for pulling together a short summary of the faith of Marco Rubio—who by the way announced that he is running for president today. In short, the story goes like this. He went from Mormon to Catholic to Evangelicalish and back to Catholic. In Bailey’s report, he says… “I immersed myself in LDS theology,” Rubio wrote. “I studied church literature and other sources of information to learn all I could about the church’s teachings.” By the time he was in sixth grade, his family had left the Mormon Church for Catholicism, and he had his First Communion on Christmas Day 1984. In 2007, Rubio told me…

  • Christianity,  Politics

    President Obama denounces reparative therapy

    Last night, President Obama released a statement calling for an end to what is sometimes called “conversion” or “reparative” therapy for LGBT youth. Written by Valerie Jarrett on behalf of the President, the statement is a response to a petition that appeared on the WhiteHouse.gov site after the suicide of the transgender teen Josh “Leelah” Alcorn late last year. Among other things, it says that “this Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors.” The statement comes out in support of state legislation to outlaw the practice, and it invites the U. S. Congress to send similar legislation to the President for him to sign. The…

  • Christianity,  Theology/Bible

    On the ethics of sexual attraction (same-sex and otherwise)

    The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society has just published an article that I have been working on for a little over a year. Even though the piece is titled “Is Homosexual Orientation Sinful?,” it’s really just an extended treatment of the ethics of sexual attraction. My contention is that the Bible speaks a clear word about our experience of sexual attraction be it heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise. Whenever we desire something that God forbids, we are experiencing an “attraction” that is sinful and that God would have us to repent of.

  • Christianity,  Politics

    Reflecting on the Indiana RFRA and a final question for the cultured despisers of religion

    Our news cycle moves so fast that to bring up the Indiana RFRA law might already seem like yesterday’s news. Some readers already feel like saying, “C’mon, man. That is so last week.” Nevertheless, before the country moves on to its next diversion, I think it would be good for us to think about the meaning of last week’s dust-up over religious liberty. For starters, last week was more than a “dust-up” to those of us who belong to the religious minority known as evangelicalism. It wasn’t the apocalypse. Nor was it even worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as what happened to our brothers and sisters in…

  • Christianity

    What Jesus’ Resurrection Tells Us about Our Own

    Today is Easter—resurrection day. I recently delivered a message at my church on this very theme from 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8. It’s about about what happens to us after we die. You can download it here or listen below: People commonly misunderstand what happens to us after we die because they misunderstand the resurrection. They think that our after our bodies die, our spirits go to heaven forever. That is not what the Bible teaches. It’s one thing not to understand what eternal life means. It’s another thing to know what it means and then to deny that it means we will be resurrected. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that if…

  • Christianity,  News

    “Boycott Indiana” social-media mob closes Christian-owned pizza shop

    I would have thought this was an April Fool’s joke if I hadn’t seen it on Rod Dreher’s site. But this is no joke. A small town pizza shop owned by Christians in Indiana is having to close its doors because of threats from the #BoycottIndiana crowd. Why? You’re not going to believe this. A local news station went trolling local businesses to see if any of them agreed with Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The reporters found the Memories Pizza shop and interviewed the owner and his daughter (see video above). The owner and his daughter said that they would serve anyone who came into their pizza…

  • Christianity,  Politics

    Gov. Mike Pence’s Dilemma. . . and ours

    I watched Gov. Mike Pence’s press conference this morning with great interest. He is trying to face down an enormous backlash against Indiana’s recent Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which has been mischaracterized nationally as a license to discriminate against gay people. Nevertheless, he called a press conference and announced his intention to consider a legislative “fix” or “clarification” of the RFRA law. He did not explain what that legislative “fix” might consist of, but he said that something is coming. I like Gov. Pence, and I think that he has been trying to fight the good fight. But he has gotten himself into a dilemma that has no good…

  • Christianity,  Politics

    Discrimination against gay people in Indiana?

    I applaud Indiana Governor Mike Pence for taking a courageous stand in defense of our first freedom—religious liberty. Gov. Pence has been on the hot-seat ever since he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into Indiana law last week. Not only did he sign the bill into law, but he also had the moxie to go on national television to defend the law in the face of scurrilously unfair criticism (see video above).

  • Christianity

    Q&A with a same-sex attracted pastor—Sam Allberry.

    I recently moderated a Q&A with Sam Allberry where he fielded questions from me and from students (see above). Sam is a same-sex attracted Christian, and a faithful brother. I cannot overstate how grateful I am for his life and testimony. The Lord has raised him up for our time. If you haven’t yet read Sam’s book, you need to. It’s titled Is God Anti-Gay? (Questions Christians Ask). Sam delivered three messages to our students before the Q&A: “Sam’s Story” “What the Bible Teaches about Homosexuality” “Gospel-Ministry to the Same-Sex Attracted” You can listen to all three of these at the website of The Center for Gospel and Culture.  I think…