Pope Francis announced today that John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be recognized as saints on April 27, 2014. How does someone achieve sainthood in the Catholic Church? In short, they need to have lived a holy life and to have performed two miracles. It turns out that both of John Paul II’s miracles occurred after he died. It is reported that on two occasions people prayed to Pope John Paul II and were healed. Apparently, Pope Francis is going to recognize John XIII as a saint without evidence of a miracle to his account. Read the rest here, or watch above.
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NANC gets new website and proposes name change
The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) has a brand new website. The new site includes a number of updates and helpful information as well as a new blog, authored by executive director Heath Lambert. The most momentous change on the site is the announcement that NANC is seeking to change its name to the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). The board of trustees has overwhelmingly approved the measure, and now it falls to the registered members at the upcoming annual meeting to approve it.
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The heavens [and octopuses] are telling of God’s glory
When I see things like this, it provokes me to wonder: Can something like this really be explained by time and chance and a random collocation of molecules? Not in a million years…or even a few billion.
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Sweet Lorraine
I promise you’ll be glad you took the time to watch this video all the way through. I’m not going to spoil the story by describing it to you. You just need to watch it for yourself. Thank you Dane Ortlund for highlighting it. What a story. What a song. What a life. Download “Sweet Lorraine” here.
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N. T. Wright discusses his magnum opus on Paul
N. T. Wright’s magnum opus on Paul is set to release on November 1. It’s titled Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Mike Bird recently interviewed Wright about the book, and you can watch it above. Keep your eyes peeled for the appearance of this book in November. Wright is one of the most consequential New Testament scholars of our time, and this book is expected to be a watershed for the field. Stay tuned.
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Should Christians spank their children?
Andy Naselli has a really good article about spanking in the most recent Journal of Discipleship & Family Ministry. It’s titled “Training children for their good,” and Naselli argues that the Bible supports the use of spanking as a legitimate form of discipline. There is careful discussion of the relevant biblical texts, especially the Proverbs. If you’re looking for a solid, biblically formed position paper on spanking, you need to read this. Andy Naselli, “Traing children for their good” JDFM 3.2 (2013): 48-64.
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Transgender Theology Professor Leaves Azuza Pacific
Albert Mohler comments on this story in this morning’s “Briefing” podcast. Listen below: [audio:http://4ff414ae5107de3a9e18-43dbab4d73aa8c295e652f2d85e793bd.r77.cf1.rackcdn.com/media/audio/totl/Podcast/20130924_TheBriefing.mp3]
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Transgender Teen Named Homecoming Queen
It’s amazing that stories like the one above are becoming more and more commonplace. The report is about a young man in California who was recently chosen by his classmates to be the homecoming queen. The boy identifies as transgender—which means that he is biologically male but wishes to identify as a female.
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Watch Eric Metaxas’s “I am second” testimony
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Kirk Cameron talks about the problem of evil on “The Today Show”
I just read that Kirk Cameron and Doug Wilson will be making a joint appearance on TBN later this evening. I don’t know what it is about, but I suspect it may have something to do with Cameron’s new documentary on the problem of evil, which he discussed on “The Today Show” earlier this week. See video above.