At this point in our culture’s sexual devolution, the only recognized boundary on sexual expression is consent. If two or more persons are of age and if all parties agree to a given sexual activity, then that activity is deemed acceptable—no matter what it is. Any attempt to suggest moral obligation beyond consent is treated as repressive and as a throwback to puritanical austerity. That’s simply where we are right now as a people. Certainly Christians would agree with our secular counterparts that consent is a necessary moral condition for sexual expression. No one disagrees with that. The problem we have is with the suggestion that consent is the only…
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Sam Allberry to speak at Southern Seminary, March 4
I’m really excited to welcome Sam Allberry to the campus of Boyce College and Southern Seminary next week. It’s a one-day only event in which he will be delivering a series of messages on “Homosexuality and Ministry.” The talks will focus on how to do faithful gospel ministry among those who are same-sex attracted. Sam Allberry has shared his compelling story in his watershed book Is God Anti-gay?, and he will be fleshing-out those themes in his talks on campus. The event is free for students and their families and will be held next week on Wednesday, March 4. For more information about the schedule and meeting room, visit here.
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A nasty double-clutch reverse dunk
This did not happen during a slam dunk contest. This happened during a game earlier today between the Cavs and the Knicks. Iman Shumpert alley-oops the ball to J. R. Smith, and Smith throws down a nasty double-clutch reverse dunk. Again, this happened during the game. (I love doing these myself, but it’s fun to see others try it too.)
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Florist rejects AG’s offer, stands courageously on principle, and risks everything
If you haven’t been following Barronelle Stutzman’s case in Washington State, you need to be. She is the florist being sued by the state attorney general for refusing to participate in a gay wedding. The attorney general is trying to compel her to ignore her Christian faith and to participate in gay weddings. If she refuses, he is threatening the full coercive power of the state to force her to do it. She stands to lose everything—her home, her savings, her business, her livelihood—if she does not comply. I have an article today at CNN.com explaining the situation. The conclusion reads like this:
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21 Martyrs
We have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood (Hebrews 12:4), but some have.
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Get fired in the interview
When I was in college and aspiring to ministry, I was greatly influenced by a pastor in Denton, Texas. His name is Tommy Nelson, and he is preaching in the chapel of Southern Seminary this morning. Among the many nuggets of wisdom that I gleaned from him in those days was this: “Get fired in the interview.” What was he talking about? He was telling all of us young aspiring preachers exactly what we should be doing when candidating for a pastorate. It was sage advice for me then, and I reckon it is sage advice for any aspiring pastor who may be reading this now. When the pastor-search committee…
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Lenten Curmudgeon: Carl Trueman on Evanglicals and Lent
Carl Trueman is perplexed at Evangelical fascination with Lent. He writes: I can understand Anglicans observing Lent. Hey, I can even approve of them doing so when I am in an exceptionally good mood or have just awoken from a deep sleep and am still a little disoriented. It is part of their history. It connects to their formal liturgical history. All denominations and Christian traditions involve elements that are strictly speaking unbiblical but which shape their historic identity. For Anglicans, the liturgical calendar is just such a thing. These reasons are not compelling in a way that would make the calendar normative for all Christians, yet I can still…
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The progressive wish to replace marriage
In the larger debate over gay marriage, progressives have typically resisted the conservative argument that gay marriage “redefines” marriage. That is why they dismiss natural law arguments about the meaning and nature of marriage. They regard such arguments as irrelevant to the question. But Brian Epstein argues in The New York Times that progressives need to get over that and admit what they are really doing. I quote at length:
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Is ISIS terror driven by religion?
From Graeme Wood in The Atlantic: The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.
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Tough review of N. T. Wright’s 2-volume work on Paul
John Barclay has written a hard-hitting review of N. T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God. If you know anything about the interactions between Barclay and Wright over the last several years, you will not be surprised that Barclay comes down pretty hard on Wright. Barclay concludes: The stimulus offered by this book will be lessened, and perhaps cancelled, by its persistently shrill and overheated rhetoric. Ouch. Like I said; it’s a tough review. Read the rest here.