From Law to Grace » Archive
Weiner’s Lies, Chief Sinners & God’s Grace!
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire! While no one knows exactly where this phrase — always popular with the school-aged children (or those who act like school-aged children) — originated, if there ever was a poster-boy for the truth that this phrase expounds, it’s none other than New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. And, even though Mr. Weiner thinks that his Monday press conference extinguished the flames, it is becoming more apparent that the lies, half-truths, and equivocations are still coming. For purposes of full disclosure, I must say that I have always thought that Rep. Weiner was one of the most irritatingly obnoxious people to ever serve in the halls of Congress. Never one to shy away from the camera, we now know that his affection for being in pictures has multiple meanings. … Read entire article »
Countdown to SBC Phoenix: What to Expect?
After being in Dallas for a few days for our son, Stephen’s, appointment at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (he has Legg-Perthes Disease, a childhood hip condition), I am looking forward to my first visit to Phoenix next week for this year’s annual get-together of the nation’s largest Protestant body. At the moment, I want to be in Phoenix because the “dry heat” in Arizona has to be preferable to the miserably humid temperatures that we have encountered in Texas this week. As a native Floridian, who has called New Mexico home for the past four years, I gladly admit that I do not miss the high temperatures AND high humidity that comes with living back east. It has been nice actually seeing the rain and all the green grass, but that’s not enough to tempt … Read entire article »
Filed under: Great Commission Resurgence, Religion, Southern Baptist Convention
Newt Gingrich & Evangelicals: Strange Bedfellows
Politics makes strange bedfellows Political interests can bring together people who otherwise have little in common. This saying is adapted from a line in the play The Tempest, by William Shakespeare: “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” It is spoken by a man who has been shipwrecked and finds himself seeking shelter beside a sleeping monster. (Cultural Dictionary at Dictionary.com) Now, Newt Gingrich is no monster, but there are many Evangelical leaders, including the SBC’s Richard Land, who apparently are warming up to the idea of sleeping in the same bed with Mr. Gingrich (politically speaking, of course). Any port in a storm, as long as the port is Republican and not named Obama! The more that these Evangelical leaders try to rehabilitate this Republican candidate for President, the greater their hypocrisy becomes. In … Read entire article »
Sharia Law: Constitutional Menace or a Religious Freedom?
When you hear the words, “Sharia Law,” what immediately comes to mind? If you said an Islamic legal code that is incompatible with the laws of our nation and states, you would probably be in “good” company, at least in Oklahoma. Whether or not you would be 100% correct is debatable. I must admit that when I hear “Sharia Law,” I do not have a positive dispostion toward this Islamic code. I suspect this is the case with many people, including many Southern Baptists. Our reticence in allowing Sharia Law to be used AT ALL in the United States may stem from its misuse in foreign lands, countries which simply lack the freedoms that we enjoy here in America. Our sensibilities — rightly so — are offended when we hear stories of what most Americans would consider cruel and unusual punishment. To … Read entire article »
Filed under: Freedom of Religion, Freedoms, Islam, Law, Religion
CBF, Sexual Ethics & the Muddled Moderates
In the 1995 Spring Semester at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, my wife and I both took Christian Ethics, a required course for every MDiv student. The professor was a well-respected young scholar who was known for his thoughtfulness in tackling some of the most difficult ethical situations of the day. I do not remember every topic that was listed on our syllabus, but I’m quite certain that we were encouraged –expected — to use the Bible as our primary source for answering issues dealing with abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war and peace, sexual ethics, and a whole host of hot-button cultural issues facing Christians and the church in the mid-90′s. While my memory fails at certain points (my wife tells me I have the memory of a dead elephant), I do remember earning an “A” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Christianity, Homosexual Agenda, Religion, Theology