“Last week Rob Reiner released the trailer for his forthcoming movie … on Christian nationalism. The release prompted a spirited debate on social media over the appearance of several evangelical pundits and influencers” - RNS
A Review of ‘The Future Restoration of Israel’ (Part 5)
Read the series.
Part Four of the book contains essays on “Jesus and Israel’s Future.” Michael Wilkins is well known as an expert on the Gospel of Matthew, and his piece considers how the Gospel tackles Israel’s future is portrayed in light of the negative reactions to Jesus’ ministry (e.g., 314).
A Biblical-Theological Examination of Melancholy
“Melancholia—on a spectrum from simple sadness to profound discouragement, then crossing a moral line into despair—marks nearly every life at some point.” - Challies
The Undeniable, Irresistible Resilience of the Small Church
“Small churches have always been and will always be the most common, most resilient and most adaptable expression of the body of Christ.” - C.Leaders
Christmas No Longer Most Popular Holiday in America
“Thanksgiving is the most popular and well-known holiday in the country, topping Christmas and other festive days on the popularity list.” - Lifeway
Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Washington 'gay conversion therapy' ban
“The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal filed by a Christian therapist against Washington state’s ban on “gay conversion therapy,” allowing the law to remain in effect.” - CPost
Augustine’s Christmas Sermons and the Paradoxes of Incarnation
“The maker of man, he was made man, so that the director of the stars might be a babe at the breast; that bread might be hungry, and the fountain thirsty; that the light might sleep, and the way be weary from a journey” - Breakpoint
Review of Tim Alberta’s “The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism”
“The book is at its best in shedding light on how American evangelicals have confronted – and continue to navigate – the relationship between faith and politics. Across his travels, Alberta recounts a colorful cast of characters and churches.” - Providence
“With a View to the Administration of the Fullness of Times”: The Relationship of the Church to the Kingdom
“of the nineteen uses of βασιλεία in the NT epistles, fully half of them occur in contexts of church membership, most often that of church discipline.” - DBTS Blog
A Newly Digitized Bible Provides Insights Into KJV Translation Process
“A one-of-a-kind Bible used by the King James translators offers a rare glimpse of their textual decisions.” - Text & Canon
Liz Magill, U. Penn’s president, and board chair resign as antisemitism testimony draws backlash
“Universities across the U.S. have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide.” - RNS
CDC report: More than 625K U.S. lives lost to abortion in 2021
“The public health agency said it was ‘unable to report the total number of abortions performed in the United States’ in 2021, limited, in part, due to the four states that did not provide data – California, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey.” - BPNews
How to Win Theological Controversy: Lessons from the Pharisees
Tired of losing debates? Would you like a sure-fire way to win arguments? Consider learning from one of the best. The Pharisees had plenty of experience in theological controversy. Most notable was their interaction with the theological heresy of Christianity. Through the employment of several forms of fallacious arguments they managed to discredit Jesus and his follows and effectively “win” the debate. One prime example of their methodology is found in chapter seven of John’s Gospel. A careful examination of this passage uncovers some valuable lessons that modern controversialists can utilize for silencing the opposition.
Rejecting the Narrative of 'Christian Nationalism'
Here is a link to an article about "Christian Nationalism" with some really interesting statistics.
Rejecting the Narrative of 'Christian Nationalism' – PJ Media
Here are some sample quotes:
As I wrote almost exactly a year ago, "Christians aren’t called to make a kingdom here on earth; God calls Christians to pave the way for His eternal kingdom."
Advent Meditation: Justice Brings Peace
“Mary, anticipating the peace that would follow great upheaval, rejoices in the promises of God. Her world, and ours, is filled with injustice.” - TGC
Survey: More UK doctors think legalizing physician-assisted suicide will hurt their profession
Review: The Magi in History and Tradition
“Vanden Eykel’s theory is based on exploring the range of meanings attached to the Greek word magoi, and the use of the term in ancient narratives.” - BAR
In Awe of God’s Omnipresence (Part 2)
Read Part 1.
Omnipresence and the Incarnation of Christ
Many Christians may not realize how closely intertwined omnipresence and communion are within the confessional Lutheran perspective. Martin Luther certainly taught “that the Lord’s bread in the Supper is His true natural body.”1 Mueller therefore admits: “The true doctrine of God’s omnipresence is of special importance for the right understanding of the Lord’s Supper (Real Presence).”2
What Pastors Actually Think About While They Preach
“So, what exactly am I thinking while I preach? I’ll share my thoughts, but if you preach regularly, share yours in the comments.” - ChurchAnswers
Sunday School, Moral Teaching, and Christ-centered reading of the OT
“This is the fundamental reason we shouldn’t discard the old approach—the Bible itself invites readers to learn from the lives of its characters.” - TGC
Analysis and Critique of the Federal Vision Teaching of Justification (Part 2)
“FV is not primarily concerned with soteriology, much less justification. However, some of their teaching in other areas helps to shape their understanding of justification. Three areas that indirectly relate to their teaching of justification will be considered here” - DBTS Blog
A new Homeland Security guide aims to help houses of worship protect themselves
“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an arm of Homeland Security, works with faith groups across the country to help them prepare for and prevent targeted violence against their facilities and their members.” - RNS
Can Objective Morality Make a Comeback?
“Why is it that for baseball, consensus favors ‘integrity and playing by the rules’—that is, adhering to an external order—whereas for morality, consensus favors doing what a person wishes to maximize utility or pleasure for that individual? In other words, why are Americans objectivists with baseball and subjectivists with morality?” - Public Discourse
Takeaways from The AP’s investigation into the Mormon church’s handling of sex abuse cases
“According to the church, all information about child sexual abuse passed from church members to their bishops is confidential under the clergy-penitent privilege, and all information passed from the Helpline to church attorneys is confidential under the attorney-client privilege.” - RNS
Who Are You When Only Your Family Is Looking?
“I have often heard it said that character is who you are when no one is looking…. But as I considered the character of an elder, I also found myself challenged with this: Character is who you are when only your family is looking.” - Challies
Politicians, Catholic advocacy groups, and the FBI clash over FBI investigations of ‘Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology’
FBI Struggled to Define ‘Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology’ in Memo on Extremism: Report - National Review
House panel releases report on FBI’s targeting of traditional Catholics - CPost
Who Was St. Nicholas?
“We know that a bishop named Nicholas existed, that he had a great influence on his homeland, and that he probably died on December 6…. this is some of the legend of St. Nicholas” - Kevin DeYoung
‘Watershed moment’: State Baptist conventions make progress on sexual abuse reforms
“Greg Love, co-founder of MinistrySafe, says most state Baptist conventions are following two pathways in helping their churches protect themselves from sexual abuse.” - BPNews
On Fellowship, Part 5: Covering Both the Bases
Read the series.
Biblical fellowship is a two-sided coin, or a two-edged sword, or a two-way street, or something. (The title of this post strongly implies that I don’t know anything at all about baseball.)
I’d like to close this series, and the larger metaseries about the means of grace, by noting that fellowship, our reciprocal care for one another in the body of Christ, is a comprehensive task that involves complex people. It’s not enough to just try to be positive and encouraging.
Biblical Encouragement