This week the Church of England decided that women could not only be priests but also bishops. The Church of Uganda has supported this decision, as seen here: Stanley Ntagali The Primate of Uganda, the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, Archbishop of Kampala, has released a statement welcoming Monday’s vote by the General Synod of the Church of England to allow for the appointment of women bishops. A statement given to Anglican Ink during a break in the Ugandan House of Bishops... Read more
Our week in Oxford included a number of connections to CS Lewis, including a fine talk by Alister McGrath who quoted (as he is wont to do) Lewis a number of times. But the highlight was a stroll Kris and I took on the grounds of Magdalen College on Addison’s trail, where Tolkien and Dyson convinced Lewis of the truth of Christianity. Cody C. Delistraty, on the importance of eating together: Sadly, Americans rarely eat together anymore. In fact, the... Read more
I am grateful the Vatican has chosen a General Assembly to expound a Christian theology of family in the context of evangelism. I have clipped the opening paragraph to the document (only a working paper called Instrumentum laboris) and then the outline. The Catholic Church’s document on social work remains the finest study ever, and I suspect next year’s General Assembly findings will be a monumental achievement. What would it take to get a Protestant version of such an endeavor? On 8 October... Read more
From First Things, an interview with W. Bradford Wilcox: What can churches do to bridge the growing class divide in American family life? My argument to the bishops was three-fold. I suggested that 1) Churches need to be a voice for economic justice for lower-income families by, for instance, advocating for more generous child and earned-income tax credits, as well as for the elimination of the marriage penalties embedded in many of our public policies directed towards lower-income families. Policy... Read more
Love Your Enemies “To love enemies breaks through the self barrier into divine space,” writes Scot McKnight in his SGBC: Sermon on the Mount (144). We have come to the last pericope in Matthew 5: verses 43-48 titled in the NIV “Love for Enemies.” Jesus steps into the “love your neighbor/hate your enemy” Jewish world with “a radical hermeneutical guide for proper observance of Torah: Love God and love others” (139-140); what Scot calls and has written about The Jesus... Read more
The “he” section of Psalm 119 (vv. 33-40) notably puts the psalmist in the posture of learning. The verbs are so clear in this psalm: Teach me (v. 33) Give me understanding (v. 34) Direct me (v. 35) Turn my heart (v. 36) Turn my eyes (v. 37) Like the posture of Mary before Jesus, who sat at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10:38-42), I wonder what our posture is when we sit before the Living Word — and the written word? Do we... Read more
Source: Over the past decade, more and more children are being coded as having attention issues and possibly ADHD. A local elementary teacher tells me that at least eight of her twenty-two students have trouble paying attention on a good day. At the same time, children are expected to sit for longer periods of time. In fact, even kindergarteners are being asked to sit for thirty minutes during circle time at some schools. The problem: children are constantly in an upright position... Read more
Source: In some places, towns essentially shut down in the afternoon while everyone goes home for a siesta. Unfortunately, in the U.S.—more bound to our corporate lifestyles than our health—a mid-day nap is seen as a luxury and, in some cases, a sign of pure laziness. But before you feel guilty about that weekend snooze or falling asleep during a movie, rest assured that napping is actually good for you and a completely natural phenomena in the circadian (sleep-wake cycle) rhythm.... Read more
In the final major essay in Four Views on the Historical Adam William Barrick argued for a traditional young earth view of Adam as the unique, supernaturally created, seminal father of all humankind. His view was outlined in the previous post on the book: The Historicity of Adam is a Gospel Issue. In this post we will look at the responses offered by Denis Lamoureux, John Walton, and Jack Collins as well as William Barrick’s rejoinder to their comments. Denis... Read more
At times the psalmist of 119 expresses his pain. In v. 25 he asserts that his soul clings to the dust. In vs. 28 he claims that he is “racked with grief.” Of course, we don’t know why he says these things. Is this a prayer after falling into sin? Is he opposed? What has happened to him? Is “he” a “him” or not? (Probably so.) I envision the psalmist prostrate on the ground. Somehow this person has been humiliated.... Read more
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