Carl Trueman has some important reflections on the normalization of pornography in Great Britain, but I think his observations apply to this side of the Atlantic as well. He writes: Internet pornography is probably the number one pastoral problem in the world today. I wonder if it is set to become yet more so: as the social shame dimension passes away, it will be harder to maintain discipline on this issue. The Christian church is currently mesmerized by developments relative to sexuality, not least because these development are couched in the rhetoric of civil rights and have serious legal implications. I wonder if a more serious and lethal internal issue…
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Kluck weighs-in on MLB suspensions & Johnny Manziel
I’m a big fan of Ted Kluck. He’s a great sports writer and a solid Christian brother. His new book on Robert Griffin III hits the shelves today. It’s titled Robert Griffin III: Athlete, Leader, Believer, and you can order it right now from Amazon.com. Today, Ted was on The Gospel Coalition podcast to discuss the two big stories in sports this week: the major league baseball suspensions and Johnny Manziel. You can download the podcast here or listen below. [audio:http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/files/2013/08/Going-Deeper-with-TGC-8-6-with-Ted-Kluck.mp3]
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Derek Webb: I was wrong, I’m sorry, and I love you
I’m not sure what this song means, but I’m hoping for the best! You can pre-order the full album from Amazon.com. Or you can purchase the full album and download it from Webb’s website here. It’s titled “I was wrong, I’m sorry, and I love you.”
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Why I’m not reading Reza Aslan’s book
About a week ago, a reporter asked me to comment on the Reza Aslan dust-up. I told the reporter that I had not read Aslan’s book, and I thought that would be the end of that. Nevertheless, he still wanted my comments, so I agreed to talk narrowly about the infamous interview, which I did watch. Even though my academic specialty is New Testament studies, I still haven’t read the book, and I don’t have any plans to do so. Why? We have to make our priorities when we read, and not every book that comes down the pike is worth the time. You have to have some ability to…
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Christ-haunted Atheists
Flannery O’Connor once wrote, “I think it is safe to say that while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted.” Apparently her observation holds true even for Southern atheists. Several weeks ago, The New York Times did a feature on an atheist from my hometown of DeRidder, Louisiana. His name is Jerry DeWitt, and he’s a Pentecostal preacher turned activist atheist. This is actually DeWitt’s second appearance in the paper of record, and you can read about his falling away in the Times article from last year. But this latest article covers DeWitt’s attempt to give birth to an atheist “church.” He is trying to cobble together…
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Worst religion story of the year
Joe Carter blasts what he calls “the worst religion story of the year.” The story in question appears in the NY Daily News, and it lampoons an evangelical family trying to plant a church in Brooklyn. Carter describes it this way: I should warn you of what to expect. Imagine a parody article like you’d find in the The Onion, only without the wit, humor, satire, or intelligence. But also a straight-news story and not a parody. In a (sorta) real newspaper. That makes you feel dumber for having read it… This is such bad reporting the paper ought to have to return one of their ten Pulitzer Prizes as penance.…
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Why the PCUSA decided to exclude “In Christ Alone”
Earlier this week, I posted a brief note about the PCUSA’s decision to exclude the hymn “In Christ Alone” from their new hymnal. The authors of the hymn refused to give permission to exclude a reference to the wrath of God, so the editorial committee decided to exclude the hymn. I have received some feedback from readers questioning whether this account of things is accurate. So I thought it might be helpful to hear from one of the committee members themselves. Committee member Mary Louise Bringle describes the committee’s decision-making process in The Christian Century. She writes,
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Symposium on the Book of Revelation
In February, Jim Hamilton mixed it up with Sam Waldron and Gary DeMar in a “symposium” about the book of Revelation (see trailer above). It looks like a fantastic event, but the only way to access it is to purchase the audio or video, which you can do here.
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God’s wrath and the American vernacular
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:
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Rick and Kay Warren speak to Saddleback
On Sunday, Rick and Kay Warren spoke to Saddleback for the first time since their son took his own life in April. Their messages are almost 90-minutes long and include some heart-rending material. But they also include how they’ve been making it through. You can listen to the audio at the link below. Above are some excerpts from CNN’s coverage of the service. “How to Get through What You’re Going Through” – Saddleback Church (July 28, 2013)