‘Staying in His Lane’

“The appearance of Osteen and Chopra together was a priceless demonstration of the fact that the New Thought positive thinking philosophy that drives them both can be grafted onto either Christianity or Eastern religion. In the end, it all sounds the same. Chopra’s New Age spirituality and Osteen’s updated version of the word-faith movement end up as the same message, only with different trappings.

O’Brien then shifted the topic to homosexuality, as would be expected. …”

– Albert Mohler writes on “the total theological bankruptcy of the word of faith movement and the gospel of positive thinking”.  (Image: CNN.)

Carl Trueman on being different

“Every now and then I find myself reminded of just how much the world has changed. One such moment came for me on Saturday. I was up in Boston…”

– Read Carl Trueman’s witty but serious thoughts on living for Christ in a changing world – at Reformation21.

Related: When even Joel Osteen is Treated as a bigot – Justin Taylor.

The Devolution of Marriage

“Weddings and marriage have been in the news a lot recently. Same sex marriage and revising the wedding vows are not unrelated issues but reflect the community’s confusion about the nature of marriage and the place of weddings.

Over the last 30 years Anglican wedding services have evolved steadily away from the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. This change in theology and liturgy has undermined the minister’s ability to teach the faith and help couples to understand marriage. …”

– from Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen’s weekly column.

The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife? When sensationalism masquerades as scholarship

“The whole world changed on Tuesday. At least, that is what many would have us to believe. Smithsonian magazine, published by no less than the Smithsonian Institution, declared that the news released Tuesday was ‘apt to send jolts through the world of biblical scholarship–and beyond.’ Really? …”

– Albert Mohler at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary takes a look at the latest alleged sensation.

See also The Far Less Sensational Truth about Jesus’ ‘Wife’ – by Michael Kruger, Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Love and Subjugation

Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen draws out some implications of what he wrote last week:

“Sometimes people who live in a different culture only notice what is said when for them a politically incorrect word like ‘submission’ is uttered. Others have seen firsthand the horror of domestic violence and are rightly sensitised to anything that could contribute to such an awful abuse. …”

– Worth reading and passing around.

Questions and mockery

“Readers of The Australian are demonstrating a commitment to informed, polite and open-minded debate simply by opening these pages or clicking on our website. So we expect readers will share our concern at a disturbing, emerging intolerance towards pluralism in some sections of the public conversation. …”

– Editorial from The Australian.

Related: ‘Christian Character and Good Arguments’ – Michael Horton (h/t Tim Challies.)

Submission and the Clash of Cultures

“Behind the media brouhaha about the word ‘submission’, lies a clash of world views. It is a clash that feels difficult because of the heat of debate, but one that exposes something of the difference the gospel makes – not just in theory but also in practice. …”

– Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen writes on the hot topic of marriage in his weekly column.

The Great American Worldview Exercise — The 2012 Election

“The presidential nominees of the two major parties represent two very different worldviews and visions. President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have adopted policy positions that place them in direct conflict, and the platforms of their respective parties reveal two radically different renderings of reality…

Though the two parties have taken opposing positions on many of these issues for years, the radical nature of the current polarization is new.”

– Albert Mohler looks at the widening gulf between to two major US political parties.

The Power of a Dependent Father

“When you are little your father is very big; you are weak, but he is very strong; you know very little and he seems to know everything, you feel feeble compared to his powerful presence.

When your father is very powerful, you are able to do so much. You feel safe and secure in his great arms. You are comfortable, if not confident, to ask him for anything. He takes you to places, shows you things, entertains you, houses, feeds, clothes and educates you. And when you go to school you can boast about how great your father is – how much greater than other children’s fathers.

But when you grow up and become a father, you realise how difficult life is; how weak and inadequate you are; how complex the world has become; how vulnerable you actually are; how few resources you have to care and provide for your family. …”

– from Phillip Jensen’s weekly column.

Word-watch: lessons from a naïve blogger

“A few days ago I wrote a short article in which I used the word ‘submission.’ I’ve just now realized that by using this word, I was being a bit naïve. The realization of my own naivety came when I read Kara Martin’s helpful review of the book Fifty Shades of Grey on the Sydney Anglicans website…”

– Lionel Windsor’s post at The Briefing is a good reminder that words have a context, and that can affect how we are heard.

Atheists in the Pulpit

“It is hard to think of any other profession which it is so near to impossible to leave.” That is the judgment of Richard Dawkins, perhaps the world’s most famous living atheist, as he welcomes unbelieving pastors to join the Clergy Project, a group designed to help unbelieving pastors make their way out of the ministry. …

Dennett and LaScola made a very interesting and important observation in their research report. They acknowledged that defining an unbelieving pastor is actually quite difficult. Given the fact that so many liberal churches and denominations already believe so little, how is atheism really different? In the name of tolerance, the liberal denominations have embraced so much unbelief that atheism is a practical challenge.”

– Albert Mohler writes about “The Clergy Project’.

A Statement on Civility

“Political campaign ads are full of misrepresentations. Voting records are twisted, legislation is misstated, and generalizations are made. Then the other side just ups the ante and the vicious cycle continues…”

– Ed Stetzer makes some observations – and appeals – concerning political discourse in the USA.

1. We are too quick to label others who disagree with us.
2. We misrepresent others’ views to make them look stupid or evil.
3. We use fear as a weapon against the uninformed.

Beware of Anglicans bearing gifts

The American Anglican Council’s Phil Ashey reflects on statements by the Anglican Communion Office’s Secretary General on the relationship of TEC to the Anglican Communion.

Canon Ashey writes:

“This is like an arsonist’s victim saying ‘What is surprising and heartening is that we are in conversation with the arsonist, and that even though our house has burned down the conversation has been a great learning experience for all of us.’

Secretary Kearon’s statement is important because it gives insight into the mind of those who are shaping the agenda for the upcoming Anglican Consultative Council meeting (ACC-15) in Auckland, New Zealand in October.”

– Read it all here.

Ga ga for Gaga? PCUSA Backs American Capitalism

“It has been some months since I last had a rant about Lady Gaga, so I am grateful to the good old PCUSA for giving me the chance. Yes, the people whose General Assembly a few years back brought you the Carnival of Animals, presided over by some kind of Aztec divinity on steroids, and issued free masks of Mandragora to celebrate Calvin’s birth and evangelise Whovians at the same time, have now gone ga ga for Gaga. It seems her music, along with that of other titans of modern pop culture, featured somewhat significantly at the meeting of the highest court of the church, the General Assembly…”

– Insightful commentary from Carl Trueman at Reformation21.

Avoiding evangelical civil war

“John Stott famously lamented the pathological tendency of evangelicals to fragment. Others have remarked upon this as well, often as an argument for dismissing the veracity of any evangelical doctrine. How can the so-called evangelical position on this doctrine or that be accepted if there are other evangelicals who disagree with it? Evangelical theology is defeated by its own lack of consensus.

So how do we hold on to the truth, speak it with clarity, call upon others to hold it and stand firm against attempts to modify it, without starting World War 3 or its ecclesiastical equivalent?”

– Dr Mark Thompson writes at Theological Theology.

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