Can You Be Christian and Gay? Jennifer Knapp on Larry King and Denny Burk. "...King wanted to discuss the question, “Can you be Christian and gay?” King asked Knapp if she was still a Christian, and she said that she was a “person of faith.” She also said that there’s no contradiction with being a Christian and homosexual. At one point, Knapp appealed to the Greek New Testament to justify homosexual behavior..."

The Pill Turns 50--TIME considers the Contraceptive Revolution (Al Mohler) "Anniversaries and commemorations come and go as history unfolds, but few dates are as significant as May 9, 1960. On that day the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale and use of Enovid — the first mass pharmaceutical form of what is now simply known as “The Pill.” Quite simply, the world has never been the same since.

The 50th anniversary of the Pill will surely draw a great deal of media and cultural attention. TIME magazine devoted its May 3, 2010 cover story to the meaning of the Pill after a half-century. Executive Editor Nancy Gibbs wrote the main story, entitled..."

 

Sin: Not the Way It's Supposed to Be. by Cornelius Plantinga Jr."...in the 1991 film Grand Canyon, an immigration attorney breaks out of a traffic jam and tries to drive around it. He doesn’t know where he’s going and he’s alarmed to note that each street seems darker and more deserted than the last. Then, a nightmare. His fancy sports car stalls. He manages to call for a tow truck, but before it arrives, five local toughs surround his car and threaten him. Just in time, the tow truck shows up and its driver—an earnest, genial man—begins to hook up to the sports car. The toughs protest: the driver is interrupting their meal. So the driver takes the group leader aside and gives him a five-sentence introduction to sin: ..."

Evangelicalism, Evolution, and the Risk of Looking like a Cult (Carl Trueman). "The recent comments by Professor Bruce Waltke, to the effect that Christianity risks becoming a cult, or at least being perceived as a cult, unless it embraces evolution, have provoked a storm of comment, pro and con. I do not wish to address Professor Waltke's comments directly; for the record, I have always enjoyed his writings (and found them helpful). He is a scholar and gentleman, and when Professor Waltke speaks, I listen, even when I disagree. Thus, what I want to reflect on here are not Professor Waltke's well-known and long-standing views on origins but the questions surrounding the claim that a Christianity which rejects evolution really does risk becoming a cult, and, if so, whether that is something about which we should worry...."

How to Disarm an Angry Person (Ed Welch) "It is the most difficult of maneuvers. There are no guarantees of success. And the stakes are high. But we have no choice: we must learn how to do it. How do you disarm an angry person? The angry person could be a child, parent, spouse, friend, neighbor or counselee. And, of course, we could use a little disarming ourselves sometimes..."

Spiritual Perfectionism and Discouragement (D. A. Carson). "Most readers of Themelios will be aware that the word “perfectionism” is commonly attached in theological circles to one subset of the Wesleyan tradition. As far as I can tell, the numbers who defend such perfectionism today are rather depleted. They hold that progressive sanctification is not only desirable and attainable but, borne along by grace, can result in a life of sinlessness here and now: we do not have to wait for the glorification that all God’s redeemed people will enjoy at the parousia. A century ago the movement was often an extrapolation of Keswick theology, then in its heyday—a movement distinguishable from Keswick theology by its claim to attain a rather higher “higher life” than most within the Keswick fold thought they could achieve...."

Five Big Issues Facing the Western Church (Tim Keller) "1. The opportunity for extensive culture-making in the U.S. In an interview, sociologist Peter Berger observed that in the U.S. evangelicals are shifting from being largely a blue-collar constituency to becoming a college educated population. His question is, will Christians going into the arts, business, government, the media, and film..."

How Many People Does it take to Save an Unborn Life? "Visit http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/ and you will see Lisa. She represents one example of the community of Christians it takes some times to save even one mother and baby from abortion. I met Lisa through the Core Center, our of Heartbeat affiliate in Sunbury, OH. Listening to Lisa, I counted about 23 people who played a direct and significant role, in rescuing Lisa from despair, saving her baby from certain death, and being the answer to prayer for a young couple praying for the opportunity to adopt. They include...

Render Unto Caesar? On Paying Taxes After Obamacare (Mohler). "A significant number of Christians are now wondering about the moral implications of the Obama health care overhaul. While any number of moral questions will demand attention, the question of abortion stands at the center of concern. And with the question of abortion comes the question of taxes..."

Abundant Life with Exercise (Branda Polk). “'A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.'” (John 10:10, HCSB)
The statistics are frightening and sad:
• 62% of Americans are overweight or obese
• 1 in 3 US adults have high blood pressure
• 17.2 million Americans have diagnosed diabetes, approximately 6.1 million are undiagnosed diabetics, and over 63 million are pre-diabetic symptoms
• 1 in 3 American men have some form of heart disease
These realities are just a few reminders of the unhealthy, disease riddled lives that so many people live. These statistics are even more discouraging when, most of the time, these are the consequences of an inactive lifestyle and are completely preventable..."

 

Websites to Save You Money (Baptist Press).  DORA, Ala. (BP)--There's a wealth of info in cyberspace that can help you and your family save time and money. If you aren't Internet savvy, please check with your local library, community college and other places that offer basic computer courses -- many of which are free.