A few months ago, I wrote a short piece on the ethics of temptation and sexual desire. In short, I argue that morality of sexual desire is defined by its object. If desire fixates on something evil (i.e., adultery, fornication), then the desire itself is evil. That is why Jesus says what he says about lustful leering in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:28). If desire fixates on something good (i.e., the conjugal bond of marriage), then the desire itself is wholesome and good. That is why Solomon enjoins his son to celebrate sexual desire when it is directed toward one’s spouse (Prov. 5:18-19). Thus our desires are not…
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Sarah Palin quadruples down on baptism remarks
I guess I am starting and ending the week with Sarah Palin. She has issued yet another statement defending her recent remarks to the NRA that “waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.” She writes,
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Glenn Beck at Liberty University
As many of you have heard by now, Glenn Beck spoke at Liberty University last week (watch above, read here and here). He spoke at the final convocation meeting of the semester and delivered a rousing address invoking God and the Bible as the foundation for personal redemption and civic freedom. It was clearly not a secular address. It was a sermon that called for Liberty students to expect “miracles” and to witness “the awesome power of Jesus Christ and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
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More on the difference between Sterling and Eich
Yesterday, I wrote a short piece for The Federalist arguing that the NBA was right to ban Donald Sterling but that Mozilla was wrong for firing Brendan Eich. I also argued that this is not a self-contradictory position because the two cases are not analogous. You can read my argument here. Today William Saletan has an excellent rundown of the differences between Sterling and Eich. It is a long list that puts to rest the notion that these two cases are in any way analogous. I highly recommend this one. I would add one other item to the list of distinctions—one that you will not read in a secular publication…
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Does Protestantism have a future?
The Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University hosted a fascinating discussion last night featuring Carl Trueman, Peter Leithart, and Fred Sanders. They discussed the future of Protestantism vis-à-vis the Roman Catholic Church. Should the shape of Protestant theology be determined by the Reformation’s reaction to Roman Catholicism? The conversation is inspired in part by an article that Leithart wrote for First Things last year. Other questions addressed by the panel: Is the Reformation over? How should American Protestantism relate to Rome or Eastern Orthodoxy? Will Protestantism need to change if it is to thrive in the 21st century? Watch above.
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Why the NBA is right and Mozilla is wrong
As you no doubt have heard by now, the NBA has banned Donald Sterling for life from the league (see announcement above). They have also fined him $2.5 million and are pressuring him to relinquish his ownership of the LA Clippers. All of this happened in the wake of revelations that Sterling had made racist remarks in a private conversation. Folks are rightly wondering about the consistency of supporting the NBA’s decision to punish Sterling’s unpopular views on race while opposing Mozilla’s decision to punish Brendan Eich for his unpopular views on marriage. Isn’t this inconsistent? I don’t think it is, and I explain why in a short piece at…
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Sarah Palin’s sacrilegious remarks to the NRA
Sarah Palin delivered a speech to the National Rifle Association on Saturday in which she said that America needs leaders who would put the “fear of God” into our enemies. Because America has leaders who are afraid of offending our enemies, America has become weakened. At the 7:16 mark in the video below, Palin says, Oh, but you can’t offend them, can’t make them feel uncomfortable, not even a smidgen. Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists. Okay, yes that’s bad. It is impolitic—but worse—it is irreligious. But maybe she just got caught up in the moment and let her rhetoric…
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Lead singer of Jars of Clay comes out in support of gay marriage
From Metro Weekly: Contemporary Christian music isn’t a format where one might think to look for vocal supporters of same-sex marriage, but as with anything else times are changing. Dan Haseltine, front-man for the popular Christian band Jars of Clay, yesterday took to his Twitter account in a series of posts supportive of same-sex marriage, posting “Not meaning to stir things up BUT… is there a non-speculative or non ‘slippery slope’ reason why gays shouldn’t marry? I don’t hear one.” He went on to write “I’m trying to make sense of the conservative argument. But it doesn’t hold up to basic scrutiny. Feels akin to women’s suffrage. I just don’t see a…
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Another Reflection on Piper’s T4G Message
About a week and a half ago, I shared about John Piper’s final message at T4G and about how powerfully the word landed on me. I was not alone in that. It was very clear in Albert Mohler’s closing remarks after the message that the sermon had had a similar effect on him. He was visibly moved. Mohler shares about his response today in a blog post for Desiring God, and it is really well done. It is short, and I recommend it to you. Also, the video above is an excerpt showing what he, I, and so many others were responding to.
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Jesus or Nothing
Dan Dewitt has a brand new book out titled Jesus or Nothing. It’s a book that talks about the clash between theism and nihilism, and it’s very well done and accessible. I was pleased to write an endorsement of this book, which I will share below along with some others. “Jesus or Nothing is a little book about a big God. If you are a skeptic or a minister to skeptics, you should read this book about the God who is conspicuously there and who aims to reconcile sinners to himself through Christ.”—Denny Burk, author, What Is the Meaning of Sex? “To be alive today is to be at the intersection of worldviews.…