The inimitable Doug Wilson is in rare form over the subpoenaed sermons in Houston. He writes: I have been pointing out the totalitarian impulse of progressives for some time, but they are not totalitarian because they want to impose morality. They are totalitarian because they want to impose an immoral morality. They are not totalitarian because they want to suppress something. All laws suppress something. The problem is what they want to suppress. They want to suppress decency and glorify kink, when they ought to be doing the opposite. There are only two options — public virtue or public vice. There is no neutral third zone that enables our ruling…
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When Popes and councils contradict each other
Andrew Sullivan calls the news out of the Vatican yesterday a “pastoral revolution.” That point is being vigorously contested right now by the likes of Robbie George, George Weigel and R. R. Reno, who point out that the statement in question has no official status. Some reports say that the report reflects the sentiments of a plurality of bishops participating in the synod. Still, it is significant that a synod of Bishops has even released an interim report affirming the church’s traditional teaching on marriage and sexuality while calling for “courageous pastoral choices” that include valuing gay “sexual orientation.” At least some of these bishops wish to maintain the language…
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Did the Roman Catholic Church just change its position on divorce and gay marriage?
The headlines coming out of the Vatican yesterday are nothing less than eye-popping. Here’s just a handful: Washington Post: Vatican stuns Catholic world with greater openness toward gays and lesbians USA Today: Catholic bishops show new tolerance toward gays ChristianToday.com: Synod on the Family: Could the Catholic Church be liberalising on divorce, contraception and homosexuality? Huffington Post: Vatican Proposes Dramatic Shift In Attitude Towards Gays, Same Sex Couples New York Times: At the Vatican, a Shift in Tone Toward Gays and Divorce What is going on here? Did the Roman Catholic Church really just nullify its 2,000-year old teaching on the nature of marriage and sexual ethics? If all you…
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Do you have confidence in Christ that can handle Ebola?
My heart sank when I heard the news this morning about Thomas Eric Duncan. He was the first Ebola victim discovered in the United States, and he passed away earlier today. I don’t know much about Duncan at all, but I do know this. He travelled to the United States late last month after having contact with Ebola in Liberia. The disease overcame him after he arrived in Dallas, Texas. His condition became so desperate that his family members could no longer have video conferences with him. The sight of him was too unsettling for them. He died alone in an isolation ward this morning.
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The argument from irony against close communion
Well, I suppose I would be better off letting Mark Jones’ essay attacking close communion go by without comment. I am reminded of the Proverb, “Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own” (Proverbs 26:17). Jones’s post wasn’t addressed to me specifically. Still, I do feel like this is as much my quarrel as anyone’s. I am a Baptist pastor who holds to close communion. That is the position of my denomination, and it is the position of my church. I happen to believe that it is the position of scripture as well.
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When Team Secularism gets envious of Team Christian
Ross Douthat has an insightful blog today about “Pagans and Christians” that you should read. Among other things, he argues that America isn’t really a “pagan” nation yet. So much of its middle-class spirituality is still deeply informed by the judeo-christian tradition. He is certainly right about that. He also argues that secularists don’t know what to do when Christians outshine them in acts of mercy and charity. Case in point: the overwhelmingly Christian identity of western doctors on the ground in Liberia right now. They are missionaries, they are there to heal, and they are there to proselytize. Everyone likes the healing part. But secularists get really uncomfortable about…
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Coercing a Christian couple to host a gay wedding
The story in the video above is not a new one. Still, you need to see this. Here’s the story in a nutshell. Cynthia and Robert Gifford are Christians who own a family farm near Albany, New York. They regularly rent their property for special events, parties, weddings, etc. In 2012, a lesbian couple attempted to rent the facilities for their lesbian wedding, and the owners declined. Why? Because the Giffords are Christians and believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. They simply did not wish to use their property to host an event that contradicts their deeply held religious beliefs.
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After 12 months, Leo and Cynthia divorced…
Leo and Cynthia were in love, moved in together, and eventually got married. After only twelve months, they divorced. God got a hold of Cynthia and then Leo. He then restored the years that the locusts had eaten (Joel 2:25). Great story. (HT: Igniter Media)
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Why I Am a Baptist — Two Key Resources for Me
The main reason that I am a Baptist Christian is because that is what my parents raised me to be. The faith that they passed on to me involved (among other things) a conviction that baptism is for believers alone and that the church’s polity is congregational. The Bible honors this kind of inheritance, and I am happy to own it (2 Tim. 3:14). It was only after I entered seminary that I really began to press into other ecclesiological perspectives and to wrestle with their interpretations of scripture. Elder-rule polity and paedobaptist paradigms were particularly challenging to my congregational and credobaptist upbringing. More than anything, I wanted to be…
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The video of Lecrae on Jimmy Fallon
In case you missed it (I’m not sure you could have!), Lecrae was on Jimmy Fallon last night. Lecrae has the number one record on Billboard right now, so there you have it. A gospel hip-hop dude shows up on late night. It’s a real anomaly. The video above is a web exclusive with Lecrae explaining “How I Wrote That Song.” Below is a link to the full episode. Lecrae sits in with The Roots and performs during intro and outros. FULL EPISODE of “THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON”