On March 27, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech to Planned Parenthood’s annual Federation of America Awards gala, and she said the following: “I want to assure you that reproductive rights… will be a key to the foreign policy of this Administration… I was very proud when President Obama repealed the Mexico City policy. (Applause.) As a result, nongovernmental organizations overseas can once again use U.S. funding to provide the full range of family planning services so that women and their families can get access to the healthcare that they need.” President Obama has said that he wants to find “common ground” upon which to reduce the need…
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John Piper on Multi-Campus Churches
John Piper asks and answers the question, “What are the key issues in thinking through the multi-campus church movement?” You can listen below or read the manuscript here. [audio:http://media.desiringgod.org/audio/q_and_a/3952_what_are_the_key_issues_in_thinking_through_the_multi_campus_church_movement.mp3] For Piper, it boils down to this: “The issues, I think, revolve mainly around what it is to be a church: what constitutes a church, and what constitutes an eldership. . . The essential issue is: How do elders, as one, relate to a people and a unified teaching to the people? I think the preacher is an elder, and the way he relates to the people is as a shepherd. And I think it is implied in the way the…
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What happened to CCM?
Were you ever a reader of CCM magazine? I was… sort of. I was more of a casual browser than a reader. For the uninitiated, CCM stands for “Contemporary Christian Music,” and CCM magazine was like the evangelical version of Rolling Stone. In the late 90’s when I was a student at DTS, there was one particular issue on the shelf at the DTS bookstore that caught my attention. The glossy cover featured my favorite group, Caedmon’s Call. Believe it or not, I was such a fan of the band that I actually signed-up for a one-year subscription to CCM. A more thoughtful person might have stopped to ponder that…
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Roger Federer Is the Man
Roger Federer made history today when he defeated Robin Soderling in the French Open final to complete his career Grand Slam. Federer dominated the match. So much so, that the most exciting thing that happened was when a loony fan ran onto the court and tried to put something on Federer’s head (watch below). Having captured his 14th Grand Slam victory, Federer is tied with Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam titles. Federer is now officially installed in the Pantheon of Tennis greats. It was a great victory for a great champion.
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Spin?
Even so, pretty effective.
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A Civil Rights Decision in New Hampshire?
Governor John Lynch signed a bill on Wednesday that makes New Hampshire the sixth state to legalize same-sex “marriage.” The governor has changed his position on the issue, having previously supported civil unions but not gay “marriage.” The New York Times reports:
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Damning Euphemisms
Some euphemisms are good and necessary. It’s a good thing that people talk about “going to the bathroom” rather than reporting on what they are actually about to do. In this sense, euphemisms nurture polite, wholesome conversation. They are good and necessary in a decent society. But some euphemisms are damning in that they intentionally cover-up great evils that ought to be exposed for what they are. When a pornographic movie is billed as having “adult content,” that is a euphemism that serves to salve seared consciences that refuse to acknowledge the evil of pornography. Inasmuch as the euphemism provides comfort to a conscience that ought to be afflicted, the…
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Reproductive Technologies, Sexual Ethics, and ‘Jon & Kate Plus Eight’
Julie Vermeer Elliott has a hard-hitting article in Christianity Today on “Evangelicals and the Making of Jon & Kate Plus 8.” She argues that evangelicals have been undiscerning in placing “Jon & Kate” on a spiritual pedestal. Long before marital infidelity was alleged, evangelicals were willing to overlook Jon and Kate’s “materialism, narcissism, and exploitation of children.” Elliott also questions the propriety of the reproductive technologies that were used to produce the eight children who star in this reality show. She writes:
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Free MP3: ‘The Don’t Song’
I’m a big fan of “Johnny and Chachi.” They have put together an impressive body of work, much of which I have featured on this blog. Johnny and Chachi have recently decided to make their hit single “The Don’t Song” available for free download. Now, not only can you watch the video on YouTube, but you can also listen to this classic hit on your iPod as well. Enjoy! “The Don’t Song” by Johnny and Chachi [audio:http://www.johnnyandchachi.com/wp-content/files/The%20Don%27t%20Song.mp3]
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The New JBMW Online
The Spring 2009 issue of The Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood has been released, and you can read the entire table of contents here. Some of the articles are available online from the CBMW website. Here’s an excerpt from my editorial: “I sat in for a portion of the LGBT/Queer Hermeneutics Section at the annual SBL meeting this past November in Boston. What I heard there was both startling and sobering. The presentation that I attended featured a female theologian from a small seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. She delivered a paper on Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians-a presentation which included a variety of vulgar double-entendres involving the text…