Ross Douthat’s column for the NY Times argues that victory is the only exit-strategy for the war in Afghanistan. He writes: “Here is the grim paradox of America’s involvement in Afghanistan: The darker things get and the more setbacks we suffer, the better the odds that we’ll be staying there indefinitely. “Not the way we’re there today, with 90,000 American troops in-theater and an assortment of NATO allies fighting alongside. But if the current counterinsurgency campaign collapses, it almost guarantees that some kind of American military presence will be propping up some sort of Afghan state in 2020 and beyond. Failure promises to trap us; success is our only ticket…
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Russell Moore on NPR
Russell Moore was on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” to discuss the Southern Baptist Convention’s response to the oil spill. Two weeks ago, the SBC passed a resolution calling on the government “to act determinatively and with undeterred resolve to end this crisis … to ensure full corporate accountability for damages, clean-up and restoration … and to ensure that government and private industry are not again caught without planning for such possibilities.” Moore played a key role in getting this resolution passed, and he argues on NPR that Christians have to break with conservative stereotypes to rethink the issue of creation-care. He explains: “There’s really nothing conservative — and certainly nothing evangelical…
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Manute Bol’s Radical Christianity
Jon Shields says that Manute Bol was a fool for Christ. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Shields argues that Bol’s Christianity was authentic and fruitful, even though sports writers don’t acknowledge it. He writes: ‘Bol’s life and death throws into sharp relief the trivialized manner in which sports journalists employ the concept of redemption. In the world of sports media players are redeemed when they overcome some prior “humiliation” by playing well. Redemption then is deeply connected to personal gain and celebrity. It leads to fatter contracts, shoe endorsements, and adoring women. ‘Yet as Bol reminds us, the Christian understanding of redemption has always involved lowering…
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Mohler Interviews Plummer on ’40 Questions’
Albert Mohler’s interview with Rob Plummer aired yesterday on “The Albert Mohler Program.” The discussion was all about Plummer’s new book 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible. I reviewed the book a few weeks ago, and you can read it here. You can listen to the interview below. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/totl/2010/AMP_06_24_2010.mp3]
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Isner Wins Epic Match
I used to think that Michael Chang’s victory over the top-seeded Ivan Lendl in the 1989 French Open was the quintessential Iron Man match. Well, move over Michael Chang. There are two new Iron Men in town, and their names are John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Earlier today, the American John Isner won his record-setting epic match against France’s Nicolas Mahut. As ESPN reports, the match took 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days and lasted so long it was suspended two nights in a row because of darkness. They resumed playing earlier today at 59-all before an overflow crowd on Court 18. They continued for 20 games and 65…
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Wimbledon Ironmen
John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are playing what is already the longest match on record in tennis history. They are in the fifth set right now, and the game count is 50-50! The match has been going on for over 8 and half hours. ESPN.com is streaming the match live, and you can watch it here. The match is also being aired on ESPNU. Both of these guys should get a trophy. They are soldiering on, and neither one is willing to throw in the towel. There’s a sermon illustration here somewhere. I’m sure of it.
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DeYoung takes on Complemegalitarianism
Kevin DeYoung picks apart John Stott’s chapter on “Women, Men and God” in the book Issues Facing Christians Today. Stott argues for a middle-way between complementarianism and egalitarianism, but DeYoung shows that Stott’s exegesis is not at all compelling. He writes: “If anyone could present a strong case for women elders and pastors, or something less than full blown complementarianism, surely John Stott could. But in actuality, a close examination of Stott’s exegesis shows just how weak the middle-of-the-road position (not to mention the egalitarian position) really is.” Part 1 of DeYoung’s critique appears today, and part 2 will appear tomorrow. Read it here.
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Christ & Katrina
Russell Moore’s reflections on the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is a must-read. He writes: “I always feared seeing my hometown turn into Armageddon, and five years ago, sure enough, that’s just what happened. As a small child, I would sit in the pews of my church and imagine, as our pastor flipped through one apocalyptic scenario after another in his prophecy charts, what our town—Biloxi, Mississippi, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico—would look like after the seals of the Book of Revelation had been opened, after all hell broke loose on the world as we knew it… “I outgrew the dispensationalism (while holding onto the gospel underneath…
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Mohler’s Homestretch
Albert Mohler announced today that his daily live radio program will come to an end in two weeks. At the end of his show earlier today, he explains why. He says ending the program is one of the most difficult decisions he’s ever had to make. Listen to him in his own words below. Start listening at 35:40. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/totl/2010/AMP_06_21_2010.mp3] I’ve loved “The Albert Mohler Program” and have enjoyed listening to it over the years. He talks about issues in the news in a way that no one else on radio does. When this program ends, it will be greatly missed. Be sure to tune-in these last two weeks or to…
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The New Face of Evangelicalism?
ABC News interviewed some young Christian leaders in a piece about “The New Face of American Evangelicalism.” The video is linked above (HT: Euangelion). The most important feature of the interview is not what was said, but what wasn’t said. When asked about the most important issues facing the church, none of the young Christians mentioned the gospel. All of them fastidiously avoided mention of abortion and gay “marriage.” In short, they argued that the “new face of evangelicalism” is a return to the social gospel. My only comment about this piece is that the sampling of young “evangelicals” is unhelpfully skewed. These five individuals obviously hail from the left…