The executive staff of the Missouri Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations has issued a statement about the NIV 2011 and its use of inclusive language. It’s four pages long, but the bottom line is in the final paragraph. We find the NIV’s Committee on Bible Translation decision to substitute plural nouns and pronouns for masculine singular nouns and pronouns to be a serious theological weakness and a misguided attempt to make the truth of God’s Word more easily understood. The use of inclusive language in NIV 2011 creates the potential for minimizing the particularity of biblical revelation and, more seriously, at times undermines the saving revelation of Christ…
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Mark Regnerus Vindicated by University of Texas
The University of Texas has completed its inquiry into Mark Regnerus’ controversial study about the children of gay parents (see here, here, and here). In short, the University finds no scientific or professional misconduct in Regnerus’ research. Here’s a snippet from the University’s report: The University of Texas at Austin has determined that no formal investigation is warranted into the allegations of scientific misconduct lodged against associate professor Mark Regnerus regarding his July article in the journal Social Science Research.
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Fact-checking and Egregious Media Bias
It is a universal maxim that one is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts—unless of course you are a “fact-checker” in the mainstream media! I know, I know. It’s sort of hackneyed to complain about media bias, but the spectacle that began last night deserves some comment.
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How Important is Complementarianism? A Response to Carl Trueman
Last week, Carl Trueman asked why groups like The Gospel Coalition and Together for the Gospel include complementarianism in their confessional commitments. In short, Trueman thinks it is inconsistent to elevate the importance of a secondary issue like complementarianism while routinely downplaying the importance of other secondary issues like baptism and the Lord’s Supper. He writes:
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Jim Caviezel Sings Chicago Song as Christopher Walken
I don’t know what it is, but Christopher Walken cracks me up. It is for that reason that Christopher-Walken impersonations crack me up as well. In the video above, Jim Caviezel is actually backstage with the band Chicago and “sings” an old hit of theirs using his Christopher Walken voice. It’s pretty rich. File this one under “total frivolity.” (HT: Josh Philpot)
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Forcing Religious Groups Off Campus at Vanderbilt
The Foundation of Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has produced a video explaining what Vanderbilt University has done to drive religious groups off campus. You can watch it above. Here’s the description:
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Mo Isom: First Female LSU Football Player?
For a long time, all I knew about Mo Isom was that she was a female athlete at LSU who had produced some entertaining light-hearted videos with some of LSU’s football stars. What I didn’t know (until last night) was her riveting backstory. I was not aware of the fact that this LSU homecoming queen had a real shot at becoming LSU’s first female place kicker. Nor did I realize that she was an outspoken Christian who had walked through a tremendous amount of turmoil in her own life. The jokester in the YouTube videos had betrayed none of those things.
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Illegitimate Responses to Illegitimate Rape Remarks
I have been out of pocket this week and until now unable to comment on the controversy surrounding Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks about rape. As a result, much of what needs to be said in response to this enormous gaffe has already been said by others. Nevertheless, I would add one observation to the discussion that has been bugging me all week. I have been disappointed by Republican responses to Akin that are driven more by politics than by pro-life principles. Over and over, I have seen politicos trying to dissociate the Republican presidential nominee from Akin’s “illegitimate rape” remarks by emphasizing that Mitt Romney supports abortion rights for women…
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What’s the deal with Lance Armstrong?
The news broke late last night that one of the most celebrated athletes of our time would be stripped of his championships. Lance Armstrong has said he would no longer defend himself from the United States Anti-doping Agency’s (USADA) claims that he used performance enhancing drugs to win his seven Tour de France titles. As a result, the USADA is vacating all of his wins.
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Russell Moore on Theological Education in WSJ
Russell Moore has a really fine article in The Wall Street Journal. It’s about theological education, student debt, and the future of online education. He rightly argues that the whole enterprise needs to be more closely related to and accountable to churches. Here’s a snippet: There will always be those who get a law degree or an M.B.A. (and the resulting debt) and then sense a call to ministry. The history of the church—see Augustine and John Calvin, not to mention the original 12 disciples of Jesus—is filled with “second-career” ministers. But the ideal pattern is for churches to seek to identify, early in life, those who are gifted and…