It’s no secret that in upwardly mobile America, Down syndrome babies are among the least wanted children. Down syndrome babies will be termed things like “at-risk” by the medical community and are in serious danger of termination for several reasons. It is true that children with this condition will have different challenges than some of their peers. But here’s what’s remarkable: these are the children who so consistently seem to have so much to give to the rest of us.... Read more
Mars Hill Church just published a moving testimony by a Seattle woman named Holly Webster. Holly shares in her essay how she had two abortions early in life and felt continual shame for her sin. What was it that loosed her, as she remembers it? It was confession of sin. Holly explains her gospel epiphany: I was terrified. I did not want to face what he was leading me to face: sharing with my community that I had had two... Read more
Christianity Today just joined the public conversation about Messiah College Old Testament professor Eric Seibert’s blog post on Pete Enns’s blog. Seibert, you will recall, indicated that the Bible has “immoral,” “objectionable,” “unsavory,” and “downright unhealthy” content. The title of the blog post says it all: “When the Good Book is Bad.” Let’s be very clear: you can’t attack Scripture in much stronger terms than this. This is not claiming that there are “hard verses” in the Bible; this is... Read more
I just wrote an essay for Baptist Press on the recently released “Queen James Bible,” whose editors (an insufficient term, in this case) argue that the Bible is “homophobic.” I responded to this charge and gave some thoughts on how to conceive of the Bible’s response to homosexual practice. Here’s a bit: But what about the central charge against the Bible in this document? Does Scripture condone “homophobia?” No, it does not. God’s Word issues threats of judgment and promises of grace... Read more
I just published an essay entitled “A Tale of Two Americas” over at the American Spectator on the 2013 Super Bowl commercials. I make the point that the ads reveal the cultural divide in America, or the “two Americas.” There’s Calvin Klein America, which is sexually obsessed and selfishly motivated, as seen in a ridiculous CK advertisement. Then there’s Paul Harvey America, personally virtuous and sacrificially minded, as seen in a spellbinding Dodge RAM commercial. This point got a strong... Read more
I really like Tim Dalrymple. The dude is sharp, and he’s on the good guys’ side. He’s also forward-thinking. He’s just reopened the conversation in which I participated a little while back on whether evangelicals, in light of shifting cultural opinion on marriage, should make some kind of cultural bargain to legitimize gay marriage as an institution while trying to protect our right to disagree with it theologically. My interaction with Tim led to an experience on the Hugh Hewitt... Read more
Sometimes you read a story that seems scripted by a sentimental Hollywood writer. As ESPN’s Rick Reilly makes clear, Colin Kaepernick’s life story fits this mold. Kaepernick’s mother, Heidi Russo, was in a rough situation when she gave birth to little Colin. She nursed him for over a month until she found a couple who could adopt him. They turned out to be an evangelical couple who raised Colin in a Lutheran church and trained him to know the Lord.... Read more
A Messiah College Old Testament professor named Eric Siebert just posted a shocking piece on Pete Enns’s blog. It’s entitled “When the Good Book is Bad: Challenging the Bible’s Violent Portrayals of God.” You should read it. If you love the Lord and his Word, it will take your breath away. You don’t need me to say this, though. Here are a couple of quotations that show just how far this piece is from an evangelical, or even orthodox, conception... Read more
If you’ve never heard of Mez McConnell, his testimony in this video will bless you. It shows that God’s gospel is unstoppable. McConnell was a child from a broken home who was living a hopeless, dissolute, desperate life when the Lord got ahold of him in a Scottish prison. You almost could not script a more difficult life than McConnell’s. He was the kind of person we see as believers, and we think, They are far from the kingdom. I... Read more
The Gospel Coalition just released a couple of videos I did with Tom Schreiner and Jonathan Pennington for its 2013 national conference. We discussed, among other topics, reasons to study the Gospel of Luke. Here’s the info from TGC: You can get up to six hours of course credit through Southern Seminary if you take classes at the conference with Schreiner and Pennington. Here’s info from TGC:: Why Luke as our text for The Gospel Coalition 2013 National Conference? It’s a... Read more
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