In his new book, David Axelrod admits that President Obama lied about his views on gay marriage in order to get elected in 2008. In particular, he wished to deceive black voters, whom he knew were largely opposed to gay marriage. Here’s the report from TIME Magazine: Barack Obama misled Americans for his own political benefit when he claimed in the 2008 election to oppose same sex marriage for religious reasons, his former political strategist David Axelrod writes in a new book, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics. “I’m just not very good at bulls—-ing,” Obama told Axelrod, after an event where he stated his opposition to same-sex marriage, according…
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The Girl in the Tuxedo
Jean Lloyd shares a little bit of her story today at The Public Discourse about how she grew confused about her gender and sexuality in her teenage years. She compares her experience back in 1985 to what a child with the same struggles might experience in 2015. The differences are stark and tragic. The pathways to wholeness that were available to her in 1985 have largely been cut-off to today’s adolescents. If you don’t read anything else today on the internet, read this. The consequences of the sexual revolution are massive, and they have an impact on the lives of children. Be sure to read this one all the way…
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Is God a cosmic fan in the sky or disinterested observer? Or neither?
A new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute says that many Americans believe God plays a role in who wins and loses NFL football games. From the poll: Majorities of Americans (53%) and sports fans (56%) say that God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success; more than 4-in-10 of Americans (45%) and sports fans (42%) disagree… About 1-in-4 (26%) Americans and 27% of self-described sports fans say that God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event. About 7-in-10 Americans (71%) and sports fans (69%) disagree.
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An “evangelical” church in Nashville embraces gay marriage
A couple weeks ago, I noted Elizabeth Diaz’s feature-length article in Time magazine arguing that evangelicals are changing their mind about gay marriage. Today she has a follow-up piece about Nashville, Tennessee’s GracePointe Community Church which has become “one of the first evangelical megachurches in the country to openly stand for full equality and inclusion of the LGBTQ community.” The church’s pastor, Stan Mitchell, made the announcement at the end of a sermon a few weeks ago. You can watch it above beginning at 44:52.
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No one can really redefine marriage
Last week I read a report about philosophy professors who believe the debate about marriage is over. For many (perhaps most) of them, the question has been settled. There is no rational basis to privilege the union of one man and one woman in our laws and culture. To do so is the equivalent of bigotry. Or so these professors believe. And that is why many of them are no longer treating it as a matter up for debate. Conversation over. It struck me that while many people in our culture will evade this discussion in a similar way, that doesn’t close the issue. Why? Because an ostrich with his…
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Douglas Moo’s essay on the NIV and Bible Translation
At last November’s ETS meeting in San Diego, I attended a dinner hosted by Zondervan celebrating the 50th anniversary of the commissioning of the New International Version (NIV). Doug Moo is the head of the committee that oversees that translation, and he gave an extended address on the NIV in particular and on Bible translation in general. Zondervan has made a PDF of that address available for free. You can download the booklet at right or at the link below. Douglas J. Moo, We Still Don’t Get It: Evangelicals and Bible Translation Fifty Years After James Barr, Presentation from the 2014 ETS Annual Meeting (Zondervan, 2014).
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Possible first-century copy of Mark’s Gospel discovered
In 2012, Dan Wallace dropped a bombshell during a debate with Bart Ehrman. Ehrman had pointed out that our earliest copy of Mark’s Gospel is dated 140 years after the gospel was first written. It’s a point often made by critics to show the unreliability of the New Testament. Wallace then revealed that he had knowledge that a first century copy of Mark’s Gospel had been discovered. He also revealed that the document would be published in a forthcoming volume by E. J. Brill. It was all very cryptic at the time, and Ehrman later complained that Wallace should not have brought it up in the debate. Ehrman argued that…
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Michael Kruger’s Christmas Eve take-down of Newsweek’s preposterous cover story attacking the Bible
Three cheers for Michael Kruger for exposing the outlandish Newsweek cover story attacking the integrity of the Bible. Released just two days before Christmas, the Newsweek article is riddled with basic historical errors and the author’s own prejudice against Christianity. I don’t know how this tendentious rubbish got into Newsweek, but there it is. Thanks to Kruger for taking time on Christmas Eve to expose this farce for what it is. He writes: Of course, this is not the first media article critiquing the Bible that has been short on the facts. However, what is stunning about this particular article is that Kurt Eichenwald begins by scolding evangelical Christians for…
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A plan to read the Greek New Testament in a year
Several years ago, I created a plan to read through the Greek New Testament in a year. For the most part, it tracks pretty closely with Lee Irons’ excellent schedule for reading the Greek New Testament in a year. My plan, however, varies a little bit. Because John’s writing is simpler Greek, my schedule goes through John’s Gospel at a faster pace than Irons’. As a result, there are no readings scheduled at the end of the year from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve. These open dates at the end can be used as catch-up days. The schedule is given in two formats below. DOC – Read the Greek…
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A plan to read through the Bible in 2015
In years past, my customary mode for reading the Bible through every year involved starting in Genesis and reading right through to Revelation. I estimated that about four chapters per day would get me through in under a year’s time. The method worked reasonably well, but it wasn’t without its problems. Sometimes I would miss a day (or days) and get behind, and I had no way to keep up with my progress. I needed a schedule so that I could keep myself accountable for finishing in a year.