I just finished watching the last episode of Ken Burns’ documentary “The War.” The film is not entertainment. It’s an historical depiction of real evil and of the heartrending, gut-wrenching consequences of human sin. It’s also a reminder of the great courage and heroism of a generation of Americans who went out to fight a necessary war. I am grateful for them and their sacrifice, even as I thank God for the blessings of liberty and peace that I too often take for granted.
-
-
Are You A Convergent Christian?
Last week, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina hosted a conference addressing the Mark Driscoll wing of the emerging church. The plenary speakers included Mark Driscoll himself, seminary president Danny Akin, and others. I was particularly interested to hear Driscoll’s message. Driscoll is widely known as an emerging church pastor. But because many Southern Baptist leaders tend to treat the emerging church as a monolithic movement, Driscoll has been regarded by many as theologically liberal (like Brian McLaren and Tony Jones). But this characterization is certainly unfair.
-
Religious Right To Bolt If Republicans Choose Rudy
James Dobson, Tony Perkins, and some others within the Council for National Policy are threatening to leave the Republican Party if Rudy Giuliani wins the Republican nomination, according to The New York Times. This is big news. I for one am happy to see these leaders standing on principle, and I intend to stand with them. I don’t care if Giuliani believes in lower taxes and smaller government. If he’s wrong on the greatest human rights crisis of our time (abortion on demand), then he’s not qualified to be President. “Giuliani Inspires Threat of a Third-Party Run” – by David Kirkpatrick (New York Times)
-
Doug Wilson on the Politics of N. T. Wright
This is likely the first and last time you will see the word “turd” in one of my blog posts. But this is the metaphor that the inimitable Doug Wilson chooses to describe the current polarities of the American political landscape. In his commentary “The Fox News Jesus or the CNN Jesus?,” Wilson responds to Joseph Laconte’s critique of N. T. Wright that appeared last week in the web version of The Weekly Standard (see my “More Wrong from Wright“). Wilson’s basic point is that choosing between the “Fox News Jesus” and the “CNN Jesus” is like choosing between cat turds and dog turds. They’re certainly different, but neither one…
-
At Least the AP Got It Right
After a topsy turvy weekend of college football, LSU came out on top in the AP poll. I’m looking for the Coaches Poll to get their act together before the end of the season. Geaux Tigers!
-
David Gushee Takes on Complementarians
David Gushee tries to undermine Complementarianism by suggesting that Complementarians do not live up to their own principles. He asks four questions that are supposed to reveal flaws in the Complementarian view. He writes: “I believe these types of questions expose weaknesses in complementarianism that cannot be mended from within that paradigm. These weaknesses contribute to my embrace of the egalitarian view.”
-
More Wrong from Wright
I have given my assessment of N. T. Wright’s politics in previous posts on this blog (here, here). Readers may remember that Wright is pretty unrealistic in his appraisal of how the West should respond to Islamo-fascism. Not only does Wright excoriate the American-led war in Iraq, he also dismisses America’s toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan as an “immature lashing out.” Wright has said that “the only way to fight terror is by working for mutual understanding and respect” (He’s serious!). For Wright, the American “empire’s” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan amount to fighting “one kind of terror with another.” One would expect this kind of moral equivalence from…
-
Will There Be Sex in Heaven?
Dr. Peter Kreeft is a Catholic theologian of the Thomist tradition. Last Spring he delivered a lecture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina (Yes, a Roman Catholic addressing Baptists!). The title of his lecture was “Will There Be Sex in Heaven?,” and this lecture is one you will not want to miss.
-
The Gospel as the Power of God for Perseverance
It was my pleasure to preach last week at my friend Jim Hamilton’s church in Houston, Texas. I was very grateful for the invitation and for the warm reception my family received while visiting. My sermon text was 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, and the title was “The Gospel as the Power of God for Perseverance,” which is available here.
-
Bollinger Blasts Ahmadinejad
Columbia University received a fair share of criticism for hosting an event featuring Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger, nevertheless, made good on his promise to pull no punches with Ahmadinejad. Here’s how President ended his opening remarks: “I am only a professor, who is also a university president, and today I feel all the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you stand for. I only wish I could do better.” Good for President Bollinger. Here’s the AP coverage: “Ahmadinejad Questions 9/11, Holocaust.”