Perhaps you are asking that this week as you return to your day-to-day responsibilities.
If there’s one thing that the past few days’ focus on Christ’s cross did, it’s remind most of us how unfocused we’ve been on the death and resurrection of Christ. We look back with grief over the way we yet again allowed the blood of Christ to slip to the periphery of our lives and let many other lesser things in to replace it. Why did we let it happen again?
More importantly, how can I stop it happening again? Here are eight directions to help you live a cross-centered life:
1. Have Easter every week
MORE: Easter Sunday is Over, Now What? - Easter (Full Article)
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Good news in the fight against abortion | the Cripplegate
If Wendy Davis and Planned Parenthood are the face of the pro-abortion movement, then there may yet be hope that this is the last generation for legal abortion in the United States.
First some background: Yesterday the 5th-Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and allowed Texas’ new restrictions on abortions to remain in effect. This case will certainly be heard by the US Supreme Court, and is probably the most significant case in the struggle to end legal abortion.
The case started last year when abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of eight counts of murder for botched abortions. Essentially, Gosnell ran what was described by a grand jury as a “house of horrors” where young women were drugged, labor was induced, and if any babies were old enough to survive delivery, they had their spines cut with scissors. He continuously infected patients with STD’s, reused dirty instruments, and misused drugs. Cats roamed the halls, and the place was a urine and blood-soaked mess.
More: Good news in the fight against abortion | the Cripplegate
First some background: Yesterday the 5th-Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and allowed Texas’ new restrictions on abortions to remain in effect. This case will certainly be heard by the US Supreme Court, and is probably the most significant case in the struggle to end legal abortion.
The case started last year when abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of eight counts of murder for botched abortions. Essentially, Gosnell ran what was described by a grand jury as a “house of horrors” where young women were drugged, labor was induced, and if any babies were old enough to survive delivery, they had their spines cut with scissors. He continuously infected patients with STD’s, reused dirty instruments, and misused drugs. Cats roamed the halls, and the place was a urine and blood-soaked mess.
More: Good news in the fight against abortion | the Cripplegate
Friday, April 11, 2014
The Fault Lines Before the Evangelical Earthquake – Trevin Wax
The recent controversy surrounding World Vision USA’s decision to open employment to same-sex couples and the organization’s subsequent reversal reveals the fault lines in evangelicalism today.
For the evangelicals distraught by World Vision’s initial decision, the controversy was never about the legitimacy or worthiness of people with differing views of marriage doing good work around the world. We should applaud good deeds of relief and compassion wherever we see them and wherever they come from. No, this particular controversy was about the meaning of evangelical.
Can an institution with an historic evangelical identity be divided on an issue as central as marriage and family and still be evangelical? Related to this discussion are questions about the authority and interpretation of Scripture, cultural engagement, and institutional power. All sides of the debate recognize that the definition of evangelical is at stake, which is why some are now publicly casting off the term altogether.
More:
The Fault Lines Before the Evangelical Earthquake – Trevin Wax
For the evangelicals distraught by World Vision’s initial decision, the controversy was never about the legitimacy or worthiness of people with differing views of marriage doing good work around the world. We should applaud good deeds of relief and compassion wherever we see them and wherever they come from. No, this particular controversy was about the meaning of evangelical.
Can an institution with an historic evangelical identity be divided on an issue as central as marriage and family and still be evangelical? Related to this discussion are questions about the authority and interpretation of Scripture, cultural engagement, and institutional power. All sides of the debate recognize that the definition of evangelical is at stake, which is why some are now publicly casting off the term altogether.
More:
The Fault Lines Before the Evangelical Earthquake – Trevin Wax
Thursday, April 10, 2014
A No Holds Barred Review of Noah : The Movie (2014) | Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely…
All right.
Up until yesterday, I had heard a whole lot of hype about the Noah movie and honestly, couldn’t care less. It’s a Hollywood production and, like The Passion of the Christ, I thought it would be an attempt by some biblically illiterate celebrities (for example) and a theologically lobotomized director/producer (for example) to atone for all the trash that they’ve unleashed upon the world at 24 frames per second (or now 48). There’s a huge difference between films made by Christians and films made by “Hollywood Christians” (the difference being a biblical worldview vs. an explicitly pagan worldview hiding behind re-defined biblical terminology), and I generally ignore all the “Christian/religious” media that emerges from Hollywood. To use a biblical term, films made by “Hollywood Christians” are generally moronic. (For the sake of clarity, I use the phrase “Hollywood Christians” as a catchall for everyone who would self-identify as some form of “Christian”).
MORE:
A No Holds Barred Review of Noah : The Movie (2014) | Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely…
Up until yesterday, I had heard a whole lot of hype about the Noah movie and honestly, couldn’t care less. It’s a Hollywood production and, like The Passion of the Christ, I thought it would be an attempt by some biblically illiterate celebrities (for example) and a theologically lobotomized director/producer (for example) to atone for all the trash that they’ve unleashed upon the world at 24 frames per second (or now 48). There’s a huge difference between films made by Christians and films made by “Hollywood Christians” (the difference being a biblical worldview vs. an explicitly pagan worldview hiding behind re-defined biblical terminology), and I generally ignore all the “Christian/religious” media that emerges from Hollywood. To use a biblical term, films made by “Hollywood Christians” are generally moronic. (For the sake of clarity, I use the phrase “Hollywood Christians” as a catchall for everyone who would self-identify as some form of “Christian”).
MORE:
A No Holds Barred Review of Noah : The Movie (2014) | Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely…
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
The midrashiest midrash that ever was midrashed. . . . . [a spoiler-free “Noah” review] | Denny Burk
Shall I tread where angels fear to tread and give an evaluation of Darren Aronofsky’s Noah movie? Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by angels. In the movie Noah, the frilly feminine harp-stroking caricatures have given way to a cross between Ben Grimm, Peter Jackson’s Ents, and Gumby. I guess we can chalk that one up to the mystery of the Nephilim. But I digress. What about the movie? Is it any good? Should Christians go and see it? Should anyone go and see it?
Before offering my opinion, I should warn you that I think Jackie Gleason’s role in Smokey and the Bandit may be the finest performance in the history of cinema. I don’t think that tells you much about Smokey and the Bandit, but it does tell you something about me and my aesthetic sensibilities. So I can’t blame you if you take these reflections with a healthy grain of salt. Caveat lector!
MORE:
The midrashiest midrash that ever was midrashed. . . . . [a spoiler-free “Noah” review] | Denny Burk
Before offering my opinion, I should warn you that I think Jackie Gleason’s role in Smokey and the Bandit may be the finest performance in the history of cinema. I don’t think that tells you much about Smokey and the Bandit, but it does tell you something about me and my aesthetic sensibilities. So I can’t blame you if you take these reflections with a healthy grain of salt. Caveat lector!
MORE:
The midrashiest midrash that ever was midrashed. . . . . [a spoiler-free “Noah” review] | Denny Burk
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