The President at the Prayer Breakfast
Theological honesty further demands that we acknowledge the vast difference between a theological system centered in Jesus Christ, who told Peter to put away his sword, and one that takes as its central example Mohammed, whose status as a mighty warrior is an issue of enduring Muslim pride. The strategic fact of our current times is that the terrorism feared by the West is deeply rooted in a theological worldview, and that worldview is Islam.
The Dangerous Explosion of Celebrity Pastoring
Popularity. Celebrity Pastoring. Whatever you want to call it, it is a real danger. And I’m convinced it can be a danger to pastors who even preach in relatively small churches. You don’t have to be popular on a national scale to think of yourself as popular.
Five Tests of Genuine Faith
What are my feelings and habits regarding the “means of grace”? i.e. church attendance, fellowship, private devotional life. Do you find worshipping with other Christians on Sunday to be a mere duty and drudgery or is it a true delight and refreshment to your soul? Do you look forward to partaking in the Lord’s Supper? Are these things you couldn’t stand to live without or do you have an attitude that you could take it or leave it?
Why Do You Hate Me So Much?
The truth is that many in the world, especially the elites, would far prefer to be surrounded with homosexuals, thieves, polygamists, criminals, and every false religionist under the sun, than to spend time with a holy Christian. The former make them feel good about themselves, the Christian makes them feel guilty.” The Christian must be destroyed.
Yeah, Well, But What About the Crusades?
We should also resist the temptation to blame present day Muslim extremism on the Crusades. This is not to say that the Crusades don’t loom large in the Islamic consciousness. It is to say that this was not always the case. The Crusades were always a big deal in the Christian West, but for Muslims, as late as the seventeenth century, it was just another futile attempt by the infidels to halt the inevitable expansion of Islam. From the time of the Prophet Mohammed through the Reformation, Muslims conquered three-fourths of Christian lands. Once the Muslims united under Saladin, the crusaders, themselves divided, were no match for the armies of Islam.
New Research on Same-Sex Households Reveals Kids Do Best With Mom and Dad
You can make the children of same-sex households appear to fare fine (if not better), on average, if you control for a series of documented factors more apt to plague same-sex relationships and households: relationship instability, residential instability, health and emotional challenges, greater economic struggle (among female couples), and—perhaps most significantly—the lack of two biological connections to the child. If you control for these, you will indeed find “no differences” left over. Doing this gives the impression that “the kids are fine” at a time when it is politically expedient to do so.
How Do You Know the Scriptures are from God?
Tatian, the impressive intellect that he was, was not persuaded by historical evidence nor from the testimony of the church (though, as noted above, both are legitimate when appropriately utilized), but by the internal qualities of the Scriptures themselves. There was something about the Scriptures that came alive to him. How did he discern this? As he indicates, “my soul being taught of God.” Presumably this is a reference to the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Coming New Normal
Bivocational pastoring will be the new normal for churches of, say, 200 members of less. The cost of salaries, benefits and pensions is such that it will be very hard for such churches to cover all those in addition to the routine expenses which being a church entails. Add to that the student debt incurred by those who wish to be trained in a manner that reflects the Presbyterian ideal of a learned ministry and the situation is even more pressing. This all means that bivocational pastoring will become more common, if not standard, in the next decade.
Polyamory Activist Hijacks “Third Way” Pastor’s Sexuality Logic
Hood applied consistent logic, and against that reasoning, Cortez visibly pulled back during the interview because he no longer holds a foundation in traditional Christian teaching. His compromise on same-sex relationships has left him with nothing more than moral relativism that could not stand the testing of Hood’s reasoning, much less orthodoxy.
Houston Mayor: Pastors Committed Fraud, Forgery
“What the plaintiffs fail to acknowledge, and they do it deliberately, is that we didn’t take an existing ordinance and shoehorn sexual orientation and gender identity in it,” she said. “We wrote a from scratch comprehensive ordinance that covers a range of protected classes. Their focus is we want to take sexual orientation and gender identity out because we want the ability—and they said this overtly and multiple times in the council chambers—we want the ability to discriminate particularly on the basis of gender identity. Well, again, I don’t think that’s right and I don’t think that’s appropriate.”
The Crisis of the American Church
by Bill Muehlenberg
I hate to say it, but it grieves me greatly whenever I start thinking about the state of Christianity in America. Every time I hear about what is happening there, it makes me groan within. I sometimes wonder if America is now a lost cause.
America – once the greatest nation in the world – is now so appallingly bad in so many ways, that it hurts simply to think about this once great nation. And guess who is primarily the fault of this? Yep, the church. Christians by and large are responsible for the horrible mess the country is in.
Theology Unplugged: Is all Lying Sinful?
by Carrie Hunter
Join Michael Patton, Tim Kimberley, J.J. Seid and Sam Storms as they discuss if all lying is sinful
Fifty Shades of Grey and Christian Women
How many shades of ‘grey’ are there? Well, when it comes to professing Christian women and the bestselling book, soon-to-be-movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, the various shades between black and white seem to be abundant. Landon Chapman of Entreating Favor has conducted a survey where he asked professing Christian women to offer their thoughts on reading Fifty Shades and seeing the movie.
Does Erotica Help . . . Or Hurt?
by Paula Hendricks | 2/10/15
Dear Single,
So you don’t have the love (and sex!) you want.
Does that mean that erotica is a good outlet for your sexual frustration? Before I answer that, let me tell you how I define erotica.
Erotica is art, literature, or movies intended to arouse sexual desire. It doesn’t have to be a harlequin romance novel or an X-rated movie to count.
I can hear you protesting, But when I read a book or watch a movie, I’m not actually having sex myself. So isn’t that the lesser of two evils?
This Valentine’s Day, the world offers you a solution: You don’t have to have sex yourself; you can watch someone else have sex, or you can read all the steamy details through erotica like Fifty Shades of Grey.
While that might initially sound better than having sex yourself, don’t believe for a minute that erotica has any place in a genuinely born-again believer’s life.
A Theology for “Fifty Shades of Grey” – Church & Culture Blog
Millions will mark this Valentine’s Day weekend by taking in the new release of Fifty Shades of Grey, a modern-day publishing phenomenon that became the basis for the highly anticipated movie adaptation.
Written by E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey tells the story of literature student Anastasia Steele and her sexual encounters with the young entrepreneur Christian Grey. Dubbed by many as “mommy porn” because of its escapist appeal to working mothers and suburban housewives, sexual practices such as bondage, domination, sadism and masochism are featured throughout. It’s even listed as erotic literature on the book cover.
The movie will, no doubt, follow suit.
And yes, I’ve read it. I even did a three-week teaching series on it, which you can listen to here. It’s one of the most salacious books I’ve ever read. I believe there can be, and even should be, a place for sex in literature – and certainly when it’s key to the story.
But Fifty Shades of Grey is just one sex scene after another, almost as if the point is to glamorize and promote bondage, domination, sadism and masochism. Sorry, but in terms from an earlier age, it’s just a dirty book.
But sex isn’t dirty.
What Obama Doesn’t Seem to Get about the Crusades
Alex Crain
Instead of flatly condemning terrorism and leaving it at that, President Obama chose to lecture Christians not to “get on our high horse.” But are Christians today obligated to answer for the Crusades? If so, what were they? Were the Crusades the same as the terrorist actions of today?
A Theology for “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Dr. James Emery White
Millions will mark this Valentine’s Day weekend by taking in the new release of “Fifty Shades of Grey” …a.k.a. “mommy porn.” Sex is a beautiful, wonderful thing. But sex is very much like a fire. In the proper place and setting it is beautiful, but not so much when it gets outside of the fireplace.
How (and Where) Did Judas Really Die?
J. Warner Wallace
There is no contradiction in Matthew and Luke’s account. They describe the same morbid scene, giving us consistent details we can reassemble to recreate the scene.
Difficult People
Ann Spangler
Who do you find it hard to like, difficult to tolerate, impossible to forgive? Try a little experiment. Decide you will pray for that person every day for the next twenty-one days. You may be surprised what your heart discovers.
5 Ways to Pray for Your Daughters
Tim Challies
One of my most common prayers for my girls is a prayer for their protection. Here are 5 ways that I pray for God to protect them.
Here’s Why “Baptist” Isn’t on My Church Sign
Joe Thorn
The “Baptist” name isn’t hidden in the fine print of our church documents, but it’s not on the sign out front either. Here’s why…
4 Ways False Teachers May Indirectly Help the Church
David Murray
I don’t advocate studying what false prophets teach. That would be a foolish waste of time for most, and a dangerous path for many. However, we can still learn important lessons.
God in the Dock…Again
Dr. James Emery White
Once again someone has taken a shot at God’s character in an attempt to disprove His existence, and once again in so doing they have completely misjudged (by misreading) history.
75+ Online Resources on Disability & Special Needs
Here are a number of articles on disability and special needs I’ve collected over the last several years.
Let’s start our focus on disability with a couple of series from parents with special needs children.
Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Biblical Response (Part 4 – Conclusion)
Read the rest of our series here:
PART 2 Christians and Conspiracy Theories (Madonna, the 2015 Grammys)
PART 3 Dr. Randy White Discusses Christians and Conspiracy Theories
We understand that there are conspiracy theory ministries who are doing what they think is right, and that, for them, that involves decoding conspiracies and showing Christians that symbols are spiritually compromising them and indoctrinating their children into evil.
We are equally passionately about our position, which we believe is the biblical one. We believe we fight this spiritual battle first and foremost by contending for truth (Jude 1:3) and by contending against arguments and vain speculations raised up in opposition to the Lord.
We also believe it is important to warn Christians against putting undue focus on things we’re not commanded to.
Words of Comfort: God knows.
Dumb Maxim: “No one knows!” God does (see 1 John 3:20). Nothing is hidden from His omniscience. He sees your thoughts, your intentions, your imaginations, and He even sees darkness as though it was pure light (see Psalm 139). Every time you sin, you store up His wrath (see John 3:36). That’s why you need the Savior. He can wash away your sins in a moment of time.
If you would like to avoid Hell and be granted the gift of everlasting life, see http://www.needGod.com for details.
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