Ask The UMC: What happened at General Conference?
The title says it all. This article is publicly and freely available at the United Methodist Church’s official website:
LifeWay to Close All Brick-and-Mortar Stores
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“LifeWay Christian Resources is charting a new course in 2019 marking a strategic shift of resources to a dynamic digital strategy. As part of the transition, LifeWay will close its 170 brick-and-mortar stores in 2019.” - BRnow
Discussion
Arthur Brooks on Rejecting Contempt: “If you have contempt for ‘them,’ more and more people will become ‘them.’”
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“We are called to find common ground where it genuinely exists, improve our own arguments, and win over persuadable Americans by answering hostility with magnanimity, understanding, good humor, and love. We cannot do that while hiding in our narrow ideological foxholes.” - National Review
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Jacob Arminius and the Doctrine of Original Sin, Part 3
From DBSJ 21 (2016). Republished with permission. By John A. Aloisi. Read the series.
Original Sin Itself
Adam’s first sin was a point of no return for the entire human race. Ever since that initial act of rebellion, all mankind has been born with the taint of original sin.33
Discussion
Some Thoughts on the Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity is hard to teach, because there are so many ancient heresies to guard against and because, well … it’s complicated. But, the Scriptures present God as triune. That means we need to teach about Him. We need to teach Christians to know Him and love Him as He is; and He’s triune.
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How Universalism, ‘the Opiate of the Theologians,’ Went Mainstream
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“What explains the recent resurgence in self-described Christians affirming (or at least flirting with) universalism?
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Can Anything a Human Does Be Morally Neutral? A Look at 1 Corinthians 8:8 (Part 1)
In a recent exchange here at SharperIron, I was asked what I thought 1 Corinthians 8:8 meant. I had just asserted that a being bearing the image of God could not possibly do anything that is morally neutral — neither right nor wrong, because such a being must either express that imago dei, or in some way insult it (or both at once, in different ways).
1 Corinthians 8:8 seems to say otherwise.
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