I remember the first time I sought a foreword from John Piper. Doug Sweeney of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and I were writing a five-book series on Jonathan Edwards for Moody Press (The Essential Edwards Collection). Piper was the figure we had at the top of the list, for he had done so much to promote the study of Edwards and his soaring theological scheme with divine glory at the burning heart. In God’s kindness, Piper was able to contribute... Read more
I am excited to share that today marks the release of my brand-new book The Colson Way: Love Your Neighbor and Live with Faith in a Hostile World (Thomas Nelson). Here is the specially-created webpage for the book, too, with a free chapter to read and more. The Colson Way is my humble attempt to call the church to a fresh season of gospel engagement with the secular public square. I tell the cinematic story of Chuck Colson’s life–from rise to fall to... Read more
Brandon Ambrosino, a “gay Christian,” just suggested that Jesus was wrong about homosexuality. The title of his essay is “The Best Christian Argument for Marriage Equality Is That the Bible Got It Wrong.” In the blog, Ambrosino–a former Liberty University student who made waves by “coming out” while there–argues that Jesus had to get things wrong during his earthly life to be fully, and meaningfully, human. This is a standard-issue theology question. Ambrosino, a good writer, nonetheless makes a common... Read more
Hannah Arendt famously described Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann by using the phrase “the banality of evil.” The man did not loom over his onlookers at his trial; he did not suggest by his carriage, his posture, that he was capable of preposterous acts of evil, and in fact had done them. He seemed like an ordinary person, so much so that one struggled to pay him mind. Mary Gatter, a Planned Parenthood medical director in Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley... Read more
I wrote a piece for The Stream this week that engaged a stunning TIME article from New York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer is a respected journalist who leans left but broke new ground by calling in his essay for the abolition of tax-exempt status for churches (and other non-profits). After the piece caught some fire from conservatives, Oppenheimer protested that he wasn’t going after churches in particular. But a quick search of Twitter showed that he did indeed have churches, and indeed Christians, in his sights:... Read more
Same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states, per the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. What should Christians think and do in response? 1. We should recognize that this is a dark hour for America. This development has not occurred in a vacuum. It is the realization of many decades of cultural decline. Our country’s identity has symbolically shifted from a Judeo-Christian nation to a neo-pagan one. 2. The Enlightenment has presently overwhelmed the Great Awakening. We have embraced a... Read more
As of July 1, 2015, I am joining the faculty of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I will be Associate Professor of Christian Theology at the seminary and Director of the Center on Theology and Culture (more on this to come). My work as CBMW President will continue in full as we drive the organization onward. Why am I joining MBTS? Four reasons. 1. I love the vision of the school. The slogan of Midwestern is “For the Church,” which I... Read more
The word “transgender” has now mainstreamed in America. Two recent stories fitting this trend caught my eye and occasioned comment. First, Bruce Jenner has announced that he is a woman. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, he said as much: “Are you a woman?” Sawyer asked. “Yes, for all intents and purposes, I am a woman,” Jenner replied. …“I built a nice little life. Again, Bruce lives a lie. She is not a lie. I can’t do it anymore.” Second,... Read more
As you’ll see in my just-published article (here is the HTML, and the PDF) in the brand-new, newly-redesigned Spring 2015 Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, John Calvin offers piercing commentary on what is called “internal temptation.” Calvin’s illuminating remarks have not yet been referenced in the vigorous debate over whether same-sex attraction occasions repentance or not. (Get all the new JBMW content free right here.) To be clear, Calvin does not address SSA directly. But his comments on James 1 help us... Read more
The New York Times just published one of the more rough-handed pieces we’ve yet seen regarding “gay Christianity.” In “Bigotry, the Bible and the Lessons of Indiana,” opinion writer Frank Bruni takes the gloves off and seeks to bully Christians into caving on homosexuality. The column is frank, direct, and brutalizing. Let’s consider five takeaways from this striking article. 1. Here’s what Bruni believes opposition to “gay Christianity” is based in: raw prejudice. He says as much: But in the end, the continued view... Read more
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