“The Biblical world-view is not that of the rebel. Jesus says to carry the pack two miles when compelled to carry it one mile. This is a reference to the Roman law that required occupied peoples to carry packs for a mile for Roman soldiers.” - CPost

Related at RNS: Anti-vaxxism is the latest in America’s esoteric religions

Read the series.

The Olivet Discourse (Pt. 1)

Coming at last to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25, although the main descriptive section comes in Matthew 24 with an addendum at the end of Matthew 25, before which are two parables.

Matthew 24:1-2 belong on their own. They provide the setting for the discourse that follows in that they refer to the glories of Herod’s temple.¹ Jesus does not even acknowledge the great work, which by His time was famous throughout the Empire. Instead, He predicts its devastation, which came upon it in A.D. 70.

Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

Based on this revelation, regardless of all other considerations, any altars that any humans have ever made that were built of any hewn stones were polluted altars. Any and all worship on such altars was defiled worship that was unacceptable to God.

We must not fail to notice that God never explains why that was true. As believers, we do not have any obligation to anyone to have to explain why all such altars were unacceptable to God and why all worship offered on them was ungodly, unacceptable worship.

“As Christians we know that God’s sovereign hand draws a line that leads from suffering to meaning, from pain to purpose, from grief to good. There is no affliction that leads nowhere, no sorrow that is ultimately futile, senseless, or pointless.” - Challies

“Lies about the validity of the election prompted the riots at the Capitol, and the events of the day spurred even more falsehoods” - The Dispatch

“Yes, it’s virtual reality (VR) church, where one can “worship” from the comfort of home wearing jammies and goggles while being represented in the “sanctuary” by a personal graphic avatar.” - Ref21/Mortification of Spin

“The following 12 practices were identified by comparing current pastors with former pastors who had left the pastorate before retirement age. We analyzed which questions most strongly predict whether a pastor continues to serve as a senior pastor.” - Lifeway

“ ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness…’ As we seek to demonstrate the goodness of God, we must recognize this begins by faithfully seeking the Spirit’s leading in our daily lives.” - TIFWE

“Some might dismiss the Christian symbols at the insurrection—not only signs but prayers ‘in Jesus’ name’ right next to a horn-wearing shaman…. some might wave away the evangelicals who falsely claimed in the days afterward that it had been a crowd of antifa activists… .And yet, survey after survey shows that alarming numbers of white evangelicals believe the lie behind the attack” - CToday

When God brought judgment on Ahab and Israel in the form of drought and famine, he sent Elijah to a secluded retreat somewhere along the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 17). During this period, God’s care for Elijah reveals an interesting pattern. The details are memorable and exceptional, but the pattern is not.

And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. (ESV, 1 Ki 17:6)

“A year later, here’s a look back at how Americans saw the events of Jan. 6 and how some partisan divisions grew wider over time.” - Pew

“… convictions are firmly held moral or religious beliefs that guide our beliefs, actions, or choices. This shuts out beliefs we have about matters of taste (not moral), and it also shuts out beliefs we hold but are happy to disregard or ignore (they don’t guide our actions).” - CToday

“…it is highly probable that, between 2050 and 2060 our species will reach a population peak close to 9.5 billion, which will then begin to fall… . It is worth spending some time thinking about the consequences of this population change.” - Public Discourse

“The Institute for Pro-Life Advancement, a project of the pro-life group Students for Life of America….analyzed all 784 colleges and universities in the U.S. that are affiliated with a Christian church, finding that 103 of the colleges had some type of relationship with Planned Parenthood.” - CPost

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, China Olympics, midterm elections, Russia v. Ukraine, elections in France and Brazil - BPNews

“When it announced last month it was shutting down, Brentwood Benson became the latest in a line of major church music publishers closing their doors. Last year saw the bankruptcy of Lorenz Corp., which had purchased choral giant Word Music in 2017. Then a few months ago, Lifeway released its last box of new choral offerings for churches.” - BPNews

“…the foremost fear in the U.S. (for the sixth year in a row) is fear of ‘corrupt government officials.’ It’s a fear shared by Republicans (84.6 percent) and Democrats (77.8 percent) alike… the next highest-ranking fear (‘people I love dying’) is a full 20 points lower.” - TGC

“In his new book, A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ, renowned Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland makes a provocative claim. Ninety-five percent of what the average evangelical church accomplishes in a given year, suggests Moreland, could be explained even if God didn’t exist.” - Breakpoint

“…the reality of God’s existence is strong; it takes effort to ‘suppress the truth’ (Rom. 1:17). So unbelief is always tentative; it is truly a guess contrary to better evidence.” - Ref21

“This is a choice you make. This mental choice is rooted in the Christian’s ability to recognize that trials are not meaningless acts of suffering. Instead, they are providential instruments of grace.” - Jack Lee

Reposted from Rooted Thinking.

2022. What kind of year lies ahead of us? Will we continue living in this dystopian world or will we finally return to normal?

“The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research organization formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, released a report earlier this month titled ‘State Policy Trends 2021: The Worst Year for Abortion Rights in Almost Half a Century.’” - CPost

“…from where do we get this idea of a time of daily worship, which consists mainly in Bible reading and prayer? The answer is that the practice is implied in a number of Scriptures.” - TGC

“The Lord rebukes his generation; they can read the weather, he says, but not the signs of the times. I think what’s missing in the American church is a living awareness of the nature of the times we’re in.” - Breakpoint

“One might debate whether it is morally permissible to benefit from evil deeds, such as an abortion in 1973 in which one had no role or input, but before getting to that topic in moral theology, we should all get the basic facts right…” - CPost

See also: Anti-Vax Trump Supporters Turning Against Trump

“In this new election year, there will be a pitched battle between Republicans and Democrats. But there will also be one among Republicans and Democrats. Which Republicans will refuse to condemn their friends and defy the mob? Which Democrats will reject partisianship and stick up for principled Republicans who are defending the rule of law?” - The Dispatch

Edgar Mullins was the fourth president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I recently finished his classic The Axioms of Religion: A New Interpretation of the Baptist Faith (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1908). His is a refreshingly simple exposition of Baptist Christianity. I’ll provide a sketch of Mullin’s position here, and note some of its implications and possible rebukes for modern Baptists in 2022 America.

“The Dispatch Fact Check continued to work tirelessly on familiar forms of disinformation. Coronavirus and vaccine misinformation continued apace, and new conspiracies popped up in other areas like the events of January 6. We’ve assembled a list of some of the most significant (and strangest) pieces of disinformation of the year” - The Dispatch

“Resolutions have yielded a mixed bag of successes and flops over the course of Christian history.” - BPNews

“According to an investigative report by the Houston Chronicle, televangelist Kenneth Copeland has avoided paying $150,000 in annual taxes on his $7 million Texas mansion because of a loophole in the state’s tax code.” - C.Headlines