INTRODUCTION:One of the customs we have in this congregation is that of having a “state of the church” message around the first of the year. Sometimes the message focuses on the local state of the church, and sometimes on the state of the national church. And sometimes, like today, it focuses on both. THE TEXT:“Wherefore …
Our Fumblo-Rulers
The debate over “don’t ask, don’t tell” reveals that virtually no one understands what is going on. The absence of discipline is impossible in any society, still less in the military. This means that the question is a “not whether but which” question. It means that it is not whether we will discipline servicemen in …
Rednecks and Homosexuals
Just a few more comments on Miss California, and then I am done. Done, that is, until the next revolution on this merry-go-round that we call cultural commentary. First, one commenter in the previous thread on this had a “physician, heal thyself” question which I thought would be better to answer here. He said that …
A Judicious Temperament
I was in wait-and-see mode on Rick Warren praying at the inauguration. My initial reaction was uh oh, but being as judicious and thoughtful as I am, I thought I would wait and see what he actually said in his prayer. The upshot is that I was fully prepared to praise him for participating in …
The Homo Thing
I have recently been reading The God of Sex by Peter Jones, and have been very impressed by it. Jones very ably shows, as his subtitle declares, “How Spirituality Defines Your Sexuality.” Homosex — not to mention all the other laundry list perversions that gender studies departments like to catalog for us — is a …
A Brick Through the Windshield
Ted Olsen at CT asks Jim Wallis some pointed questions. HT: Justin Taylor And I am afraid I have to make a few comments about his pathetic answers. When Olsen asked him about his stance on abortion — “protecting unborn life in every possible way, but without criminalizing abortion,” Wallis responded by saying that the …
As Camp as a Row of Tents
During this visit, I was speaking with a pastor here who said, quite accurately, that quite apart from theology (on which we did not differ) women’s ordination in the CoE has been a disaster. We were not differing on the theology of the thing (God says not to do it), but rather agreeing that disobedience …
Black Sheep and White Goats
Visionaries, Just a brief response to Andy: I actually do think that R.L. Dabney had some racist assumptions, and these assumptions sometimes came out in truly odd ways. My favorite is found in his Systematic Theology, where he takes on redheads who do not know that they are objectively inferior. These racist assumptions of his …
A Public Gospel
I have offered some criticisms of N.T. Wright’s understanding of the conversion of Saul, and other issues related to the gospel. Given those criticisms, some of my friends on the TR side of things may want to ask me why I think his contributions on questions surrounding the gospel have any value. The following quote …