Last week the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) met in Atlanta, Georgia for its 67th annual meeting. It is the first meeting of the ETS since the Supreme Court declared gay marriage to be a Constitutional right in its landmark decision Obergefell v. Hodges. How does ETS look now that we are inhabiting a post-Obergefell culture? Here are three snapshots that I observed and now pass on to you:
-
-
Some provisional reflections on the refugee situation
In the aftermath of the horror last weekend, a lively discussion has broken-out over the United States’s role in sheltering Syrian refugees. The issue came into focus shortly after the attacks when it was discovered that one of the Paris attackers was carrying a Syrian passport that was used to enter Europe through Greece as a refugee from Syria. The United States has already taken in 1,800 refugees from Syria over the last few years. And President Obama intends to resettle about 10,000 more in the United States in the coming months. Just yesterday morning, President Obama reaffirmed that commitment and upbraided Senator Ted Cruz (though not by name) for…
-
Arise, Lord! Break the arm of the wicked man!
The news from Paris tonight is a horror. If you are struggling for the words to pray in the face of such evil, consider lifting up the words of Psalm 10: 12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. 13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”? 14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer…
-
Interview on “Fire Away!” Podcast about “Transforming Homosexuality”
Here’s an interview with the “Fire Away!” podcast about Transforming Homosexuality.
-
A theological earthquake with evangelicals caught flat-footed
Jonathan Merritt has published an interview that evangelicals would do well to take note of. In this piece for Religion News Service, Merritt talks to Mark Yarhouse and Megan DeFranza about their new books dealing with transgender and intersex respectively. Why is this interview important? The interview highlights two books that represent a massive revision of biblical anthropology. I finished reading Yarhouse’s book about a month ago, and I am reading DeFranza’s book now. And their revisions are not benign. They represent a theological earthquake that for some reason has yet to register on the evangelical Richter Scale. The ideas aren’t new, but I think their mainstreaming within the evangelical…
-
Is Reparative Therapy a Valid Approach?
Reparative therapy has become quite the hot potato in our national conversation about homosexuality. It is a therapy that focuses on orientation change for homosexuals, and many people view it as the Christian approach to homosexuality. But is that true? Right now there are at least two perspectives on this question among conservative evangelicals. Some believe it is a valid aid in discipleship and sanctification. Others do not. Who is right?
-
Want to alienate pro-life voters? Attack a candidate for being “too extreme” in his views on abortion.
The New York Times reports that the Super PAC supporting Governor Jeb Bush is thinking about running ads criticizing Senator Marco Rubio for his views on abortion: In an attempt to blunt Mr. Rubio’s appeal and showcase a potential vulnerability against the Democratic nominee in the general election, Mr. Murphy recently showed some Republicans a video portraying Mr. Rubio as too extreme on abortion. A longtime opponent of abortion rights, Mr. Rubio said in a debate in August that he had “never advocated” laws that would allow abortions, even in cases of rape or incest. In other words, the Bush Super PAC is considering running ads criticizing Rubio for not…
-
Unjustified apoplexy over Ben Carson on “Morning Joe”
Let me begin what I am about to say with a couple caveats. First, I am not a supporter of Ben Carson’s bid for the GOP nomination. Not by a longshot. In fact, I think if he were the nominee, he would set the cause of conservatism back. Second, “Morning Joe” is one of my all-time favorite political programs. I listen to the commentary from Joe, Mika, and the others on a daily basis. It is a part of my daily routine that I really enjoy.
-
Alan Chambers says “sin is irrelevant.” Is he right?
Alan Chambers has given another very troubling interview in which he declares that “sin is irrelevant” for Christians. Chambers is the former head of the now defunct Exodus International—an umbrella organization for a number of different ex-gay ministries that support reparative therapy. In recent years, Chambers has repudiated his former support of reparative therapy and has apologized to the gay community for his former work. Chambers’s remarks in this most recent interview are riddled with biblical and theological error, and I am not going to attempt a comprehensive response. But I do want to comment on two items:
-
World Magazine responds to Ann Coulter’s Accusations
Last week I briefly noted an inflammatory article by Ann Coulter and made note of her failure to treat abortion and marriage as transcendent moral issues: If you don’t know why it matters where a candidate stands on abortion and gay marriage, don’t lecture those who do. https://t.co/xHvNMq8m9d — Denny Burk (@DennyBurk) October 30, 2015