Last week after World Vision announced its intention not to recognize same-sex marriages, those in the so-called progressive wing of “Christianity” were predictably unhappy. They chastised evangelicals who hold fast to traditional marriage. They said it was a mistake to hold on to the Bible’s teaching about marriage because that position is driving millennials away from the church. Implication? Those who hold the biblical line are doing damage to the church and are keeping people out who would otherwise be in.
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A response to Jen Hatmaker on the World Vision announcement
Jen Hatmaker’s remarks about the World Vision announcement include some sharp criticism of what I wrote about it on Monday. I take her comments seriously, and I hope to give an answer to at least some of the concerns she raises. I should stipulate that I am not a regular reader of Hatmaker’s blog. Nevertheless, I come across her writings from time to time and have even linked to some of her material on this blog. From the limited sample that I have read, I have found her to be a stimulating writer. More than once, I have laughed out loud at her wit and humor, which I really appreciate.…
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Who determines meaning? Author, text, or reader? Some thoughts on 1 Timothy 1:8.
How can you tell the difference between a good interpretation of a text and a bad interpretation? This is the fundamental question that every reader has to answer in trying to understand the message of scripture. The traditional approach has been to recognize the author as the ground and the guide of textual meaning. If you want to know the meaning of the text, then you must discern the author’s intent in writing that text.
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Pastors, how do we respond to brothers in error?
False teaching often comes from imposters who are not really Christians (2 Tim. 3:8). Sometimes error comes from those who are Christians (Gal. 2:11). At other times, it comes from those whose spiritual condition is not altogether clear. In any case, pastors have a responsibility to refute error whatever its source (Titus 1:9). But what’s the point of confronting error? I think we have to be careful here. One of the character requirements of the pastor is that he not be pugnacious—that he not be the kind of guy who walks around with a theological chip on his shoulder just waiting for someone to knock it off (1 Tim. 3:3).…
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Dan Savage launches “Not All Like That”
You may remember Dan Savage as the founder of the “It Gets Better Project”—a website dedicated to telling gay children that homosexual behavior is okay and that their lives will get better as they get older. Today Savage launched a new website called “Not All Like That.” It works the same way as the “It Gets Better” site, except that the message this time is aimed at redefining Christianity.
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Prosperity Preachers featured in new reality show
The Oxygen network is about to launch a reality show featuring six prosperity preachers from the Los Angeles area. The trailer above reveals a group of men who are completely under the spell of the prosperity gospel, which is no gospel at all (Gal. 1:6-7).
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Some Thoughts on the Elephant Room
Two days ago the chatter coming out of The Elephant Room seemed to indicate that T. D. Jakes had alleviated all concern about his orthodoxy. I counted that as a good report and was certainly eager to hear it for myself. I had a chance last night to watch the session that featured Jakes and the discussion about Trinitarianism. There are some good things in this session (Jakes’ affirmation of one God and three persons), but there are also some not-so-good things. At the end of the day, I thought too much was left undone. Coming into this event, Jakes has been widely known as a modalist, and I saw…
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Book Note: “If You Bite & Devour One Anotherâ€
I just received a book in the mail that looks to be one worth noting. The book is titled If You Bite & Devour One Another: Biblical Principles for Handling Conflict. The author is Alexander Strauch, who is perhaps best known for his book on eldership, Biblical Eldership. Here’s the publisher’s description of this latest book: “Conflict in churches is a pervasive problem we know all too well. If You Bite & Devour One Another is the only book of its kind, examining all the biblical passages on conflict and outlining key scriptural principles for handling various kinds of conflicts among Christian–whether personal disputes, issues of Christian liberty in lifestyles,…
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Rob Bell Outs Himself
False teachers are often described as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Eventually, every wolf loses the disguise. It looks like that is exactly what Rob Bell has done in his new book set to be released next month, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. I have had the opportunity to read the preface and the first couple of chapters, and it appears that Bell has embraced some form of universalism—the belief that every person eventually inherits eternal life. Perhaps he is leaving the door open for some kind of annihilationist perspective. In any case, he has jettisoned the doctrine of hell…
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A Word for Post-Moderns
Abraham Piper has a clever line that I think describes the post-modern ethos of our day: “If you ask questions but you reject answers, you’re not actually asking anything. You’re just festooning tired, old propositions with trendier punctuation.” This is a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but it is actually a very serious point. The post-modern proclivity for interminable questions is very much like Paul’s description of the women at Ephesus who had been deceived by false teachers. Paul says that they are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).