Contents
Another Country Heard From
Have you figured out that (fake) Jews control the USA yet? That they are ethnically cleansing Palestinians (the REAL Semites)?
Or are you still living in Boomerville, telling your WWII fables? If so, I can point you to literature that will enlighten your rapidly extinct views.
You need to publicly repent for advocating for the murder of the Palestinian people.
Repent and believe the Gospel. Show a little humility; it will help your downward spiral into irrelevance.A servant of Jesus
Dear servant of Jesus, I am very sorry that we differ over whether Jews are running everything. But at least we can take a little bit of comfort in the fact that we agree that a Jew does.
Universal Health Care
On “The Grace of Wrong Answers, Marked with a Red Pen”: I am with you on your arguments here—and can think of other arguments besides why Universal Healthcare becomes unbiblical—but I wish to probe an aspect of the reasoning you have put forth. If technological improvements drastically lower the cost of a good or service, would it then become biblical for government to provide it, if they can do so at a less than 10% taxation rate?Ian
Ian, the main thing that occurs to me is that if technology made health care much more inexpensive, that would remove one of the main arguments that people have for why government involvement is necessary. But it would also provide more examples of the homeless guy and medical incident scenario that I mentioned.
Back to socialized medicine. How then should expensive operation be handled, especially for the poor. This isn’t just one or two people, Organ replacements, knee replacements, physical therapy. A lifetime bill of tens of thousands is just debt slavery.Zeph
Zeph, I believe that things like that should be handled by private philanthropy.
RE: The Grace of Wrong Answers, Marked with a Red Pen
Greetings! There’s something I’ve been wondering about in terms of Biblical application on this subject. When it comes to the government providing positive benefits to the governed, do you see a place for government-run welfare/support? If not, how would you apply Lev 23:22: “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.” My thought would be that this seems to be a tax directed at the more well-off (landowners) in support of the poor, and as a law it would be enforced by the government.
Thank you for all you do.
Good cheer,Joe
Joe, not all of the Mosaic laws had a mechanism of enforcement. I don’t believe that there was a gleanings inspector who went around checking what was left for the poor. Thus, I think that a law like that identified churlish behavior by a landowner as a sin, but not a crime.
The Creeds
I hope you’re doing well. I’m curious, I recently heard somewhere that some have proposed placing some of the creeds, like the Apostles or Nicene, into our foundational documents, along with the Ten Commandments. I know right now that would seem an implausible idea, but what are your thoughts of perhaps including those creedal documents within our founding documents and important documents in the future?O.N.
O.N. I agree with something like that, although I think they should be incorporated by reference. I also agree that now is not the moment, but something like that should be the long term goal.
Books on Church Leadership
I hope this message finds you well. I’ve been greatly encouraged by Doug Wilson’s ministry online and his thoughts on church leadership, and I’m currently seeking to grow in my understanding of church leadership, visionary leadership, and church management.
I’d be truly grateful if you could share a few of Pastor Wilson’s favourite or most influential books on these subjects. His recommendations would mean a lot as I seek to develop in these areas.
Thank you for your time, and may God continue to bless your work for His Kingdom.
Because of Calvary,Bryan
Bryan, I am not sure these would be in the areas you have in mind, but I would start with A Primer on Worship and Reformation, Biblical Eldership, and I Will Build My Church.
Not That I Know Of
How should Christian lawyers approach being assigned to a divorce case involving unbelievers?
Any resources to help Christian lawyers?
Thank you!Sarah
Sarah, I honestly don’t know. Any lawyers out there who do know?
A Late Voice on Head Covering
RE: Your headcovering response
I should stop, but I can’t resist. Don’t you know that the male of every species is more beautiful than the female? Consider the lion’s mane, but the lioness is plain. The Mallard pimped out but their females are plain. Cardinals and roosters have a little extra to show. The stag and the mountain goat with their antlers and horns. and the male Peacock—GLORY!!—but the pea hen is plain. Clearly our human perception is warped by our interest in the opposite sex!
So anyway, if the woman is “the glory of the glory” as you say (which Paul could have used, but didn’t—and which inverts meaning of the words he did actually use, unless the glory of man is greater than that of God) then I suppose that makes a woman’s hair “the glory of the glory of the glory”—a triple superlative! . . . Nah.
I’ll stop now. Thanks for putting up.Craig
Craig, thanks for your perspective, and it is worth thinking about. But what do the people at work think of your Shriner’s hat?
I think this will be my last question on head coverings. I do agree with you that the syntax of the 1 Corinthians 11 passage could fully allow for long hair being an adequate covering for women and short hair the appropriate lack of covering for men. However, why do you think the Church has globally been so uniform in following the practice of artificial head coverings up to the last 100 years?
Clearly feminism was a sinfully rebellious pressure on the practice. And are we more free now because our culture was given over to depravity, which cleared the way? That doesn’t sit right. My other thought is that availability and affordability of hair hygiene was the technology that allowed for the lawful foregoing of the practice.
How do you deal with the 1900 years of overall uniformity in practice of the headship principle?Stephen
Stephen, I don’t think the uniformity was as universal as is often claimed, but I do agree that it was widespread. I believe that it is instinctive and natural for women to do something, which they often did. And Scripture testifies to the presence of that natural impulse.
Re: 21 Theses on Head Coverings for Women
Thank you for addressing this question! A friend messaged me maybe 6 months ago saying her pastor told the congregation on Sunday School that he believed head coverings were required. Both she and her husband were skeptical. Thank you for providing the cultural context!
Here’s a recording of the message, if you’re curious.Rebekah
Rebekah, thank you.
Surprised by the Tawdry
As a follow up to the question last week about explicit romance novels—I took a look at her kindle and it turns out my wife is reading them too.
How do I approach this? I’ve had struggles with porn in the past, and have less than a year of abstinence under my belt—so I’m in no place to judge. But it almost tore our marriage apart and now she’s consuming the same content in book form. How do I approach this in a Galatians 6 way? I don’t want this in our home. Thanks in advance, pastor Doug. I really appreciate your help.Kenneth
Kenneth, you are right. Don’t come to her with judgment or accusations. But you do need to talk, you do need to bring it up with her. If the talk goes well, well and good. If it doesn’t, get pastoral help right away.
A Dear Darla Situation
What can I do to make myself more available to the kinds of fellows that are looking for the kind of girl I am? (reformed, culturally ambitious, bookish) I’m heavily involved at my church but live in an evangelically soupy area and am the oldest unmarried young person in my congregation. There are no eligible bachelors in sight in my circle of acquaintance. I’m still quite young (not yet 20 though it approaches all the more rapidly as the year creeps on) and so no desperation here, merely a concern that perhaps I could be making it easier for some gentleman out there to find out that I do exist and would like to be a wife.
Do you have any suggestions? Online presence seems like the wrong tactic, but maybe I’m approaching it inappropriately. I have opportunities because of my college organization to attend conservative events, but I’m afraid that the evangelical soup would only be more concentrated there.
Your Dear Darla series has been very helpful to me—I would like to be able to put it into practice.
Patiently,A Culture Architect(‘s Future Helpmeet?)
Dear ACAFH, my best recommendation is that you start attending conferences where potential young men are likely to be. For example, our upcoming Grace Agenda will have opportunities to meet and mix.
Feminine Abilities On Ice?
I hope you’re doing well. This may come across as an awful, or genuinely silly, question: I fully embrace the model for women being the “house tyrant,” that is, that all of our efforts as women ought to bless the home. That being said, I’m currently a mom of young ones, who works part time remotely to bless her family. I grew up with very high standards, with a robust education, and I performed very well in school. I received secondary education, and received awards for my performance. Perhaps this is a bit of the feminism I still have to dig out of me, but I can’t help but feel sometimes as though I’m wasting my potential. I say this with love for my husband and children, by the way. I’m highly educated and I look forward to either homeschooling or in-person account my children in the classical Christian style. I know my heart is not in the right place in this, but I genuinely feel as though I could be involved in something helpful and scholarly. What are your thoughts?Brutally Honest
BH, from what you describe, you are still in the stage where God has you paying your dues. The reason he does that is to keep us from getting puffed up and becoming an educated hazard in the body. The world would promote you faster, but much more destructively. The same principle applies to men incidentally (1 Tim. 3:6). Tyndale renders it as “young scholar.” Right now you have knowledge, but you can afford to wait until it is wisdom. Let the grape juice ferment.
A Tangle
Don’t want to flatter you with such statements that I am a big fan but I am. I enjoy listening to your Blog and Mablog. I have read a number of your books, my two favorite being Covenant Household and a Case for Classic Christian education. I do land on different places that you do theologically me being more of a reformed Baptist in nature, and hopefully that doesn’t sway you from reading the rest of my message. And I have a very good friend that is currently out in your neck of the woods. I wouldn’t say I’m a young man, but I’m definitely not my prime anymore, But I’m also not of the age of grey hairs ether. But I would like to seek wisdom from you. I can read of your passion for Christian education. And that is what messaging you in regards of. As you can tell, I am not a language or literature major but I am a middle school high school teacher of Bible. Absolutely. Love opening up God’s word in exegeting it and trying to make as plain as possible for my children to learn. I’m currently in the midst of a struggle.
My school that I’m a part of is currently going through a huge divide due to the host church that is commanded by a tyrant of a pastor, if you can call him that. There’s a lot of structural issues But mainly it is pride on the church end of things because it is a dying church. But fortunately the school is a vibrant healthy God-fearing community. It is not a rift of doctrine , but something similar to Pharaoh’s heart. We are trying to screw art in the school in a neighboring state of West Virginia, where there is more freedoms. I just want to know if you ever dealt with a situation like this and if you have How did you deal with the bitterness of it? These were once church members that I was going be a future deacon of. Luckily, God gave me enough moxie to say no. Because my family were able to see the sin that festered under the surface. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.Cole
Cole, sorry for your troubles. But when conflict is unavoidable, make sure you face it directly, and make sure you fight clean. If the school is currently under the blessing of God, make sure you don’t forfeit that by fighting in a way that dishonors the Lord.
The Tiber and the Bosphorus
Thank you for your faithful and consistent ministry over the years. You have been a tremendous influence over the past 5 years and I have embraced Westminsterian Presbyterianism and now attend a PCA church in my area. One of the ways that you have influenced me is through your refreshing honesty in addressing issues of life, theology, and history without pietistic or branded revisionistic maneuvering.
Having said that, one problem (that does not belong to you properly) is that every now and then we hear young men slide into EO or RC with some statement of “Wilson opened my eyes to history and I just went all the way.” I think I can say with a clean conscience that that is not what is happening to me, at least I don’t think it is, but I have found myself DEEPLY troubled at my own Protestantism and more generally the lack of a VISIBLY Catholic Church (EO, RC, Evangelical etc, my target is not Protestantism as such). While I find myself generally persuaded of “Reformed Presbyterianism,” I confess that I just feel lost. In the spirit of Lewis’s concept of being aware that I live in an era of history, can I really be expected to believe that the Church of 1500 years was either more Protestant looking than Roman or Eastern looking or otherwise was essentially apostate and this happening over some vague period of time? In the spirit of honesty, I just find that simplistic and unserious.
The Great Schism of 1054 has deeply troubled me because I know of no other way to explain it other than saying I feel like it has left me an orphan and has placed a burden on me that I feel like I was never meant to bear. I know that I have personal responsibility to think carefully and look to the Scriptures, I know that I am even expected to labor for this. But I also believe that the Church is supposed to be my mother and instruct me on what to think. I have not read a FRACTION of all the literature there is to read within my OWN camp, let alone all the voluminous material from competing voices—never seriously considering the contrary voices of serious giants in Church history. I have not scratched the ice of everything to consider but, “Oh don’t worry, I’m definitely right and pretty much everyone else up until 1646 gave it a good college try but they were all wrong, look at this Bible verse!” Waves hand dismissively.
I just feel overwhelmed. I impulsively wonder if Christ’s Church is MUCH bigger than I am “allowed” to believe as a good Reformed guy. I’m not allowed to entertain the idea that perhaps Rome and the East are actually Christian institutions indeed, despite their very serious errors. I confess, I do not really know how to exonerate Rome of holding to doctrines that to me seem like it fundamentally undermines the gospel, but on the other hand I just see some of those things in Church history and I have a really hard time writing large swaths of people off that came before me.
Sigh . . .
There is much that troubles me and I can’t subject you all to it in an email, I know that . . . In truth I’m not even sure what I’m asking . . . I just feel increasingly skeptical that I have it right and even more skeptical that I can just dismiss Rome and the East as apostate, and it kills me that the Church has been 1,000 years in schism and nobody seems to meaningfully care. I don’t know, I’m just very bewildered and discouraged.Seth
Seth, I am sorry for your angst. It doesn’t sound to me so much like a particular argument that gets you, but rather a “what if” situation. What if this is not right? But the reply to that needs to be “what if it is?” Move the whole thing over from doubts to questions. Doubts can never be answered in principle—they are a squirrel cage run. Formulate the questions, and then attack them. I would then recommend three books in this order—The Shape of Sola Scriptura, Papa Don’t Pope, and The Principle of Protestantism.
Good Question
Good evening Mr. Wilson! I am not asking about one of your posts. I have a question. In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says to “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Then, in Matthew 6:1 he says “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” How do we understand these together?Noah
Noah, thanks. As it happens, I recently wrote on that odd juxtaposition. It is the last section in this post.
Good Input on Naming
Re: Sacralism and Human Governments
I loved this post. We need much more teaching on and learning about the biblical roles of the three God-ordained governments. I do have one suggestion, though. You identified the role of family government as the Ministry of Health, Education, and Welfare, civil government as the Ministry of Justice, and church government as the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. I understand this, but the wording leaves a huge gap in responsibilities that the civil government will be happy to fill. The gap is the regulation of economic activity, i.e., commerce. Our civil government oppresses us in many ways, but regulating our productivity and wealth creation is at the top of the list. If we are going to address this and teach the church and the world the biblical division of responsibilities, I suggest cover this gap by calling the family the Ministry of Welfare, Education, and Commerce.Bill
Bill, good point. Thanks.
Sacralism and Human Governments
Your piece appears to conflate the Classic Magisterial Two Kingdom position with Erastianism. However, figures like Calvin, Hooker, Franciscus Junius, Althusius, and even Stephen Wolfe are not Erastian. They maintain a clear distinction between church and state, however, they affirm the magistrate’s duty to protect and promote Christianity in the civil realm—including confiscating the property of apostate or unorthodox churches (e.g., St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva). Yet none would grant the state final authority over the church’s internal affairs, as Erastians do.
My question is twofold: First, did you intend to portray all Classical Magisterial Two Kingdom proponents as Erastian? Second, shouldn’t the case that the magistrate has no role in the public protection of orthodox Christianity be argued rather than asserting Kuyper’s sphere sovereignty as self-evident?
I look forward to your response.Seth
Seth, I do believe that the magistrate has the duty to protect “the churches of our common Lord.” But I also believe that Erastianism admits of degrees, and I do not see how someone like Hooker can avoid it—I mean, in his view the king is the head of the church. So my position would be the same as Bannerman’s, as he lays it out in The Church of Christ.
Kids and the Inheritance
I just watched the Doug Reacts video titled Kicking Kids Out Of The Will and had a question on inheritance. One of the things I have wanted to do when I give my inheritance to my children is give a double portion to my oldest son (assuming he is serving the Lord). My thought is not to do this as a privilege, but as a responsibility and blessing for him assuming the role of covenant head. My wife is currently not a fan and thinks it is a relic of the past and unfair to our daughters. I am patiently trying to talk this through with my wife so that we can be on the same page, but I wanted some outside perspective. Am I wrong-headed in wanting to provide a double portion? My hope is that it can serve to strengthen my families legacy and not serve as a point if division. Our children are still young and I believe I would be able to teach them why I am doing this and what it entails so they aren’t surprised or hurt or feel less valued by it.Robert
Robert, I believe the reason the eldest in Scripture got a double portion is that he was the one responsible for taking care of elderly parents. That double portion was their retirement plan, or insurance coverage. So assuming you have that covered, I would divide things equitably with your kids.
An Abolition Argument
I just watched this debate on abortion between Doug and T Russel Hunter.
I was so frustrated that Doug did not come back at him with what I feel is the best argument against the abolitionist (below). Just in case Doug has not considered this yet, I thought I’d bring it to his attention. Below is the comment I posted on the video:
“I think the very best example would be, let’s say this very abolitionist is the governor of Nevada. He is a faithful Christian who has always been outwardly, unashamedly against any kind of abortion, at any time, and has been fighting as best he can to get it abolished. His Christian wife is currently 2.5 months pregnant with their first child (a son), and in this hypothetical Nevada, abortion is currently legal up to 3 months. This morning, his wife told him she is leaving the faith and will be getting a legal abortion tomorrow. Coincidentally, that very day, a heartbeat bill crosses his desk (babies typically develop a heart-beat at 4-6 weeks). Now remember, he is an abolitionist. He totally and always vows to reject anything short of complete, perfect justice and 100% immediate and permanent abolition. So, what does he do? Does he go against this principle he is so vehemently for and sign the bill, though it is imperfect, saving the life of his son? Or, does he stick to his guns; does he put his money where his mouth is; does he refuse to sign the bill and sate “no thanks, I only accept TRUE/REAL/RIGHTEOUS laws and justice. Go ahead and kill my son, I’m not signing this.”
Let’s take the above further though, does this governor not think that in that moment, the blood of each and every unborn life he COULD have saved is not on his hands? Think again, buddy. In refusing to sign the bill, you’ve personally signed their death warrants, you coward.”Cameron
Cameron, thank you. I have the best of reasons for not advancing that argument. That reason would be that I did not think of it. That is a very good hypothetical.
How to Start Over
Paul writes of the repentant man under church discipline in 2 Cor 2 that “this punishment by the majority is enough” and instructs them to forgive and actually comfort him. Paul’s rationale is lest the man be “overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.”
However, we know we, including congregations, will not follow Scripture perfectly, and this passage is no exception.
So my question is, let’s say a repentant offender finds himself in that position, where he ought to be welcomed, forgiven, and comforted, but in reality that doesn’t happen and he does in fact descend into overwhelming excessive sorrow.
What advice would you give a man who finds himself in that position?grh
grh, there may be many other variables that I don’t know, but I will still give a provisional answer. If a man is truly repentant over a significant sin, and his congregation gets into significant sin by refusing to let him be restored, then he should find another church. But with that said, he should not do anything like this without a clear, face-to-face conversation with his pastor. That conversation should include things like “is there anything that I am continuing to do that makes people assume that I am unrepentant, or that I have not dealt with the root issues?” And that question should be asked with open hands and an open heart.
Mega Church Pastoral Care
Our Baptist church is growing and has around 5000 people or so. Of those people I think around 1500 are members.
1.) at what point does a church become a “mega church?” And is that always a bad thing?
2.) one of my friends at church told me that he views me as his pastor/elder since I lead a small group we are in, and since he doesn’t have a relationship with any of the pastors of the church other than listening to sermons on Sundays. I am not ordained as a pastor.
I told him that just because he doesn’t know his pastors/elders doesn’t mean he isn’t “under their authority” since he is a member of the church. His response usually runs along the line of “how can any of those men be discipling/pastoring me if they don’t even know my name?” My friend is not uninvolved either. Beside my group he is in a home group led by another man at our church and is a passionate Christian.
I guess my question for this issue is can a pastor really pastor a large flock well when it is not possible to know all the members well? Or in other words, can a church become too big?
Is this issue kind of like with civil government where our representatives don’t know us by name but they represent us and have real authority over us?
Thanks for taking the time,Josh
Josh, yes. I would call this church a mega church. But I don’t believe that it is necessary for a true pastor to know everyone’s name, but in a healthy church it is important for somebody to know everybody’s name. Assuming that the church vets the small group leaders, and commissions them to do what they are doing, I believe it is appropriate for you to be one of the instruments for your friend to be receiving teaching and oversight. And in a healthy church that is large, if your friend got into serious sin that required discipline, there should be a mechanism for you to hand it up the line. It is like the advice that Jethro gave Moses in Exodus 18.
If Christ’s covering was not universally practiced, was there even a reformation? The statement is that ridiculous. A biblical tradition never reformed during the reformation, but in our generation reformed without a reformation. A to C without the B of being Berian. That bastion of vanity and pride, Hollywood itself, will be a witness against this generation. Some ministers even testify seeing a sea of color, but sadly only on Easter. Confessing the Headship of Christ was never an issue until now. Leadership and Emotional Sabotage by Joe Rigney is a good book if you want to get an idea… Read more »
“ A biblical tradition never reformed during the reformation” What constitutes “A Biblical tradition” exactly? Surely something that was regularly practiced within the Bible but…… of course every age depicted in the Bible engaged in innumerable activities we don’t consider “Biblical traditions”. So how precisely are you determining which things people did thousands of years ago are Biblical traditions and which ones aren’t? A rhetorical question obviously because traditions are themselves intrinsically arbitrary. People simply decide that they like particular things they did in the past, and so repeat those actions purely out of preference. There’s nothing sinful in that in… Read more »
As a lawyer, I believe it is our role to do as much good as we can within a fallen system. A Christian family lawyer can first encourage his/her client to exhaust all avenues for reconciliation. If that is not possible, the lawyer can then counsel his/her client in such a way as to make the divorce as peaceable as possible, as fair as possible, and as protective of the children as possible (knowing that divorce will always harm the children to some extent).
I have not found many books on Christian lawyering, but I do like this one https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Law-Christian-Calling-Profession/dp/0830825991/
In a clear cut case of two people seeking a divorce for reasons which the Bible does not allow them to divorce do you still help them?
One more thought. Divorce is an extremely stressful time, where otherwise self-sufficient people can be humbled beyond what they ever imagined. In those cases, a trusted family lawyer has the unique opportunity to point his/her client to Christ and to a supportive church community.
ACAFH here! Any other suggestions on conferences? Love Moscow and hope to attend Grace Agenda one day. As a Southerner I’d like some options closer to home if anyone has any :)
Then check out Fight Laugh Feast . . .
Check out Theopolis in Birmingham??? Peter Leithart and company?
There is also Poiema – run by St Peter Presbyterian Church in Bristol, VA (CREC). https://poiemaretreats.org/.
One more – Gloria Sancta, run by the CREC churches in Texas. It occurs every year in January. https://www.gloriasancta.org/home
Thanks everyone! I’ll check these out!
Robert, remember, the Scripture calls for leaving grandchildren an inheritance. Mybe you should divide 80 percent to your kids and twenty percent divided among grandkids.
Seth,
Also, check out Ortlund’s ‘What It Means to Be Protestant’ and Littlejohn’s ‘Why Do Protestants Convert.’ You should know that Reformed men like Richard Hooker, John Owen, Charles Hodge, and AA Hodge had categories for how we can understand EO/RC individuals to be genuine Christians. In other words, Protestantism actually allows for the most catholicity. And we can embrace other Christians without giving away our convictions. You will see this argument in the Schaff book Pastor Doug mentioned.
This! True, some protestants are as rejecting of the catholicity of other branches of the vine as EO/RC are, but honestly, if you want the catholic Church of our savior practiced well, it’s protestants who have got this down, recognizing the centrality of the historic creeds for identifying the boundaries of the body of Christ, however unhealthy some parts may at times be. And i find reading Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation and Paul’s epistles clarifying on this. Those churches were a mess, had little formal, authoritative structure. They experience judgments, blessings, condemnations, and encouragements, but always… Read more »
Seth,
Prospects for healing the schism are better than ever. Personal animosities, secular political rivalries and language difficulties are no longer factors. Communication between the Pope, the Patriarch and 1000’s of bishops can now happen instantaneously instead of over weeks or months. Islam and secularism are common enemies pushing both sides together.
The Protestant/Catholic divide is also closer to resolution. Twitter and podcasts can now bring together Christians on both sides in ways which were impossible before. Even AI can help. Have you tried asking it for the best pro/con arguments for Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, etc.?
Servant of Jesus, any thoughts on how Hamas treats its dissidents? Any thoughts on how many Gazans would not’ve been killed if Hamas hadn’t started this war? Whaddya think our Lord Jesus Christ thinks of people who lob a rocket trying to kill whoever it hits–hoping for Jews, but no guarantee it won’t hit Arabs–and when it misfires and kills several dozen Arabs in a hospital parking lot, Hamas’ ministry of health (socialized medicine?) lies and says Jews targeted the hospital and killed 500 people. Enough sin to go around, maybe?
Brutally, have you considered writing a book? A lot of famous writers got their start writing books in the wee hours after the kids are in bed.
I think there is something here I’ve not thought about. As I deal with skeptics of the faith and encountering doubts, not questions, it has me wondering if those doubts are themselves an admission of the truth they have buried in their hearts?
Responding to Cameron – with all due respect… This is a dumb argument. I get the obvious emotional appeal, and I get the sense of urgency to save as many pre-born children as possible. But I think this demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding in the whole abolitionist/incrementalist debate: Neither camp will ever (this side of Christ’s return) completely stop human abortion. We can’t do that, for the same reason we haven’t ceased all murder, in spite of the fact we have laws against it… People sin. People commit crimes. And the hypothetical bill on your hypothetical governors desk would no more… Read more »
Brutally Honest, I think Doug’s advice is wise. I too have thought that I am gifted academically and should do something with these gifts, whether write books, lead Bible studies, become a teacher, etc. Instead, I am working part time and homemaking with four young children. I have had a lot of struggles and times of humbling in the last several years, and a lot of growing of my faith. I know that whatever the Lord has for me to do, it will glorify him, and anything I do apart from him will amount to nothing. So I encourage you… Read more »