? Today, Jack Phillips will finally get is day in court–the Supreme Court. The State of Colorado is attempting to force Phillips, a Christian baker, to use his artistic gifts to create a cake for a gay wedding celebration. Phillips says that creating such a cake would violate his religious beliefs. Phillips is not singling out gay weddings as uniquely objectionable. He has also declined to make Halloween cakes and cakes with risqué messages for bachelor parties. Why? Because those messages also violate his religious beliefs. Today the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the question. The Court will decide (probably in June) whether the state of Colorado can…
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How CTE may be affecting decline in NFL viewership
Clay Travis reports that TV networks are set to lose about $500 million dollars due to ratings decline in their NFL coverage. NFL viewership is down about 20% from two years ago. Many observers are blaming the decline entirely on the protests. Other observers say that the protests are just one piece of a larger picture. Travis argues that there are four reasons for the decline: (1) kick-off times no longer concentrated on Sundays, (2) poor quarterback play, (3) the addition of two teams to Los Angeles, and (4) the protests. I highlight Travis’s article not because I wish to weigh-in on the debate about the decline in NFL viewership.…
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Polyamory, the next sad frontier of the sexual revolution
Now that homosexuality and transgenderism are all but normalized, polyamory seems to be the next sad frontier of the sexual revolution. The latest installment of this trend appears in The New York Post’s profile of a polyamorous “throuple.” Stories about polyamory are appearing with more and more frequency, and I have seen a theme beginning to emerge in other polyamorous profiles that I have read. Not everyone in the relationship is happy about polyamory. At least one partner wishes for monogamy but concedes to polyamory so that he won’t lose the one he wishes he could be monogamous with. The throuple in the Post’s profile is no different. One man…
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Moral Clarity and Witness are the Priority, not Politics
Yesterday, I saw a portion of the emotional press conference in which another very credible woman accuses Judge Roy Moore of sexual misconduct. The New York Times reports on what she said: The new accuser, Beverly Young Nelson, told a packed news conference in New York that Mr. Moore attacked her when she was a teenager and he was a prosecutor in Etowah County, Ala. Ms. Nelson was represented at the news conference by Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has championed victims of sexual harassment. “I tried fighting him off, while yelling at him to stop, but instead of stopping, he began squeezing my neck, attempting to force my head…
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Beauty, Order, and Mystery: A Christian Vision of Human Sexuality
Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand have put together a stimulating collection of essays on sexuality titled Beauty, Order, and Mystery: A Christian Vision of Human Sexuality (IVP, 2017). Contributors represent a diverse range of views within evangelicalism and include Richard Mouw, Beth Felker Jones, Wesley Hill, and yours truly. My chapter is titled “The Transgender Test” and explores the ways that transgenderism presents a unique challenge to Christian faithfulness and witness. I argue that it is a test of biblical authority, a test of biblical message, and a test of biblical relevance. All of the contributors participated in the 2016 conference hosted by the Center for Pastors Theologians in Oak…
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12-year old boy transitions to female (then changes his mind)
60 Minutes Australia reports on a 12-year old boy who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and who decided to “transition” to become a female (watch above). With the help of his mother, he adopted a female identity, began taking female hormones, and grew breasts. Two year later, however, at the age of 14, he changed his mind. He decided that he didn’t want to be a girl after all. But his body had already been permanently changed by the female hormones. His reversal will now require surgery, including breast reduction surgery to try and make his feminine-looking frame look more masculine. A few thoughts on this: 1. The science conclusively…
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The Nashville “Megachurch” that embraced gay marriage two years ago has cratered
Two years ago TIME magazine highlighted an evangelical “megachurch” whose pastor had led the congregation to affirm gay marriage and to welcome LGBT persons as full members of the church (see the sermon announcement above from two years ago). The story made quite a splash at the time, even though many pointed out that the church wasn’t really a megachurch and could hardly be seen as a bellwether of things to come. Yesterday, the website “Juicy Ecumenism” reported that the church has cratered over the last two years. From the report: A once-large Nashville-area Evangelical congregation that made headlines after its pastor announced that the church would conduct same-sex marriages…
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Pastors, be ready for questions about abortion and homosexuality
The Federalist ran a story yesterday about a certain pastor’s appearance on The View. One of the hosts asked him what his church teaches about homosexuality and abortion. The pastor dodged the question. Another host, Joy Behar, followed up by asking very specifically whether abortion is a sin. Still, the pastor could not bring himself to say that abortion is a sin. Rather, he said that each person has to “live to their own convictions” and that God would be the judge. A few thoughts on this: 1. His answer is not sufficient. As a pastor, you have a responsibility to speak the truth in love, and it is not…
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Woman who lived as a transgender male for nearly a decade shares conversion to Christ
The Baptist Messenger has posted an interview with Laura Perry, a woman who spent nearly a decade living as a transgender male. She describes years of male hormones and a sex change surgery and how she came to faith in Christ. You can watch above, listen below, or download the audio here.
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LSU and Alabama alums in the NFL can’t let go of their college gear
LSU and Alabama are playing tonight. Can the Tigers pull out the win? Well, my head says “no,” but my heart says… well, it says “no” too. I hope I’m wrong, but the analyst in me doesn’t see a way forward in this one. So with that bleak assessment, we can move on to peripheral things. A couple of former players for LSU and Alabama are now teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals–Brandon LaFell and AJ McCarron. And it turns out that they are both still wearing their pads from college. Underneath that sad Cincinnati orange, LaFell is sporting Purple and Gold, and McCarron red and black. Why? They claim they…