Meet the musical Kellys! By Dahleen Glanton: The family’s morning routine begins at 5 a.m. in a vacant lot across the street. Dressed in T-shirts and shorts, the children line up for a CrossFit exercise session, using kettle bells, old tires and ropes. Their father sits on a wooden box nearby, making sure that everyone takes a turn. They are back by 6 a.m. for music practice. The family gathers downstairs for a spiritual devotional at 7 a.m., followed by... Read more
I agree: if you are employed by the Federal or State Government, you are obligated to its ways and laws. The same could apply to ministers who act as civil authorities in marriage. Jonathan H. Adler: Davis has a right to observe and adhere to her religious beliefs, but she does not have a right to her job as county clerk. The latter obligates her to follow federal law, including the applicable judgments of federal courts, and it is now... Read more
Meet thelō (Greek θέλω) because he’s an interesting fellow. But don’t think for a minute that he is a mellow fellow. He’s hot, pulsating with energy. We meet thelōin Mark 1:41 thanks to Jesus. Thelō shows up in a culturally explosive episode where a living dead man, a walking corpse races to Jesus, falls down pleading for Jesus to heal him of his skin disease (Mark 1:40-45). A deplorable disease where the skin peels and falls off. Jewish law required that lepers... Read more
The mother of orthodoxy, says Roger Olson in his book Counterfeit Christianity: The Persistence of Errors in the Church, is heresy in that it was often a heresy (or a suspicious idea at the time) that provoked Christian theologians to explain what was truly orthodox. Let us then say that it worked like this, which is a little more nuanced and a sketch Olson would no doubt approve: First, the story that comes to completion in Jesus and his death... Read more
From Wired: Read more
From NPR: Fifteen years ago, Peoples Church in Cincinnati was called First Christian Assembly of God and was 98 percent white. After the riots of 2001, Pastor Chris Beard decided to take the church in a new direction. He drafted a mission statement and said the church would focus on racial reconciliation. Ed Weithe, who is white, has attended Peoples Church for more than 20 years. “I know pastor Chris felt like he had a vision from God for our... Read more
Recently ICR posted the picture to the right on their Facebook page (HT JD). Although the claim that half of Jesus’s references were to Genesis is unsupportable (see below), the idea that we must take a literal (i.e. young earth) approach to Genesis because Jesus took this approach comes up relatively often. In fact, the most popular post I’ve written (by far the most views, and continuing to pick up many more every month) is Jesus on Adam and Eve.... Read more
More than 33,000 Americans have been shot already in 2015. More than 8500 have died from these gunshots. [Source] This week the horrific murdering of Alison Parker and Adam Ward gained all the attention, or I should say, the murder of Alison Parker gained the attention. During August 40 Chicagoans have been shot and killed; about 270 have been shot and wounded. Chicago has the strongest gun laws in the nation and those laws seem to have little slowing-down impact.... Read more
By Derek Penwell: Why, this author is asking, is Donald Trump attractive to the Evangelical Right? That question is not only a good one, and this analysis reasonable, but an answer to that question lays bare much of what goes on evangelical political rhetoric and aspirations. It’s baffling. The incongruity of Trump’s appeal to evangelicals prompted New York Times columnist, Frank Bruni, to wonder in astonishment, “I must not be watching the same campaign that his evangelical fans are, because I don’t see... Read more
When I first meet people and they find out that I am a preacher, the statement I get more than any other is “I like Jesus but not the Church.” It is such a common-sense idea that it is hardly challenged these days. Instead, what we do is try to defend the church. As in “Sure, we are a community of sinners, imperfect people who have done a lot of bad in human history, but we have also done a... Read more
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