Doug Wilson vs. Pro-Gay Activists at IU in Bloomington

This is pretty astounding, really. I remember the extremely liberal and typically disrespectful bent of students when I was in college, but this is something else entirely. Doug Wilson went to the campus of Indiana University back in April to do some talks on sexuality. About half the room that showed up were there to yell, ridicule, heckle, and completely disrespect him based on his stance that homosexuality is a sin, all while yelling at him about love and tolerance. Irony as I've never seen.

Here are a couple of trailer videos from the event:





These videos are simultaneously stunning and prophetic. They are hard to watch (and not just because many of those yelling can't seem to put together a sentence that doesn't include profanity), but Christians need to get ready. This is a look at the not-too-distant future for many.

I love Wilson's quote: "The diversity crowd has two fundamental tenets: the first is that they have an absolute commitment to free speech, and the second tenet is, 'Shut up.'" (Immediately followed by a heckler yelling, "Yeah, shut up!" - Seriously, the irony would be funny if it weren't so sad.)

Denny Burk has some good observations about this whole thing:

1. The gay activists shouting for “tolerance” are the most shrill, intolerant personalities in the room. The irony seems to be completely lost on the protesters and naysayers who are quite disrespectful and cruel to Doug Wilson throughout his presentations. They demanded Wilson to give them logic and respect, but they gave him none in return. 

2. Thanks be to God for Doug Wilson who rose to the task and answered their questions biblically and with good humor! He actually looks like he enjoys the sparring. That kind of winsomeness goes farther than winning every argument (though he also seems to win every argument too). Christians, take note. When reviled, do not revile in return (1 Pet. 2:23). Instead, bless those who curse you (Luke 6:28). Sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness (Prov. 16:21). A gentle answer turns away wrath, and the tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable (Prov. 15:1-2). 

3. Post-modern gobbledygook thinking is on massive display here. The students aren’t interested in attacking the reliability of the Bible on scientific or historical grounds. Traditional apologetics would have been useless here. Almost to a man, they were concerned with judging the morality of the Bible. They deconstructed the Bible and manipulated texts to their own ends but then also stood in judgment over the Bible where it didn’t fit their views. In everything, their intuitions and feelings about the nature of reality defined everything. 

4. It is not difficult to see how the hostility on display in this video might be turned into open persecution of Christians. I do not mean to be an alarmist, but it is hard to ignore the level of vitriol that more and more seems to be directed toward Christians for their views on homosexuality. This encounter with Wilson is just a single instance of a disdain that is becoming more widespread in the culture. What will be the public implications of that disdain in the next 10, 20, or even 30 years? It seems to me that the vitriol on display in this video is on its way to becoming the majority view. For Christians, this is not likely to get any easier for us going forward. 

5. The Lord’s arm is not too short to save (Is. 59:1). Our culture’s spiritual decline is not inevitable. Who knows what God might do if we bear witness faithfully to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Let’s do that, and pray for God to have mercy on us and our neighbors.

A Parody of Over-Interpreting the Bible

I've seen this from Moises Silva before, but Justin Taylor linked to it the other day, and it's too good not to repost.
___________________________________________

It is approximately the year 2790. The most powerful nation on earth occupies a large territory in Central Africa, and its citizens speak Swahili. The United States and other English-speaking countries have long ceased to exist, and much of the literature prior to 2012 (the year of the Great Conflagration) is not extant. Some archaeologists digging in the western regions of North America discover a short but well-preserved text that can confidently be dated to the last quarter of the twentieth century. It reads thus:

Marilyn, tired of her glamorous image, embarked on a new project. She would now cultivate her mind, sharpen her verbal skills, pay attention to standards of etiquette. Most important of all, she would devote herself to charitable causes. Accordingly, she offered her services at the local hospital, which needed volunteers to cheer up terminal patients, many of whom had been in considerable pain for a long time. The weeks flew by. One day she was sitting at the cafeteria when her supervisor approached her and said, “I didn’t see you yesterday. What were you doing?” “I painted my apartment; it was my day off,” she responded.

The archaeologists know just enough English to realize that this fragment is a major literary find that deserves closer inspection, so they rush the piece to one of the finest philologists in their home country. This scholar dedicates his next sabbatical to a thorough study of the text and decides to publish an exegetical commentary on it, as follows:

We are unable to determine whether this text is an excerpt from a novel or from a historical biography. Almost surely, however, it was produced in a religious context, as is evident from the use of such words as devoted,offered, charitable. In any case, this passage illustrates the literary power of twentieth-century English, a language full of metaphors. The verbembarked calls to mind an ocean liner leaving for an adventuresome cruise, while cultivate possibly alerts the reader to Marilyn’s botanical interests. In those days North Americans compared time to a bird—probably the eagle—that flies.

The author of this piece, moreover, makes clever use of word associations. For example, the term glamorous is etymologically related to grammar, a concept no doubt reflected in the comment about Marilyn’s “verbal skills.” Consider also the subtleties implied by the statement that “her supervisor approached her.” The verb approach has a rich usage. It my indicate similar appearance or condition (this painting approaches the quality of a Picasso); it may have a sexual innuendo (the rapist approached his victim); it may reflect subservience (he approached his boss for a raise). The cognate noun can be used in contexts of engineering (e.g. access to a bridge), sports (of a golf stroke following the drive from the tee), and even war (a trench that protects troops besieging a fortress).

Society in the twentieth century is greatly illuminated by this text. The word patient (from patience, meaning “endurance”) indicates that sick people then underwent a great deal of suffering: they endured not only the affliction of their physical illness, but also the mediocre skills of their medical doctors, and even (to judge from other contemporary documents) the burden of increasing financial costs.

A few syntactical notes may be of interest to language students. The preposition of had different uses: casual (tired of), superlative (most important of all), and partitive (many of whom). The simple past tense had several aoristic functions: embarked clearly implies determination, while offered suggests Marilyn’s once-for-all, definitive intention. Quite noticeable is the tense variation at the end of the text. The supervisor in his question uses the imperfect tense, “were doing,” perhaps suggesting monotony, slowness, or even laziness. Offended, Marilyn retorts with a punctiliar and emphatic aorist, “I painted.”

Readers of Bible commentaries, as well as listeners of sermons, will recognize that my caricature is only mildly outrageous. . . .

Colbert On Creation and "Ex-Nihilo"

Stephen Colbert delivers a fantastic one-liner at the end of this exchange on how the universe came from "nothing."

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

HT: Zach Nielsen

Music Video of the Week: Beautiful Eulogy

Beautiful Eulogy - "Entitlement"

The Greatest Story Ever Told

HT: JT

Kevin DeYoung: The One Indispensable Rule for Using Social Media

Kevin DeYoung:

Whether you are a tween, a teen, a pastor, a politician, a grandma, or a grad student, whether you blog, tweet, post, or pin, here is the one indispensable social media rule you must follow if you want to be wise, edifying, and save yourself a lot of anguish: 

Assume that everyone, everywhere will read what you write and see what you post. 

No matter your settings or how tight your circle is, you ought to figure that anyone in the world could come across your social media. All it takes is a link or a search or a bunch of friends you don’t know gathered around a phone that belongs to someone you do know. Anyone can see everything. Your pastor, your parishoners, your ex-whatever, your boss, your prospective employer, your spouse, your kids, your in-laws, your I don’t know if people forget fans, your constituents, your opponents, your enemies, your parole officer, the girl you like, the dude who freaks you out, the feds, the papers–assume everyone can read your rant and see your pics. 

I’m not a conspiracy theorists or a worry-wort. I’m not saying the IRS is spying on you at this moment or That Guy is stalking you. But you ought to assume that any of them could if they really wanted to. 

It’s amazing what some people post online. Do we forget that a thousand other folks are reading this intimate declaration of marital affection or this lambasting of all that their family holds dear? I wonder if people realize that what we post is who we are to hundreds or thousands of people. So no matter what we think we are like in real life, to most people who know of us, they only know us as that guy obsessed with Ron Paul or that girl obsessed with dieting or the pastor who seems to hate everyone or the cynical college kid or the older checking out strange things through Socialcam. 

Remembering this one indispensable rule should remind of us two related guidelines for Christians. 

First, you represent Christ in a real way even if it is in the virtual world. Most people will know that you go to church, what church you go to, and that you claim to be a Christian. So let’s all think before we post. If we go by the name of “little Christ” we ought to be careful to show a little more Christ.

Read the rest.

Download Beautiful Eulogy's "Satellite Kite" for Free

You can download this amazing album at Humble Beast for free, or you can download it from Amazon.

Being a Fun Dad

Mark Driscoll on what it looks like to be a "fun" dad:

A dad who often looks his kid(s) in the eye and tells them with a loving smile how much 

he loves them and who praises the Father that he gets to be their father. 

A dad whose laughter can be heard a lot when he’s around his kids. 

A dad who is appropriately physically affectionate—hugs, kisses, snuggling, wrestling etc. 

A dad who genuinely likes being around his kids—messes, volume, work, and all. 

A dad who is skilled in the art of appropriate silliness—cracking the kids up.  

A dad who loves to plan fun activities and make memories with his kids. 

A dad who, when he’s with his kids, is not ignoring them by allowing constant interruptions from his phone that make them feel neglected. 

A dad who does not always force his kids to only do what he likes but also considers the kids and likes doing what they like doing (whiffle ball, swimming, bike riding, tea parties, etc.) sometimes because he finds the most joy in their joy. 

A dad who takes a lot of photos so that upon occasion he can sit down with his kids and revisit fun memories, laugh, and celebrate the grace of God in their relationship. 

A fun dad is not only one who does “fun” things with his kids but who also creatively seeks to find ways to make even mundane chores and tasks fun. This might include turning on music to rock out to with the kids while doing the dishes or turning the yard clean-up day into a family project with a trip to the ice cream store when it’s done. 

A dad should spend the majority of his time enjoying his kid(s) and making memories with them. Then, as needed, in the context of their loving, joy-filled, memory-making relationship, he points out folly, disciplines, and corrects sin. But—and this is vital—this happens in the context of a loving, enjoyable relationship with many deposits in the account of loving memories before withdrawals have to be made in tough seasons. 

Barna's Bad Theology and Bad Statistics

Mike Leake: 

*A new study shows that 100% of Barna statistics are skewed to lend credibility to his anti-church bias.    

I had a friend the other day quote me a Barna statistic. My response was the above sentence. I am not doubting that we can gain some benefit from Barna research and that some of it is actually legit and could be helpful. However, I have become very leery of accepting anything that Barna throws at us. First, because some of his findings have been shown to be off. Secondly, because from what I have read of Barna he seems to be promoting a churchless Christianity.  

Bad Numbers 

As Frank Turk has pointed out, there are a few secular studies—especially this one from The Wall Street Journal—that pulls the rug out from under Barna’s research. Reputable statisticians from Baylor have shown that young people are not living the church in droves as Barna has reported and there is not statistical evidence that women are fleeing the church like lemurs on holiday.  

Further evidence is found in a book written by Bradley Wright entitled Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media. Wright shows how many of the scare pollsters (like Barna) have bad numbers. It seems that when those that are actually “born-again”, instead of those just claiming to be, are polled the numbers change dramatically.  

So why the bad numbers? Think about this for a moment.  

How many times have you read a Barna quote and came away thinking, “wow, the Lord really is working and moving and building His church as He said He would”? More often than not what you’ve came away from a Barna statistic thinking is, “This is NOT working! Something needs to change in the church because it is obvious that we are not reaching people as we ought to be. The church does not seem to be working the way it ought to”.  

Enter Barna…  

Driven by Bad Theology?  

When he quick jabs you with a shocking statistic and puts you on the ropes, dizzy and wondering why the church of Christ isn’t “working” as it ought to, then he comes thundering with an uppercut.  

The church isn’t working you say? Well, that’s because we are not doing church correctly. If you read your New Testament you will find that churches are meant to be organic and not institutional. They are meant to be led by the Spirit and not held together by human institutions and programs.  

Read his book Pagan Christianity (or at least peruse Tim Challies review of it) and you will see what it is that Barna is promoting. So I’m left to conclude as I began this little article, “A new study shows that 100% of Barna statistics are skewed to lend credibility to his anti-church bias”.  

So, when you read and quote Barna just be aware of this. I am not saying we ought to trash every bit of his work. Or even that he does not have some good things to say. But keep your eyes open and know that there is a bias there that seems to drive a good amount of his research.

How Do You Speak To Your Children?

Cannot believe how convicted I was by this post this morning.

Jen Wilkin:

Civil children come from civil environments. Many parents feel free to speak to their children with a level of incivility they would not use with anyone else they know. They bark orders. They raise their voices. They use sarcasm and contempt: "Seriously? That's how you cleaned your room?" They poison civil language with contemptuous tone: "Ryan, please put your shoes on." They patronize. They roll their eyes and sigh. They construct a cocktail of word choice, tone, and body language that they would not serve to a co-worker, friend, or stranger on the street. And then they serve it liberally to an under-aged consumer, the smallest neighbor they are called to love preferentially: their own child. Yet they are shocked to end up with an adolescent fluent in the language of contempt. 

Many of us have wrongly defined our homes as places where parents should be respected instead of places where everyone should be respected. Children do not hold equal authority in the home, but they do hold equal personhood and dignity. They bear the image of God every bit as much as their mothers and fathers. As such, they deserve kind words, level tone, and neutral body language. Even when they disobey. Children consistently treated with respect are far more likely to treat their parents with respect, no matter their stage of life. 

Parents of young children, look toward the adolescent years by asking yourself some critical questions now. 

• Do I address my child with kindness and respect, even in conflict? 

• Do I use my tone and body language to communicate civility or contempt? 

• Do I guard my child's exposure to media sources that model uncivil exchanges between children and adults? 

• Do I teach my child that civil words are not merely "magic words" that achieve a desired result, but are "moral words" that obey the Great Command of preferential love?

Parents of uncivil adolescents, ask yourself the same questions. It is never too late to start doing the right thing. You may not be able to rein in your adolescent's incivility, but you will begin to obediently model preferential love toward him and to live at peace with him as far as it is possible. 

Christian parents must begin early to train their children in the language of civility. They must do this because it is good for families. They must do this because it is good for society. They must do this because it portrays the character of the Father, who responded to the rank incivility of human sin with a Word of profound kindness and a preferential love beyond our ability to grasp. In the civil word of the gospel we find redemption. May it be spoken in our homes as it is written on our hearts.

Does the Bible Condone Polygamy?

Lionel Windsor:

I saw an excellent interview on Australia’s Channel 7 Sunrise program recently. Christian leaders were being asked about their opposition to proposals to redefine marriage, and were discussing the Bible’s view of marriage. At one point, the interviewer asked a question which is often brought up in these contexts: Doesn’t the Old Testament condone polygamy? There was, of course, a question behind the question: Since the Old Testament says polygamy is OK, why should we listen to it on any moral issue? 

Why did this interviewer think the Old Testament condones polygamy? Clearly he’s expressing a common point of view. Where has it come from? I reckon it stems from the fact that a lot of people in our world don’t really know what the Bible is about. A large number of people (maybe as a result of ineffectual communication by Christian teachers) think the Bible–and especially the Old Testament–is just a list of moral commandments, along with some stories to give us examples of how to be good. So when they do get around to reading the Old Testament, they read it with this moralistic framework in mind. And they find quite a few stories where the lead character is a polygamist. Furthermore, they don’t find any explicit commands that say “Thou shalt not commit polygamy”. So, since they are assuming that the Old Testament is just a book of moral commandments and morality tales, they conclude that the Bible says polygamy is OK. 

The problem, of course, is that the Bible–even the Old Testament–is not really a book of commandments and morality tales. The Bible does of course contain commandments, and lots of narratives. But hardly any of the narratives are about morally upright heroes who keep God’s commandments. Most of the narratives are about God’s actions and plans to save immoral human beings. Most of the human characters in Bible stories (even some of the most faithful ones) are morally dubious at best; in fact, many of their activities are downright sordid. You’re not supposed to read these stories as direct examples for your own life; you’re meant to read them to understand God’s actions in the midst of a tragic human history. 

It is true that the stories will also teach us something about God’s moral order. But we don’t usually discover this moral order simply by reading the stories as if they were straightforward examples to emulate today. Like many good stories, the Bible’s stories can communicate deep moral truths without needing to resort to explicit commandments. Indeed, stories are often more morally powerful when there is no explicit moralising. Think of a movie like Schindler’s List, a powerful story telling us about one of the darkest moments in Western history. Now imagine, at the end of the movie, as you’ve been hit with the human horror of the holocaust, just before the credits, a commandment comes up on the screen: “The director would like to point out (in case you missed it) that you should not be racist.” Not only would this be unnecessary, it would destroy the power of the story. 

Something similar happens when it comes to the Bible and polygamy. Sure, the narrators never pause to say, “Oh by the way, please, don’t be a polygamist.” But why should they? The stories make the point all by themselves.

Read the rest of the article.

LEGO Inception

Pretty cool.



HT: Zach Nielsen

The Joy of Finding Nothing

Byron Yawn, discussing the act of cleaning out his dad's office after his death and finding a locked cabinet:

There was nothing in that locked cabinet in my dad's office. (By nothing, I mean medical journals.) I've never been so relieved to find nothing. Nothing is powerful at the end. He was the man I thought he was. Simple. Unassuming. Transparent. Not perfect, but consistent. I don't remember everything I said at his funeral months before this moment. What I said doesn't matter. What does matter were the contents of a cabinet. A life laid bare did not require me to amend what I said in any way. 

You're going to die. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tragically. Maybe forty years from now. Your family, in one way or another, will be faced with the task of digging around in the remains of who you were. As you are dead, there will be nothing you can do to stop them. Those defenses that kept back the truth about you while you were alive will be powerless in death. Your children will face the truth about you. They may come to discover things they never knew about you. They will face a locked cabinet of one sort or another. What will they find there? 

Dear Dad, thank you for ending well.

~ What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him, p. 185

David McCullough: "You Are Not Special."

Found this pretty interesting. David McCollough, an English teacher at Wellesley High School, gave an address at their graduation ceremony.

Two of of my favorite parts...

The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood Ns. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by. And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it.

And...

The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you’re a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—quite an active verb, “pursuit”—which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots rollerskate on Youtube. The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow. The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone… I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem. The point is the same: get busy, have at it. Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands.

Tim Keller on the OT Law and the Charge of Inconsistency

Tim Keller:

I find it frustrating when I read or hear columnists, pundits, or journalists dismiss Christians as inconsistent because “they pick and choose which of the rules in the Bible to obey.” What I hear most often is “Christians ignore lots of Old Testament texts—about not eating raw meat or pork or shellfish, not executing people for breaking the Sabbath, not wearing garments woven with two kinds of material and so on. Then they condemn homosexuality. Aren’t you just picking and choosing what they want to believe from the Bible?” 

It is not that I expect everyone to have the capability of understanding that the whole Bible is about Jesus and God’s plan to redeem his people, but I vainly hope that one day someone will access their common sense (or at least talk to an informed theological advisor) before leveling the charge of inconsistency... 

...Once you grant the main premise of the Bible—about the surpassing significance of Christ and his salvation—then all the various parts of the Bible make sense. Because of Christ, the ceremonial law is repealed. Because of Christ the church is no longer a nation-state imposing civil penalties. It all falls into place. However, if you reject the idea of Christ as Son of God and Savior, then, of course, the Bible is at best a mish-mash containing some inspiration and wisdom, but most of it would have to be rejected as foolish or erroneous.  

So where does this leave us? There are only two possibilities. If Christ is God, then this way of reading the Bible makes sense and is perfectly consistent with its premise. The other possibility is that you reject Christianity’s basic thesis—you don’t believe Jesus was the resurrected Son of God—and then the Bible is no sure guide for you about much of anything. But the one thing you can’t really say in fairness is that Christians are being inconsistent with their beliefs to accept the moral statements in the Old Testament while not practicing other ones. 

One way to respond to the charge of inconsistency may be to ask a counter-question—“Are you asking me to deny the very heart of my Christian beliefs?” If you are asked, “Why do you say that?” you could respond, “If I believe Jesus is the the resurrected Son of God, I can’t follow all the ‘clean laws’ of diet and practice, and I can’t offer animal sacrifices. All that would be to deny the power of Christ’s death on the cross. And so those who really believe in Christ must follow some Old Testament texts and not others.”

Read the rest of the article.

Music Video of the Week: John Mark McMillan

John Mark McMillan - "Murdered Son"

Are Biblical Roles for Marriage Culturally Outdated?

Tony Reinke:

In our egalitarian culture, the debate over a wife’s submission to her husband is not going away anytime soon. Of course we start with Scripture, and the Bible is clear in calling the first-century Greco-Roman wife to submit to her own husband (Ephesians 5:22, 24, Colossians 3:18, 1 Peter 3:1). But is this command now applicable to 21st-century Christian wives? 

Many say no, and one opposing argument goes something like this: 

Paul commanded Greco-Roman slaves to submit themselves to their masters (Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 2:22, 1 Peter 2:18). It is in those same contexts that Paul commands a woman to submit herself to her husband (Ephesians 5:22, 24, Colossians 3:18, 1 Peter 3:1). Therefore, since these words to slaves and wives comprise one unified Greco-Roman household structure, and since a slave’s submission has obviously passed away, therefore the call for a wife to submit has likewise ended. 

To respond requires that we take a careful look at both the theology of slavery and the theology of marriage — which is what Everett Berry does in a 2008 journal article critiquing the egalitarian views of Gordon Fee. Berry writes the following: 

When Paul addresses slavery, he instructs believers on how to emulate a Christ-like spirit. We see this in his admonishment to Philemon as a slave owner to forgive and receive his former servant Onesimus back as a brother (Philemon 16). Obviously this makes perfect sense because this is a virtue that is indicative of all believers regardless of whether they are slaves or masters. Likewise, in another setting Paul claims believing slaves have permission to obtain their freedom if the opportunity presents itself (1 Corinthians 7:21–22). For Paul then, choosing to become or remain a slave is optional for believers, but the proper conduct as a Christian slave is not. 

This means Fee is right to assert that Paul did not endorse slavery as a practice. He instructed believers on how to live in relation to it. What Fee refuses to acknowledge, however, is that Paul never claims that Greco-Roman slavery has its institutional roots in the theological fibers of creation or eschatological expectation. Only the family and the church are described as such (e.g., 1 Corinthians 11:7–9; Ephesians 5:31; 1 Timothy 2:12–15) because marital and ecclesiological concerns have theological strings attached to them that slavery does not. 

When it comes to marriage, for example, Paul does not speak to husbands and wives in the same way he does to slaves or masters. He does not endorse a husband seeking freedom from his wife or vice versa in the same way that he advises Christian slaves to possibly obtain release (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:21, 27). Nor does he call a master the head of his slave as Christ is the head of the church, or command slaves to obey their masters as the church obeys Christ. 

But he clearly interprets the marriage relationship with such constructs. Husbands typify Christ by sacrificially loving their wives, and wives typify the church by following their husbands. And as they do so, the balance between leadership and trust not only highlights the original reciprocation that Adam and Eve forfeited, but it also points to the unending submission that the church will experience under Christ’s headship (Ephesians 5:24–25). The eternal relationship that Christ will always have with his people is to be exemplified currently through the temporal relationship between husbands and wives.* 

In other words, Paul does not root Greco-Roman slavery in creation or in eschatology. But the marriage pattern is clearly rooted in both. Thus, the Christian complementary relationship between husband and wife is established by God in a way that the Greco-Roman hierarchical relationship between slaves and masters is not. Therefore, Paul’s message to Christian husbands and wives remains timeless and valid. Paul treats marriage and slavery differently. 

Meanwhile, some Christian men and women may believe submission is intuitively correct because it is a practice rooted in traditional American culture (rather than in Scripture). That would be a wrong basis. And submission may emerge out of a chauvinism or kind of patriarchalism that believes men are superior to women. And that most certainly contradicts the equality of men and women in God’s eyes. Worse, submission may be abused by men who use it as permission to abuse their wives. Such men are acting from cowardice, and not from the Christ-like sacrifice and love the gospel calls for. 

But in the end, a wise wife will not take her cues about submission from ancient Greco-Roman cultural history. She will find her conviction rooted in something that stretches back to the beginning of time and that stretches into a future beyond her. And that is where a conviction about submission is to be found. In Scripture submission is embedded in the marriage pattern established in the pre-fall marriage of Adam and Eve, and remains to this day a bold and counter-cultural drama to our watching world of the Church’s submission to Christ.

The Gospel Project: Is There Anything Else More Important?

Al Mohler's Response to the "Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation"

If you have no idea what that document is, you can read Joe Carter's summary of it at The Gospel Coalition.

Mohler is spot on, per usual.

A recent statement on the doctrine of salvation has received a good bit of attention in recent days. Since it deals with matters of current controversy, it has generated some heat. Our current task as Southern Baptists is to engage in a theological conversation that will transform heat into light. This is the very least we owe each other as brothers and sisters who are committed to the Great Commission, to the Southern Baptist Convention, and to each other. 

The document, identified as “A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation” was written and released by a group of Southern Baptists who clearly intend to make a theological argument. Their public action and serious intention should be welcomed. We should be glad that Southern Baptists are fully capable of engaging in a theological and biblical discussion over doctrine. Furthermore, we should be thankful that we are discussing God’s plan of salvation and the right way of understanding how God saved sinners. What could be more important? 

...There is a lot for us to discuss, and plenty of time for that discussion. But that conversation must not immobilize us from standing together to reach the nations, nor lead us into tribalism. I love and respect the men who signed this new statement. I believe that they love and respect me. We have walked arm in arm for too long to abandon each other now. We need each other and, as some outsiders might say, we deserve each other. 

The presence of more than one tradition and stream of doctrinal influence has been healthy for Southern Baptists. We have been strengthened by both the Charleston and Sandy Creek traditions, representing Southern Baptists who rightly prize their doctrinal understandings, but eagerly work together in the Gospel service. We should respect the need for churches, institutions, and denominational friends who represent these historic Southern Baptist traditions. We would not be who we are — or who God has called us to be — without each other. May God grant us grace to glorify Christ and edify the church as we talk about matters that mean so much to us. Let’s be thankful for the conversation to which we are now called, and thankful for the brothers and sisters we are privileged to engage in this conversation. 

And, above all, let us have this conversation as we devote ourselves unreservedly to do the work the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention have called us to do. Let’s remember this — a lost world is waiting and a rising generation of Southern Baptists is watching.

Mohler makes some points about some of the specific claims in the document, including it's semi-Pelagian wording in some parts, in the middle of the article. I loved his tone in the article, even when disagreeing. Glad to be attending a school under his leadership.

What Every Husband Should Know About Stay-At-Home Moms

From Desiring God:

A leadership guru aired his podcast online on how to increase productivity in your work. 

He said that one of the keys to productivity is to know when to stop working. He said that if you’re working more than 55 hours per week then you’re probably losing effectiveness. After this point of working past maximum effectiveness, your work will start to unravel. The demands of a long workweek can even devolve into chaos! 

Being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) is far more than a long workweek. It’s life; we can’t just clock out after 55 hours of work. 

Every husband should know that stay-at-home moms wage epic battles against chaos.
Epic battles against chaos can come in the form of sibling squabbles, maintenance emergencies, drama at school, competing budget items, scheduling hiccups, relational tension, and more. But these things are easily dealt with. 

SAHMs are resourceful, creative problem-solvers. We have the capacity to dominate over even the most harrowing multitasking nightmare. When a SAHM's hope is in the God who raises the dead then she smiles at the future. She knows her Redeemer lives and she is working joyfully for his glory even in the midst of outer chaos. 

But there is another other kind of chaos — inner chaos. No SAHM should dare to deal with inner chaos on her own. 

She needs to be surrounded by other godly women whose hope is in the Lord. And she needs your help, too! 

The harrowing, inner chaos in the soul of a SAHM can drive a woman to do things she never wanted to do. A woman driven by inner chaos will do things like give her children the silent treatment, manipulate her friends, get an ulcer over the budget, or belittle her husband’s hard work. 

The manageable outer chaos is aggravated by the inner chaos in our soul. Outer chaos all of a sudden becomes unmanageable. Competent, confident homemakers lose their nerves of steel. Even though it’s “just” a hiccup in the schedule, or a setback with a child’s discipline, or a burned piece of garlic bread, it becomes so much bigger in our hearts. 

Then the elusive “peace like a river” is more like a category five hurricane of anxiety, bitterness, discouragement, or discontent. 

Husbands, when you can, please step into the outer chaos and help your wife put out a few fires. Then, when the smoke has cleared (or even as it is still lingering), let the Spirit lead you to step into her inner chaos as well. 

Husbands, encourage your wife!

Read the whole article.

Putting Words in His Mouth

This is pretty funny.



HT: Stephen Altrogge

Music Video of the Week: Page CXVI

Page CXVI - "Come Thou Fount"

10 Things Nobody Tells You About Being a Dad

Totally related to most of these way too well.

Daniel Darling:

1) You are much less patient than you think you are. Oh, you think you’re a loving, patient, sweet peach of man. You’ll be the guy playing catch for hours and carefully instructing your son how to ride his bike. You’ll never get short with your kids and you’ll always know the perfect balance between discipline and love. Right. Keep dreaming, my friend. There’s nothing like a live child in your midst to bring out your selfishness, anger, and impatience. 

2) Many times you’ll have no clue what to do. But you still have to pretend you are in control. Like when your three-year old melts down the grocery store. The books say to do one thing, but there is a certain paralysis that takes place when it’s your little child kicking, screaming, and not getting along with the shopping program. Over time, you’ll figure out your child and the best method, but there will be a lot of trial and error along the way. Mostly error. 

3) You’ll realize that minivans are secretly awesome. Before I had kids I swore on a stack of John Wayne collector’s edition DVD’s that I would never be seen behind the wheel of a minivan. Then we had our 2nd child and I suddenly saw the awesomeness of minivans. I now have four children and the Chrysler Town and  Country keeps getting cooler. You can go for long trips and play DVD’s. You can fold the seats down into the floor and haul large pieces of furniture that your wife thinks you need. Trust me on this one. As soon as kid #2 comes, you’ll find yourself wandering over to cars.com to compare the best prices on minivans. 

4) You’ll probably not get six continuous hours of good sleep ever again. And if you do, you’ll never admit it because it will make your wife mad for the broken up sleep she got when she got up and took care of the teething child. Dads perfect the art of pretending like they are stone cold sleepers who can’t be easily woke. But really you’re just trying to do it long enough so she’ll get up and take care of the situation. 

5) There are singular moments of joy so indescribable they can only be experienced. There are moments of pride and joy that make every single hard parenting experience seem easy. There are times of closeness and love that will make your heart burst with rapture. Sometimes I just sit back and look at my four children and cannot believe God allowed me to be their dad. If you’re a dad, you know what I mean. 

6) Your presence is more important than you know. You may not think you’re a good dad. You may not think you’re all that useful around the house. But your kids need your presence more than you know. God wove fatherhood into the fabric of humanity. Your consistency and faithfulness to your wife and to your children will speak volumes to your children about the consistency and faithfulness of their Heavenly Father. 

7) You need to repeat the same words over and over to your children. It’s not enough to be a model Christian. It’s not  enough to provide and be present. Your kids must hear, over and over again how much you love and accept them. I try every single day to tell each one of my children that I love them. There have been times I’ve flippantly said something to my oldest daughter and it crushed her feelings. I’ve had to apologize and seek forgiveness. My words matter to her. 

8). You will watch less of your favorite games, play less video games, and will go out with your guy friends hardly at all. But this is good. You are called to serve your family sacrificially. This often means putting your selfish desires last. This means not whining. This means being strong when you want to be tired. This means being the brave one when everyone is scared. But if you see your kids as your God-given mission, you will gladly give up these things for something better. Your sacrifice and your presence is not an option. 

9) You will embrace your cluelessness as a gift from God. The further you go into your fatherhood, the more you realize you need help being a good dad. You really don’t have what it takes. This is where you lean in, heavily, on your Heavenly Father. The sooner we realize, as dads, that we don’t have what it takes to succeed, the sooner we’ll seek His help, both thru His Word, His Spirit, and from earthly fathers who can lend wisdom. I’ve learned much from a program our church did called Men’s Fraternity. I’ve learned much from other dads in my church. I’ve learned a lot from older dads who have gone before. 

10) You will realize your ongoing need to repent, confess, apologize, and forgive. You will mess up, almost daily. And so you will need to admit to your children your mistakes and ask their forgiveness. You will learn the underrated value of an apology, how quickly it earns you respect and attention. You will have to forgive your children for their sins. You will need to practice these with your wife. In doing so, you will model to your children what the Christian life looks like. It’s not a life of perfection, but of brokenness, surrender, and grace.