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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Why not three or more in a marriage?
Perhaps you have already read about the polyamorous “throuple” of lesbians who have “married” and who are expecting their first child. If you support gay marriage, on what principle could you possibly oppose the “marriage” of three or more people? Robert George’s brief analysis is spot-on: The story of a female throuple in Massachusetts (with a baby on the way) provides further confirmation, as if any were needed, of the proposition that “ideas have consequences.” Once one has abandoned belief in marriage as a conjugal bond (with its central structuring norm of sexual complementarity) in favor of a concept of “marriage” as a form of sexual-romantic companionship or domestic partnership…
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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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9-year old boy sings gospel music during kidnapping
From NBC News Atlanta: ATLANTA — A young boy’s love of gospel music may have saved his life. Earlier this month, police say a man kidnapped then nine-year-old Willie Myrick from his southwest Atlanta driveway. He allegedly drove the boy around for some time before dropping him off unharmed in East Point. But Willie’s actions during those terrifying three hours are inspiring people around the country. Willie says he sang the gospel song “Every Praise” until the man let him go. Read the rest here.
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Russell Moore on CBS News’ morning show
Russell Moore did a great job earlier today on CBS News’ morning show. You will note that Danny Akin, Daniel Patterson, Jon Akin and some others make cameos in this one. Watch it above. I was struck near the end of the interview by something the reporter says. After noting the positive message that Moore brings to the job, she says, “But a different tone only goes so far.” She goes on to say that a new tone doesn’t remove the offense of Christianity’s sexual ethic, and in particular, its stance against gay marriage.
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Michael Bloomberg: “I’ve earned my place in heaven.”
Former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg is an activist for a number of causes. As a result, he believes that he is a shoe-in for heaven. The New York Times reports: But if he senses that he may not have as much time left as he would like, he has little doubt about what would await him at a Judgment Day. Pointing to his work on gun safety, obesity and smoking cessation, he said with a grin: “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven.…
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Mozilla CEO pressured to resign for supporting traditional marriage
Mozilla announced that its brand new CEO Brendan Eich has just resigned. All of this comes in the wake of pressure from gay rights activists who said that Eich’s support of traditional marriage rendered him unworthy of leading the company. Here’s a snippet from the statement explaining Eich’s resignation: Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He’s made this decision for Mozilla and our community. Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard. Our organizational…
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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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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…