Almighty God, On this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, That it may reach to the ends of the earth; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP Read more

Stephen Holmes, on the new book that attempts to defend complementarianism on the basis of eternal [add, functional] subordination. The new book is called One God in Three Persons, ed. Bruce Ware and John Starke. I’ve had more than one theologian friend say this stuff is just getting too close to Arianism and others who say it is re-inventing Trinitarian theology. Kevin Giles has been proving this stuff wrong step by step for years. Male-female relations do not need to be,... Read more

Ed Stetzer: It’s helpful to statistically clarify Christianity in the United States into three categories—cultural, congregational, and convictional. The first two categories are nominal Christians—they identify, but do not shape their lives around the Christian faith. Cultural Christians are the least connected — they call themselves Christian because of heritage or culture. Congregational Christians have some connection to a local church, but rarely attend. On the other hand, convictional Christians call themselves Christians like the other two categories, but they... Read more

What do you think? Source: NFL owners approved the Competition Committee’s proposal on extra points for the 2015 season. The NFL announced the extra point will now be kicked from the 15-yard line with two-point conversions remaining at the 2-yard line. The new rule also gives the defense the ability to score two points on returns. According to the rule change, if the defense returns a blocked extra point or failed two-point try for a touchdown (i.e. on an interception),... Read more

Amy Kittelstrom: I’d want to get the term “individualism” or “autonomy” connected to her concept of “moral agency,” but I found this excerpt provocative and thoughtful and worthy of reading her book. Looking at the historical contribution of New England as an American Reformation instead of an American Renaissance shows that a democratic approach to religion forged the real liberal tradition in America. The American Reformation began as an extended conversation among professing Christians whose basic premises were spare: the... Read more

Yamiche Alcindor: The issue I suspect here is that, as was pointed out long ago, racial quotas suppress successful applicants among Asians. On the basis of merit alone, more than the “quota” would be admitted. Right? A coalition of Asian American groups filed a federal complaint against Harvard University Friday alleging the school engaged in “systemic and continuous discrimination” against Asian Americans during its admissions process. More than 60 Chinese, Indian, Korean and Pakistani groups came together for the complaint, which was... Read more

Earlier this year I heard Dr. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung teach a session about the vice of vainglory. At one point she used the phrase “show offy”and it stuck in my brain. The subtitle for vainglory in her book Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies is “When Image is Everything.”Vainglory tips its hand as a vice with the little term “glory.”DeYoung, following Augustine, defines glory as “goodness made manifest.”For example, Jesus did say, “Let... Read more

Maanvi Singh: When Jeff Brown opened his first grocery store in a low-income neighborhood in Philadelphia back in 2004, it seemed like a long shot. Most people thought he was crazy to even attempt to make money in a food desert like Southwest Philly, he says. Other grocers had tried and quickly gone out of business. But Brown – a fourth generation grocer whose company, Brown’s Super Stores, is part of the larger ShopRite franchise — tried a different approach: “Before... Read more