On his most recent Christmas album, Steven Curtis Chapman has a song about returning to his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky for Christmas. But this song is not sappy nostalgia along the lines of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” or “Tennessee Christmas.” Christmas is not parochial and narrow. It’s about what God has done and is doing in the whole world. And for the whole world. As Chapman puts it, “Everywhere it’s Christmas.” In the video above, you can hear the song in its entirety as well as read the lyrics. I recommend that you do both. If you haven’t bought this album since I last wrote about it, I still highly…
-
-
When “fake news” comes from both right and left
Albert Mohler has a really thoughtful commentary on “fake news” today. He is in large part responding to Sarah Pulliam Bailey’s piece at The Washington Post on the same subject. Bailey is lamenting the fact that too many evangelicals have too much credulity toward “fake news” and too much incredulity toward real news delivered according to real standards of journalism. Mohler is sympathetic with Pulliam Bailey on this point. He agrees that there really is a qualitative difference between mainstream outlets and other “news” sources that have no editorial accountability. But Mohler also raises the very real problem that mainstream outlets have with detecting their own ideological bias, which sometimes…
-
Is the new head of the EPA a “climate change denialist”?
I know that climate change policy is highly controversial with ideological interests driving both sides of the debate. It is extremely frustrating, therefore, when news reports depart from “straight” reporting and delve into advocacy for one side or the other. I think we’ve already seen some of that in some of the reporting on Scott Pruitt’s recent nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).* Earlier today, I heard the personalities on “Morning Joe” discussing Pruitt’s nomination and expressing fears that Pruitt denies the reality of global climate change—the implication being that conservatives are “science deniers,” etc. Their discussion seemed to be based on The New York Times’s coverage, which…
-
The man who sings funny “O Holy Night” revealed!
Many of you will be familiar with the hilarious internet meme that comes around every Christmas involving a truly horrid rendition of “O Holy Night.” I have posted the song on this site in the past. If somehow you haven’t managed to hear it yet, here’s your chance: – For years, this piece of Christmas candy has floated around the internet without attribution or provenance. Nobody knew where it came from, although there were some pretenders who took credit for it.
-
Charles Ryrie’s rare Bible collection sells for $7.3 million dollars at Sotheby’s auction
When Dr. Charles Ryrie passed away earlier this year, I mentioned that he had owned a vast collection of rare Bibles, including an assortment of ancient Greek manuscripts. Dr. Ryrie had invested significant resources in amassing his private collection. For example, one of the Bibles that I once saw in person was a first edition King James Bible published in 1611. This particular edition is one of only nine copies in the world. Dr. Ryrie purchased this Bible at an auction where he outbid the University of Texas Library to obtain it. Like I said, significant resources. Dan Wallace has just written that Ryrie’s collection was sold at auction this…
-
Ten Reasons You Should Not Indulge in “Solo Sex”
Many Christians are confused about what the Bible says (if anything) about masturbation. Is it always a sin? Or is it sometimes morally acceptable? In my book on sexual ethics, I survey the landscape in this way: Dennis Hollinger relates the following statistic in his book on sexual ethics: “90 percent of adolescent boys masturbate; the other 10 percent are liars.” Hollinger delivers this factoid tongue-in-cheek, but his point is well-taken. This kind of activity is in fact ubiquitous among the male population, and not just among adolescents. Surveys indicate that over 60% of males ages 18-59 have masturbated in the last 90 days. Male solo sex rates are highest—at…
-
Seven Reasons You Should Not Indulge in Pornography
Andy Naselli has a really helpful article in the new issue of Themelios titled “Seven Reasons You Should Not Indulge in Pornography.” Naselli explains why he writes: My burden in this article is to motivate you not to indulge in pornography. I am particularly burdened to motivate people who habitually indulge in pornography and who are not killing their sin of lust. If that describes you, then this article is a way of metaphorically taking you firmly by the shoulders, looking you directly in the eyes, and soberly warning you, “Wake up! Do you realize what the consequences are for indulging in pornography?!” Here are the seven reasons: It will…
-
Does the congregation have a role in “appointing” elders?
There are many evangelical churches who view their elders as a self-appointing, self-perpetuating leadership body in the church. They do not view the congregation as having much of a role in the selection and ordination of pastors. For them, congregational votes and involvement in the process are American cultural artifacts read into the biblical text, not norms emerging from the witness of scripture. One of the texts often cited as evidence for this view is Titus 1:5, a text in which the apostle Paul gives some very specific instructions to the lead pastor in Crete—Titus. It says this: 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you…
-
Our Advent Calendar Tradition
Like many of you, my wife and I are trying to cultivate Christ-centered traditions in our household. And that is no less true during the Christmas season. I thought I would share one thing that we do that some of you readers might wish to incorporate into your family traditions—an advent calendar. We like the advent calendars because they are about advent—the first coming of Christ in fulfillment of God’s promises. Advent calendars are a way to mark every day of the Christmas season with that singular focus. In our house, the tradition is very simple. Beginning on December 1, we read a daily verse of scripture pertaining to advent…
-
Chip and Joanna Gaines Must Be Stopped
Is there a nicer, more winsome couple on television than Chip and Joanna Gaines? Probably not. But guess what. They go to an evangelical church that believes marriage to be the union of one man and one woman. Therefore, they must be stopped… or at least that seems to be the view of the Pharisees at BuzzFeed.