My heart sank when I heard the news this morning about Thomas Eric Duncan. He was the first Ebola victim discovered in the United States, and he passed away earlier today. I don’t know much about Duncan at all, but I do know this. He travelled to the United States late last month after having contact with Ebola in Liberia. The disease overcame him after he arrived in Dallas, Texas. His condition became so desperate that his family members could no longer have video conferences with him. The sight of him was too unsettling for them. He died alone in an isolation ward this morning.
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The argument from irony against close communion
Well, I suppose I would be better off letting Mark Jones’ essay attacking close communion go by without comment. I am reminded of the Proverb, “Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own” (Proverbs 26:17). Jones’s post wasn’t addressed to me specifically. Still, I do feel like this is as much my quarrel as anyone’s. I am a Baptist pastor who holds to close communion. That is the position of my denomination, and it is the position of my church. I happen to believe that it is the position of scripture as well.
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Gay marriage not to be constitutional right this term
The New York Times reports that the Supreme Court has denied cert in all five pending same-sex marriage cases. There are two immediate implications of this—an upside and a downside: (1) Downside: Same-sex marriage will now go forward in five states—Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. This should increase the number of states allowing same-sex marriage from 19 to 24. By deciding not to review these cases, the Supreme Court has let stand bad rulings from lower courts that usurp authority from the people by striking down good laws. This is not good and will likely have far-reaching effects over time. (2) Upside: Gay marriage will not become a constitutional…
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When Team Secularism gets envious of Team Christian
Ross Douthat has an insightful blog today about “Pagans and Christians” that you should read. Among other things, he argues that America isn’t really a “pagan” nation yet. So much of its middle-class spirituality is still deeply informed by the judeo-christian tradition. He is certainly right about that. He also argues that secularists don’t know what to do when Christians outshine them in acts of mercy and charity. Case in point: the overwhelmingly Christian identity of western doctors on the ground in Liberia right now. They are missionaries, they are there to heal, and they are there to proselytize. Everyone likes the healing part. But secularists get really uncomfortable about…
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An iconoclastic approach to Daniel
Jim Hamilton has given us an iconoclastic rendering of the theology of Daniel in his latest book With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology (InterVarsity, 2014). This latest addition to the New Studies in Biblical Theology series takes some hard shots at the critical orthodoxies concerning a late date for Daniel. In addition, it presents Daniel’s message in line with the overall story of the Bible. It’s the kind of canonical approach that tends to irritate the myopic vision of some Old Testament scholarship. That is why D. A. Carson says, “Dr Hamilton’s work is also an implicit call to engage in similar work on…
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How to read the New Testament in Greek
Dr. Rob Plummer has put together an outstanding resource to help beginning Greek students read the Greek New Testament. It’s a website called “Daily Dose of Greek,” and it provides a schedule for reading and daily explanations of Greek syntax and grammar on the day’s reading. If you want help from a Southern Seminary master-teacher on the elements of Greek, you really should check out this site: Daily Dose of Greek.
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Coercing a Christian couple to host a gay wedding
The story in the video above is not a new one. Still, you need to see this. Here’s the story in a nutshell. Cynthia and Robert Gifford are Christians who own a family farm near Albany, New York. They regularly rent their property for special events, parties, weddings, etc. In 2012, a lesbian couple attempted to rent the facilities for their lesbian wedding, and the owners declined. Why? Because the Giffords are Christians and believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. They simply did not wish to use their property to host an event that contradicts their deeply held religious beliefs.
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After 12 months, Leo and Cynthia divorced…
Leo and Cynthia were in love, moved in together, and eventually got married. After only twelve months, they divorced. God got a hold of Cynthia and then Leo. He then restored the years that the locusts had eaten (Joel 2:25). Great story. (HT: Igniter Media)
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Why I Am a Baptist — Two Key Resources for Me
The main reason that I am a Baptist Christian is because that is what my parents raised me to be. The faith that they passed on to me involved (among other things) a conviction that baptism is for believers alone and that the church’s polity is congregational. The Bible honors this kind of inheritance, and I am happy to own it (2 Tim. 3:14). It was only after I entered seminary that I really began to press into other ecclesiological perspectives and to wrestle with their interpretations of scripture. Elder-rule polity and paedobaptist paradigms were particularly challenging to my congregational and credobaptist upbringing. More than anything, I wanted to be…
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The video of Lecrae on Jimmy Fallon
In case you missed it (I’m not sure you could have!), Lecrae was on Jimmy Fallon last night. Lecrae has the number one record on Billboard right now, so there you have it. A gospel hip-hop dude shows up on late night. It’s a real anomaly. The video above is a web exclusive with Lecrae explaining “How I Wrote That Song.” Below is a link to the full episode. Lecrae sits in with The Roots and performs during intro and outros. FULL EPISODE of “THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON”