Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney's comments disparaging the "47 percent" stand in stark contrast to King Benjamin's sermon in the Book of Mormon. One of them said that lazy poor people can never be convinced to "take personal responsibility and care for their lives." The other one said that anyone who talks like that "hath no interest in the kingdom of God." Read more
To understand who Jesus was and who Jesus declared himself to be, we can have no clearer signal than the very first sermon he gave, in which Jesus established the priorities of his ministry. Jesus Christ had the chance to pick just one passage of scripture to proclaim as his manifesto. What he chose -- and what he did NOT choose -- says a lot about his priorities. Read more
ChurchRelevance has once again updated its widely read list of the "Top 200 Church Blogs." It's still not clear what that category of "church blogs" means, exactly, but it's nice to see some of my favorites getting some recognition. On the other hand, the list's confusing criteria also left out many of my favorites. So here's my list of nominees for the next update -- 25 great Christian blogs that really deserve a place on any such list. Read more
Lots o' links: On Rick Perry's "Christian warriors;" dubious clinical studies; Christian lies emergency contraception and loving fathers; why evangelicalism is "a subculture striving to be a counterculture;" and one anti-gay pastor's reflections on the strange inner stirrings he feels whenever he sees two men together. Read more
A local church goes tribal in reaction to an atheist billboard. Here's what their failed attempt at a snappy comeback tells us about the difference between serving God and scoring points for Team God. And that verse -- "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God'" -- really needs to be read in the context of the whole chapter, because Psalm 14 isn't about God being offended by atheist billboards. Read more
Nehemiah 5:9-11: So I said, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this taking of interest. Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them." Read more
Ezra Klein on why poor people are more responsible than the wealthy; Leah Libresco on Jen McCreight and women bloggers; Sarah Moon on why Mark Driscoll doesn't like Esther; and Craig M. Watts on how the religious right gets covetousness backwards. Read more
“Middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less.” “The census data that just came out show that the median household income — the amount at the 50th percentile — was about $50K last year.” “Blessed are those who, in moments of moral integrity, defy this cynical list of political beatitudes and act from a sense of authentic justice, compassion, or moral purpose — for although they might not get reelected, they may actually find true fulfillment in the lives they... Read more
Here’s a delightfully odd Bob Dylan song: I’ve been thinking about that one lately as I’ve tried to give names to all the animals who dwell in or visit my little patch of Chester County — such as the pickerel frogs like the one pictured here. That photo is by Wayne Fidler, from the Pennsylvania Herp identification site — a terrific resource. (I found my way there while failing in a long-shot attempt to identify a tiny snake who also... Read more
Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist, pp. 63-65 Nicolae Carpathia is flying from Dallas to San Francisco, casually giving orders for the nuclear destruction of dozens of cities and the death of millions of people. And neither Rayford nor Amanda Steele bothers trying to stop him. I blame Bruce Barnes for that. For more than a year he had the members of the Tribulation Force studying the book of Revelation. That gave them the schedule for the months ahead, but didn’t... Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In