George Marsden: The old divide between fundamentalists and other conservative evangelicals has faded as many from various denominational and doctrinal traditions have become close allies in common political concerns.

“It is easy and dangerous for Christians to get sucked into these types of political debates. Biblical wisdom and ethics do not fit into the binary formula of today’s political landscape.” - Kevin Schaal

Going Beyond Public Gatherings

God calls every believer to teach His Word to others at a grassroots level. To motivate and equip them to do this, He provides pastors. These are responsible to “hold nothing back,” devoting themselves to ministry in two venues: public gatherings and private settings (Acts 20:20). While both settings are necessary, it seems that prevailing Western models favor public gatherings over more personal settings. Perhaps this imbalance hinders our efforts to engage people in ministry.

Most Old Testament translations rely on the Masoretic Text. Some sometimes modify that text based upon the Dead Sea Scrolls and even the Septuagint. Although I think most of us favor the Masoretic Text (MT), can the other traditions be of textual value?

We know there are many principles involved in Biblical criticism, so we are painting with a broad brush.

There seems to be a renewed movement toward respecting the LXX text as a tradition to be reckoned with.

So, what are your thoughts? Have your views on this subject changed? Comments (brief ones esp.) appreciated.

Poll Results

“Paul instructs Timothy, ‘And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil’ (2 Timothy 2:24; cf 1 Tim 3:3). Let’s focus briefly on the requirement to ‘not be quarrelsome.’” - 9 Marks

“We’re supposed to be controlled by the truth—to recognize, believe, accept, practice, and, yes, speak it.” - Olinger

“The board of directors of Hillsong, the global megachurch and music empire co-founded by Australian pastor Brian Houston, released a statement Friday addressing two complaints about Houston, including an accusation that the married pastor had spent time alone in a hotel room with a woman in 2019.” - C.Today

Related: Hillsong board blames anxiety drug, alcohol for landing Brian Houston in a woman’s hotel room - RNS

Study: “Half of Americans (51%) say they’re curious as to why some people are so devoted to their faith. Even among those who are religiously unaffiliated, the majority (60%) are curious about others’ faith.” - Lifeway

“I’m troubled that I distressed any women, or men for that matter, by anything I said or did. But the fact of the matter is that I never in 30 years ever approached a women with the intent of sexually harassing, intimidating, or ‘hitting’ on her. Never. But some women believe I had done that, and for that I’m regretful.” - Mark Galli

Related at Church Leaders: ‘Never Happened’: Former Christianity Today Editor in Chief Denies Sexual Harassment Allegations

Read Part 1.

“Two weeks to flatten the curve.” If that infamous line from 2020 still makes you grit your teeth, you’re not the only one.

But here’s the real issue that we as church leaders should be focused on: How have our churches and ministries handled the last two years’ worth of unprecedented opportunities?

“Tensions are surfacing among Slavic communities in the US, which have ties to both sides of the war in Ukraine.” - C.Today

“Whether The Meeting House and its 19 remote sites, which are supported by the Be In Christ denomination, can recover, or at least retain, some of its former ministry will take years to assess.” - RNS

“…should we concur with Geisler that the CSBI is in no need of revision? Has there been no positive advance in the doctrine of Scripture since 1978 that may help strengthen the CSBI for future theological and ecclesial use?” - TGC

Study results: “husbands with higher income tended to have more children, while wives with higher income tended to have fewer children.” - IFS

“My goal here is … to offer four lessons that I think are a little more timeless, and lessons that point to the worst inevitabilities of bad ecclesiology. 1. We’re too easily seduced by numbers and giftedness.” - 9 Marks

“having served as a public defender, she would be the only current justice who had spent any portion of her career defending citizens against the state rather than representing the state and its interests…. however, Judge Jackson’s confirmation would almost certainly prove problematic for the causes of preserving individual liberty and stemming the tide of encroaching government” - Acton

The discovery and publication of ancient Near Eastern literature has shed much light upon the religious beliefs and practices of earliest civilization. It has also generated much discussion about the relationship of Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion to that of the Old Testament. In fact, many scholars view the similarities in cosmogonies, flood accounts, cultic ritual, legal texts, wisdom literature, and belief in the afterlife as proof that the Old Testament writers borrowed from or adapted the literary corpus of Israel’s neighbors.

“The Hyde Amendment and other bans on federal funding of abortion survived months of Democratic attempts to eliminate them and gained enactment in an omnibus spending bill signed by President Biden Tuesday.” - C.Index

“An additional 12 interviews are scheduled with Executive Committee current or former trustees, and Guidepost is in the process of contacting 22 additional trustees, according to the update. The research will add to information received in 133 interviews already conducted with trustees.” - BPNews

“Women reported two top leaders’ inappropriate behavior for more than 12 years. Nothing happened.” - C.Today

Also at CT: We Fell Short in Protecting Our Employees
At RNS: Former Christianity Today editor Mark Galli accused of sexual harassment

“I am a pastor—no one you’ve ever heard of and, by every statistic I have read, that’s most pastors.” - Denison Forum

“This majority of Christians is less likely to say it is very important to see progress in their spiritual life (30% say progress is important vs. 54% of those who don’t consider their faith private), less likely to say their faith is very important in their life today (45% vs. 66% agree strongly) and less likely to have weekly time with God (51% vs. 66%).” - Barna

This series is bound to annoy covenant theologians who stop by to read it. To them I want to say that my purpose here is certainly not to irritate anyone. If a CT has any problem with what is asserted in these posts he is very welcome to challenge it (giving proof where necessary).

For those readers who want a quick historical intro to CT perhaps my “A Very Brief History of Covenant Theology” will help.

“I also discovered that Christian jargon was an almost meaningless form of communication, both to non-Christians and Christians alike. I found myself more interested in echoing a subculture’s lingo than in finding true godliness.” - C.Leaders

“A ‘Rapture Index’ — on which any reading above 160 means ‘Fasten your seatbelts’ — was raised this week to 187, close to its record high of 189 in 2016.” - RNS

“U.S. News and World Report ranked Maranatha Baptist University #1 Best Online Bachelor’s Program at a private college in Wisconsin and #3 Best Online Bachelor’s Program in the state” - MBU

Gallup “found a slight increase in the percentage of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender… climbing from 5.6% in 2020 to 7.1% in 2021. Since 2012… LGBTQ identification has risen slowly but steadily from 3.5%.” - Lifeway

“47% of U.S. adults say single women raising children on their own is generally a bad thing for society, an increase of 7 percentage points…. Roughly a quarter of U.S. adults (24%) now say that couples living together without being married is generally bad for society, up 5 points from three years ago.” - Pew

“On Feb. 16, the college’s board of trustees stated that it ‘categorically rejects Critical Race Theory and similar ‘critical’ schools of thought as antithetical to GCC’s mission and values.’ This week, in response, a petition from Grove City alumni, parents and students asked the school not to inhibit discussions about race and racism on campus.” - RNS

“Sadly, some American Christians were eager to express positive views of Putin, allowing his public stance on homosexuality and gender issues to cover over his multitude of glaring faults.” - CPost