Timothy Dalrymple’s analysis of events this week involving World Vision may be the most insightful that I have read yet. He argues that it is wrong-headed to think of the gay marriage debate merely as a “culture war issue.” He contends that regarding it as such may have been what led World Vision into the tumult this week. He writes: The core of the mistake, it seems to me, is precisely in regarding [gay marriage] as merely a “culture war issue.” When Richard Stearns addressed the Q Conference in Los Angeles in April, he pointed to Westboro Baptists as an example of “angry Christians protest[ing] gay marriage.” He then admonished…
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What do World Vision and Hobby Lobby have in common?
What do World Vision and Hobby Lobby have to do with one another? Besides the fact that they’ve both been in the news this week, they also both enjoy protections from the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” Hobby Lobby is appealing to the Supreme Court for relief from the contraceptive mandate on the basis of this law. World Vision receives $70 million dollars in government grants every year also on the basis of this law. Sarah Posner reports,
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World Vision returns to a biblical definition of marriage
As many readers have no doubt heard by now, World Vision has backed away from a new personnel policy that would have allowed people in same-sex “marriages” to be employed at World Vision. The statement announcing the reversal really is stunning. It admits violating the authority of scripture and the Bible’s teaching on marriage. Signed by the President Richard Stearns, the letter expresses humble confession and repentance. It even asks for forgiveness from donors and other supporters. I was heartened and encouraged by what I read in the letter. I think this kind of public repentance is courageous, and I praise the Lord for it.
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A response to Jen Hatmaker on the World Vision announcement
Jen Hatmaker’s remarks about the World Vision announcement include some sharp criticism of what I wrote about it on Monday. I take her comments seriously, and I hope to give an answer to at least some of the concerns she raises. I should stipulate that I am not a regular reader of Hatmaker’s blog. Nevertheless, I come across her writings from time to time and have even linked to some of her material on this blog. From the limited sample that I have read, I have found her to be a stimulating writer. More than once, I have laughed out loud at her wit and humor, which I really appreciate.…
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The Collapse of Christianity at World Vision
By now most readers will have heard about the news concerning the charity World Vision. Founded as an evangelical anti-poverty parachurch organization, the group announced new personnel policies today. President Richard Stearns announced that the ministry would allow employees to engage in sexual activity outside the covenant of marriage. To be specific, any “Christian” in a legal same-sex “marriage” will now be eligible for employment at World Vision. Stearns claims that World Vision does not want to get mixed up in the contentious debate about gay marriage. Rather, they want to focus on the organization’s mission. So they will leave the debate about gay marriage for the churches to sort…
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The most consequential religious liberty case in a generation
One of the most important religious liberty cases in a generation will come before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties will be making their final appeal for an exemption from Obamacare’s coercive “contraceptive” mandate. Obamacare requires employers to provide health coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive devices. So what’s the problem? Some of the devices—like IUD’s and morning-after pills—can cause abortions. The owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga are Christians and have said that they cannot in good conscience pay for coverage that can lead to killing an unborn human being. So these Christians have a choice. Either violate their conscience and provide coverage for abortion…
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Complementarian changes at Cedarville University
Christianity Today has a report on changes taking place at Cedarville University. The new president, Thomas White, has shifted the school into a decidedly Complementarian direction. According to the report, In his March 10 chapel talk, Thomas White discussed the concept of headship based on 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. “We operate with the presupposition of inerrancy. So what I tell you today is not something that I wrote, I made up, or I started,” he said. “I’m just going to preach to you what the text says.” Cedarville, which recently weathered a turbulent year of disagreements and resignations, has also restricted classes in the women’s ministry program—functionally, every Bible class in…
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The Accidental Complementarian
I really appreciate this testimonial from Jen Pollock Michel, who calls herself “The Accidental Complementarian.” Writing for Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog, she writes: Misunderstandings about complementarians abound. At a recent women’s conference, I heard a speaker describe her egalitarian upbringing, saying it wasn’t until college that she recognized the breadth of theological difference on this issue. “I was shocked. And to be honest, I was heartbroken. It had never occurred to me that in this day and age, so many people just like me were being sidelined,” she said. Her implication? Complementarianism was theology that should have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Like me, the closet complementarians in the…
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A Christian at the New York Times shares his story
Michael Luo is an editor at the New York Times. He’s also a Christian and a member of Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. King’s College recently hosted an address by Luo in which he describes his faith and how it informs his work at the nation’s paper of record.
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The Barronelle Stutzman Story
I have written numerous times about the florist in Washington state who is being sued for her refusal to participate in a gay wedding. Her story in particular is really troubling. She has been happily serving gay people in her shop for years. She served one gay couple for nearly a decade and had become good friends with them. But when they asked her to participate in their wedding ceremony, she politely declined. She is a Southern Baptist Christian, and she told them that she couldn’t participate because of her relationship with Jesus. Word of her refusal spread through social media, and the attorney general of the state of Washington…