What a wild and wacky week. From a landmark ruling in the California Prop 8 case striking down the gay marriage ban to Baptist battles over women in ministry and who Christians and Muslims worship to staged fights by a Baptist church, we are seeing a collision of law, religion, and politics at unprecedented levels. Here are seven posts or articles of note that you may have missed this week. Enjoy!
Associated Baptist Press has reaction from a broad spectrum of Christian leaders — Richard Land to Welton Gaddy — on Thursday’s landmark ruling in the Prop 8 Gay Marriage case. Denny Burk, New Testament Professor and Dean of Boyce Bible College at Southern Seminary, expounds upon the moral and legal revolution sweeping the nation in light of Prop 8’s rejection by a Federal Judge. To understand how theological liberal Christians view this issue, take a look at Rev. Patrick S. Cheng’s Huffington Post article, “What About Love?: Why Judge Walker’s Proposition 8 Ruling Is Theologically Correct.” What many folks may have overlooked in analyzing Judge Walker’s ruling is the horrible job the proponents of Prop 8 did in arguing for the law’s constitutionality. Even if your case is morally strong, you must still present facts and evidence to support your legal arguments and conclusions. You can read my analysis about the proponents incredibly poor witnesses at trial in Prop 8 Ruling: Legally Right, Morally Wrong!
Baptists continue to debate the role of women in ministry and the church’s view of Muslims. Dr. David Gushee, my former Christian Ethics Professor at Southern Seminary, discusses the ordination of women in “What Kind of Baptist Are You?” Dr. Robert Sellers, Missions Professor at Hardin-Simmons’ Logsdon School of Theology, apparently believes that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Like the continued acceptance of homosexuality within the church, I predict that Sellers’ view will gain traction within Christianity. This will of course lead to more fights.
Speaking of fights, I have seen my share of “fights” within the Baptist church, especially at our business meetings. But, an African-American Baptist church in Indianapolis took things to a whole new level this week when they staged a fight to see how a white police officer would respond. Welcome to Barack Obama’s post-racial America!