Christians and Gay Marriage

Carl Trueman has written an excellent article regarding a Christian response to the Gay Marriage issue:

What is becoming increasingly clear is that the day is probably not far off when those who regard homosexual practice as wrong will be consistently presented as the moral, cultural and intellectual equivalents of white supremacists.

He also comments, as Al Mohler has done much recently, on how uncool biblical Christianity is in American culture.

This issue is set to shatter any possibility of traditional, biblical Christians being considered cool.

My wife has always said that I am uncool, and for the first time, I am proud of that description.

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John Calvin Is 500 Years Old

Some excellent comtemporary theologians have called Calvin the greatest theologian in the history of the church. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with that claim, the impact of Calvin's theological writings cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, most Christians are only familiar with the five points of Calvinism (T-U-L-I-P) and never dive much deeper into the life and works of Calvin. For this reason, and to honor his 500th birthday, Ligioneer Ministries has published this book as an attempt to famaliarize more Christians with the man and his work: John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, Doxology.

I cannot wait to get my hands on this collection of essays from some of today's most influential pastors and professors. If anyone needs a Christmas gift idea for me ... I'm just saying.

To get people in the mood, here is a quote from Calvin:

As the surest source of destruction to men is to obey themselves, so the only haven of safety is to have no other will, no other wisdom, than to follow the Lord wherever he leads.

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What is the Gospel?

I am more convinced than ever that it is essential for the church to understand the Gospel more fully: what it is, its message, and its power. At its most basic level, the Gospel is the story of Jesus Christ: who he is, what he accomplished, and mankind's relationship to him. Michael Horton has recently been in the habit of trying to clarify many points regarding the Gospel. Here is one such clarification:

By definition, the gospel is not something that we can live. It is only something that we can hear and receive. It is good news, not good advice.

I agree. The gospel is a proclamation; it is a factual account and a historical claim. It is news that must be believed in order for somone to be a Christian. The Gospel is a bold and clear statement about God, mankind, and the person and work of Jesus Christ. If the church is going to make any attempt at recovering the Gospel of Christ, then we must begin with this understanding.

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Obama's Christianity

Is Barack Obama a Christian? What exactly does he believe? These are questions that many people have asked over the past year. Recently, a Chicago Sun Times interview of Obama, conducted in 2004, was released to the public. This interview has been referenced many times over the past year, but it was previously never available in its entirety.

I encourage everyone to read the interview in its entirety. Here are a view quick quotes and comments.

Obama's first words were:

I am a Christian.

He then followed this statement with the following:

So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.

He later added to this by stating:

I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.

I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding.

Once again, tolerance gets redefined from "tolerating" to "agreeing with or confirming". This further confirms that contemporary culture and even our president are simply not concerned with truth. In fact, the very idea that there is truth is now being labeled as intolerant.

Here is another interesting exchange:

OBAMA:
It's interesting, the most powerful political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I'm talking to a group and I'm saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I'm just being glib or clever.

FALSANI:
What's that power? Is it the holy spirit? God?

OBAMA:
Well, I think it's the power of the recognition of God, or the recognition of a larger truth that is being shared between me and an audience.

When asked about Jesus, Obama stated:

Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher.

And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.

This is how Obama defined sin:

FALSANI:
What is sin?

OBAMA:
Being out of alignment with my values.

Then he states what he believes about eternal destiny in general:

OBAMA:
There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they're going to hell.

FALSANI:
You don't believe that?

OBAMA:
I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell.

I can't imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity.

That's just not part of my religious makeup.

And, then what he thinks about his own eternal destiny:

What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded.

All things considered, this interview is about what I would expect from the future president. Obama makes it clear that he is a pluralist and that he is looking to his good deeds to save him, not the atoning work of Christ. Actually this may not be correct, because Obama does not seem to believe that mankind is in need of salvation. He subscribes to a form of religion that seems to be best described as moralistic therapeutic deism.

Is Obama a Christian? Maybe some of you are comfortable putting the label of Christianity on this religious system of Obama's, but I am not. Christianity at its most basic level is built on the fact that everyone is a sinner and in desperate need of being made right with God, and that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to earth and made atonement. I don't see any of the key distinctives of Christianity in Obama's religion.

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Fighting the Freedom of Choice Act

For anyone who is unaware the proposed Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would ensure that no state is allowed to keep or put any of the following laws or regulations into place:

• Bans on Partial Birth Abortion
• Requirements that women be given information about the risks of getting an abortion
• Only licensed physicians can perform abortions
• Parents must be informed and give consent to their minor daughter's abortion

FOCA is just one more step in the opposite direction from the sanctity of life. It not only goes against the sanctity and protection of life, it also discourages education and communication. Christians have to get off of the bench; we cannot continue to allow the weakest people among us to be slaughtered.

For more information on the FOCA, read J.T.'s post.

To take the first step toward getting off the bench and taking a stand against this proposed pro-choice legislature, sign this petition.

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Twilight

This book and movie has turned into the latest cultural phenomenon. I have even heard it claimed that this movie is going to be as big as Harry Potter. While I do not know if it will catch the adolescent wizard, it is definitely creating a lot of buzz. Unfortunately, I haven't read the book and probably won't get to see the movie anytime soon.

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Nonetheless, I would love to discuss the impact this vampire story is having on the Christian community. If you have read the book or seen the movie, then please comment with any thoughts, suggestions, or critiques.

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Photography

I have a friend who is pretty good with a camera. You can check out some of his pictures here: Justin's Flicker

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Emerging Marriage

For those of you who are still on the fence regarding the possible dangers of the Emergent Church Movement, and some of its leaders, this post is intended to kick you off. In a dialogue with Rod Dreher, Tony Jones (one of the leaders of this movement) made the following statement:

"I now believe that GLBTQ [people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, and queer] can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (at least as much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state."

In response to this quote, Justin Taylor said that he was reminded of the following verse:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
--Isaiah 5:20

At some point, we have to begin calling such propositions coming from this movement (and elsewhere in Christendom) exactly what they are: evil, dark, and bitter.

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For the very first time

If you stumbled upon this blog, then to you I say "Welcome!". This blog has been a long time coming. I finally have a place to publish my pointless rants. I was inspired to finally create a blog by Yoda:

Do, or do not, there is not try.
- Yoda

So, I finally stopped talking about it, and just created this space. The world may never be same.

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