“By no means would I ever believe that evangelicals are necessarily or always or only more gullible than anyone else. What I am asking is if American evangelicals TEND to be too gullible for their own or anyone else’s good?” - Roger Olsen

From the statement: “there is no long-term evidence that current ‘gender affirming’ medication and surgical protocols benefit their mental well-being.” - American College of Pediatricians

“Coffman’s book attempts the tall task of recounting centuries of history in just a few hundred pages. To do this, she elected to pick discrete, illustrative episodes from America’s Christian legacy to tell a broader story.” - Providence

I remember when I first realized that I loved to write.

I was in high school, and I had a newfound fascination with the Bible—especially Biblical prophecy—and it dawned on me that I had, somehow, unexpectedly, developed a love for writing.

Growing up with a passion for sports, my first desire was to be a sports broadcaster—that is, if I did not make it as a professional athlete. But, come to think of it, even back then, every once in a while I would dream of writing a sports column.

But as plans for life became more realistic and my love for Scripture became more intense, the place of writing came into much clearer focus in my life. I even thought of majoring in journalism in college.

“39 percent of all Christians are not engaged in discipleship at all. And just one-third of Christians (33%) is categorized by Barna as a disciplemaker, actively helping someone grow in faith and move closer to Christ.” - Barna

“A pair of new lawsuits, including one that includes civil RICO claims, come at a time when the SBC Executive Committee faces a fiscal and leadership crisis.” - RNS

“Around six-in-ten U.S. atheists are men (64%). And seven-in-ten are ages 49 or younger, compared with about half of U.S. adults overall (52%).” - Pew

“Giving creeds and confessions a derivative, though real, authority is not a so-called ‘abomination of creedmaking’ ” - London Lyceum

“He briefly mentioned Jesus, faith, and baptism but never explained why Jesus was so important. He missed a tremendous opportunity to give the gospel to over 400 people.” - P&D

Reposted from 2011.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the triune God, who became the God-man by virtue of His virgin conception and incarnation, is the only human being in the universe who possesses a glorified body.

Consider for a moment the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This was one of the most spectacular sign miracles that the Lord Jesus performed at His first coming. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Jews were astounded by what Jesus did that day in Bethany near Jerusalem.

“Nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73%) say churches and religious institutions have a positive impact. Democrats’ opinions are more divided: 45% say their effect is positive, 53% say it is negative.” - Pew

“You always shake your fist when you preach. You blame everything on actors and politicians. You rant on social media about, well, everything. You assume I’m writing this to someone else.” - The Baptist Paper

“… medical ethicists consider topics like today’s conversation in light of four factors: Benevolence…Nonmaleficence…Autonomy…Justice” - Denison Forum

“unlike the move from scrolls to the codex and the codex to the printing press, Bible apps aren’t replacing printed Bibles. Instead, my survey data indicates that most people use a mix of print and digital media” - Text & Canon

“Despite its legalization across many states, U.S. Protestant pastors remain opposed to sports gambling, but they’re not doing much about it…. (13 percent) favor legalizing sports betting nationwide and most (55 percent) say the practice is morally wrong.” - BPNews

Read the series.

A Premillennial Reading of Hebrews (3)

Christ’s Body a Covenant Sacrifice

The author of Hebrews chose as his go-to text the “Old Greek” of the OT, but not exactly what scholars mean when they say “LXX.”¹ His singular use of Psalm 40:6-8, especially its translation of Psalm 40:6 as “a body you have prepared for me.” As Thomas Constable notes,

“It takes humility for an effective leader to step aside, for the leader to recognize that the mission is bigger than one person.” - Eric Geiger

“Much has been written on evangelistic preaching. And much has been written on expositional preaching. Often, though, we tend to think of the two as mutually exclusive, rather than as normally inseparable.” - Mark Dever

“Imagine a friend told you that her baby is sick and may die. You’d feel shock and grief…Would anything change if the friend then replied, ‘Thank you, we’re hoping Fluffy pulls through’?” - Breakpoint

“arguments alone, whether they’re friendly or ‘battles,’ aren’t evangelism. Instead, we should seek to win people for Christ, not just score points in a debate.” - TGC

“In a statement published last Wednesday, Wheaton College President Philip Ryken responded to an op-ed written by freelance writer Tim Scheiderer published by Fox News” - CPost

“In our class, we’ve been exploring the concept of engaging with culture…. Humility to show where we don’t have it all figured out, met with grace and truth, fosters trust and connection.” - Church Answers

“there are some bedrock truths that come not from human reason, they say, but Almighty God. Among them: Donald Trump is the U.S. president, and those who persecute him face death. Joe Biden, the antichrist, should be in prison for treason. Christians should rule over unbelievers.” - RNS

“What is interesting to me … is that Christians were upset that people took offense to his critique of women’s ordination, but no one seems upset about Robinson’s rejection of the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation and embrace of sacramentalism” - DBTS Blog

“My personal ecclesiastical heritage stems from what I would call historical fundamentalism…. what follows below is my own understanding of the term historical fundamentalism as used in a Christian context.” - P&D

“The following organizations are honored as Certified Best Christian Workplaces in 2023. Visit the Best Christian Workplaces Certification Page at workplaces.org for search and filter options.” - RNS

“Pastor, author and Christian radio personality Alistair Begg continues to face fallout from comments he made in a podcast last year about advice for Christians and same-sex weddings.” - CPost

Read the series.

Number 3: Giftedness. You can’t do everything, but you can do something. Do what you can.

A consequence of providence is that God has directed in your life as well as in the life of the planet. Your conception, birth, and life circumstances are not random or accidental; they are purposeful, and better yet, those purposes come from a good and great person, whose interest in you is entirely benevolent.

“Never view the world circumstances or any events with a temporal viewpoint. Recognize that God is constantly seeing the big picture while we normally see what is taking place day by day.” - P&D

“the Textual Confidence Collective … discuss whether the ideas of Westcott and Hort really control the current practice of New Testament textual criticism, and short the answer is, ‘No’ ” - Mark Ward