Today is a holiday, so my post will be brief. 1. Do not miss John Piper’s short essay “Ganging Up on Gratitude.” It’s an exhortation to an atheist and a liberal Bishop who have a chip on their respective shoulders when it comes to giving thanks to God. Piper engages them evangelistically, and it reminds me why I am thankful to the Lord for the ministry of John Piper. 2. There’s a hymn that I learned in church as a youngster that I don’t often hear anymore (Thanks, Mom and Dad for taking me to church. What a heritage of grace!). Maybe some of you remember it. It’s called “Count…
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TIME Covers Evangelicals and Divorce
A week or so ago, I directed your attention to David Instone-Brewer’s controversial cover story from the October issue of Christianity Today: “What God Has Joined: What does the Bible really teach about divorce?” In my original post, I noted the series of responses and rejoinders that resulted, chiefly from John Piper and Andreas Köstenberger.
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An Historic Election in Louisiana
A good thing happened in my home state over the weekend. The voters of Louisiana made history by electing the first Indian-American ever to serve as a state governor, Bobby Jindal. The result was good for a couple of reasons. First, Jindal ran on an ethics reform platform. Anyone who knows anything about Louisiana politics knows that if Louisiana needs anything, it’s ethics reform. Politics in the bayou state has a sordid history (think Huey Long, Edwin Edwards and David Duke), and Jindal represents a break from that checkered past.
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J. P. Moreland Tweaks Mainstream Media
One of our favorite evangelical philosophers tweaks the mainstream media’s coverage of the abortion debate in America. The criticism appears in a recent blog post titled, “Michael Vick, Dog Fighting and Media Hypocrisy.” He writes: “Why won’t the media show pictures or video of abortions and aborted babies when they show the carnage of the Iraq war and the hideous dog fighting surrounding Michael Vick? Answer: It’s pure hypocrisy. The media is overwhelmingly secular and pro-abortion. The widespread use of ultra-sound pictures during pregnancy is decreasing the number of abortions. Similarly, if people were given the chance to view an abortion or its results on television, much of the abortion…
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Lake of Fire
I’ve been reading some of the reviews and reactions from the media to the new abortion documentary “Lake of Fire.” The film is directed by Tony Kaye, and it alleges to present an unbiased look at abortion in America. If you are interested in seeing a trailer of the movie, you can view one here: Trailer of “Lake of Fire”. I must warn you, however, that the trailer itself should probably be rated PG-13 or R. Manohla Dargis’ review of the film in the New York Times reveals the typical moral confusion that most people have when it comes to their thinking about abortion. Actually, “moral confusion” is probably too…
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The War: Some Reflections
I just finished watching the last episode of Ken Burns’ documentary “The War.” The film is not entertainment. It’s an historical depiction of real evil and of the heartrending, gut-wrenching consequences of human sin. It’s also a reminder of the great courage and heroism of a generation of Americans who went out to fight a necessary war. I am grateful for them and their sacrifice, even as I thank God for the blessings of liberty and peace that I too often take for granted.
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The War: A Must See Documentary
One of my readers sent me a note that I think is worth passing along to you. Beginning this Sunday evening, PBS will begin the first part of a 14 hour documentary on World War II. The title of the program is “The War,” and it looks like it will be one to watch. Tom Hanks, Samuel Jackson, Josh Lucas, and Bobby Cannavale are the narrators, and Ken Burns is the director. Here’s the description from the website: “THE WAR . . . tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four quintessentially American towns. The series explores…
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Women are from Venus, Men are . . . just gross!
Here’s a bit of troubling news from the Associated Press: “The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the “hand washing police.” One-third of men didn’t bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women, said the researchers who spy on people in public restrooms.” I’m just hoping that statistic doesn’t hold with restaurant workers.
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Ben Witherington: Piper Has Unbiblical View of God
Ben Witherington enters the theodicy discussion that began with John Piper and that continues in the comments section on this blog. Witherington contests John Piper’s understanding of God’s sovereignty over calamities, saying that Piper is “just guilty of having an unBiblical view of God, that ironically is closer to the fatalistic one found in the Koran, than the Biblical one found in the New Testament.”
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Touchstone Forum on Evangelicalism
This is just a note on something that is coming in the November issue of Touchstone magazine. The editor has put together a forum on the state of evangelicalism today, and the contributors include Russell Moore, John Franke, Darryl Hart, Michael Horton, David Lyle Jeffrey, and yours truly. Here are the questions that we all answered: