Before interacting with the controversial parts of Real Marriage, I want to set down a few more additional and preliminary thoughts. I am not addressing anyone in particular yet. But because I am going to be engaged in close pastoral reasoning in a very sensitive area, I want to reveal some of my foundational operating …
Some Preliminary Thoughts On “Real Marriage”
Lord willing, as time goes by, I will be interacting more with Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll. But here are some of my basic assumptions going into the discussion. 1. Words written are easier to interact with (and be concerned about) than words unwritten. Pastors like Driscoll frequently get in trouble for things …
Bungee Cords and Baling Wire
Let us talk about a states’ rights approach to the baseline sexual issues — by which I mean issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. This issue has been brought to the fore by Ron Paul’s constitutionalist approach to tackling such problems. Paul believes — and he is right — that the Constitution permits states to …
So Cold, So Sweet, So Sweet, So Fair
If I believe, as I do, that the chief threat to American security is our own government’s wastrel ways, its out-of-control spending, in distinction from Islamic fundamentalism, then why wouldn’t I just full-tilt endorse Ron Paul? I am unwilling to do that, despite appreciating many of the things he says, and liking many of the …
What She Doesn’t Have for Sale
As I have done some blog touring during this political season, I have come across a category of “conservative” blogs that try to adhere to what is called Rule 5 by a number of these blogs. I think the rule was formulated by Stacy McCain (theothermccain.com), offering to teach you how to get a million …
Chasing Suitors With Snow Shovels
Given how accessible porn is nowadays, it has inevitably caused certain dislocations in contemporary courtships. I do urge fathers to bring the subject up when prospective suitors first seek their permission to court their daughter. A father may feel it is an awkward subject for him to bring up, but it is certainly not going …
Covetousness and Sexual Discontent
Not all sexual covetousness is lust. When a man gives way to lust simpliciter the end result is arousal. When a man gives way to sexual covetousness, the end result is discontent and a vague sense of entitlement. Here is the distinction. In Romans 7, the apostle Paul says that he would not have known …
Courtship and the Single Mom
A friend asked me to comment on how biblical courtship applies to women who have been widowed or divorced. My understanding is that a woman who has been married, and then widowed or divorced, may (under certain circumstances) return to her father’s house. Whether she does or not is up to her, and of course …
A Woman’s Body and Fatherlessness
We have been told, over and over again, that abortion is all about “a woman’s right to choose.” The pro-life comeback has been — correct as far as it goes — that this leaves the child’s right to life (and therefore the child’s right to choose) out of the equation. This is a valid argument, …
A Cloud of Contumely
If Herman Cain did not do the things that are alleged of him, then he should soldier on. If he did do them, and is lying about it now, then he should retire from the field in a cloud of contumely. All the spectators, meantime, should meditate on what constitutes proof, and assume the accusation …