Russell Moore has a helpful piece on the wrath of God over at the Washington Post. He highlights several texts that show that the wrath of God was once much more a part of the American vernacular than it is now. Reading these texts reminded me of another one–Lincoln’s second inaugural address. It is my favorite political speech, and it is laden with biblical allusions to God’s wrath and justice. Lincoln does not appeal to God’s judgment to vindicate the North over and against the wicked South. Rather, he appeals to God’s transcendent justice to show that both North and South had fallen short. In his own words:

Yesterday, I posted a note about the PCUSA’s decision to drop the hymn “In Christ Alone” from their hymnbook. Reports say that the song’s reference to “the wrath of God” was just too much for those making the decision. The songwriters refused to give permission to amend the language, so the PCUSA decided to leave it out. I have to say that I have been quite surprised at the response to this short post—a response that is still ongoing. I am not surprised, however, that the topic still provokes strong responses from people—strong reactions on both sides of the issue.

As the Southern Baptist Convention meets in Houston, Texas, Albert Mohler has published a statement about the SBC’s Calvinism Advisory Committee. The committee was formed to address controversies about Calvinism within the denomination. Mohler’s statement is conciliatory and statesmanlike. Here’s an excerpt:

Last week, I wrote a blog post critiquing Andy Stanley’s brief remarks about the historicity of Adam and Eve. In short, I concluded that his remarks were a “poison pill” for the doctrine of scripture. Even after Stanley responded in the comments underneath that post (here, here, here), I believe that my concerns still stand. Since then, both Scot McKnight and Michael Bird have suggested that I have erred in my critique of Stanley. Bird says he was “deeply frustrated” by what I wrote while McKnight said my reflections were a “failure to think theologically.” This has been an interesting exchange, to say the very least. And I hope that…

Last year the Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, convened a diverse group of Southern Baptist leaders to forge a consensus statement on the issue of Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. The Calvinism Advisory Committee has now released their statement titled, “TRUTH, TRUST, and TESTIMONY in a TIME of TENSION.” The statement is 3,243 words in length, and I believe it addresses concerns that Baptists on both sides of this issue have had. This is a good statement, one that I hope that Southern Baptists will unify around.

Laura Ortberg Turner has an interesting contribution to CT’s series on women in leadership. In “Too Girly To Lead?,” Turner contends that God doesn’t care about gender when it comes to pastoral leadership. She appeals to 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, which says, There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Turner observes that Paul says nothing about these gifts being gender-specific, and then she concludes that both women and men receive spiritual gifts that make them…

[UPDATE: The original You Tube video containing Stanley’s remarks has been pulled (see above). Readers who wish to see the video can do so by visiting this site. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post.] Andy Stanley’s comments on Adam and Eve have been making the rounds since they appeared on HereIBlog.com yesterday. In short, Stanley affirms the historicity of Adam and Eve, but not because Genesis says so. Rather, he bases his belief on what Jesus says about Adam and Eve. You can listen to the entire discussion above, but here are the relevant excerpts:

RadioWest interviewed Albert Mohler about the problem of evil and the tragedy in Oklahoma. You can download the audio here or listen below. It’s about 52 minutes long. [audio:http://cpa.ds.npr.org/radiowest/audio/2013/05/RW05212013.mp3]

Apparently the idea is abroad that the biblical book of Job is an inappropriate resource for Christians to turn to when addressing human suffering. I couldn’t disagree more. Is Job’s message the only thing to be said? No, of course not. There are countless other words of comfort that need to be delivered as we weep with those who weep and rally to support those in the midst of suffering (Psalm 34:18; Rom. 12:15). But neither can the message of Job be cast aside as insensitive or irrelevant to the current crisis. As tears stream down the faces of those grieving and hurting in Oklahoma, I’ll be praying that they…

Albert Mohler records a special episode of “The Briefing” to discuss the Oklahoma disaster and the difference between moral and natural evil. Download here, or listen below. [audio:http://4ff414ae5107de3a9e18-43dbab4d73aa8c295e652f2d85e793bd.r77.cf1.rackcdn.com/media/audio/totl/Podcast/20130520_BriefingSpecial.mp3]