Stephen Jones on Race at BJU
I appreciated these careful and gracious and scriptural comments from Dr. Stephen Jones. I was particularly struck by Dr. Jones' use of Titus 3:3, which I had never thought to apply to ethnic divisions: For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (Titus 3:3) Stephen also repeated something he's said before, that when it comes to ethnic diversity, My burden for...
I Was Clearly Censored
I was censored. And as a blogger who has occasionally deleted comments (I generally contact the commenter to explain), I understand why. I did not read the commenting policy, and perhaps I would have adjusted my comment if I had. But over at Rachel Held Evans' blog, Ms. Evans took aim at the clarity of Scripture, and I felt compelled to respond. "Feeling compelled" is not sufficient justification, I know, but I hope the content of my comment will justify my choice. The content of my comment,...
Stumblingblocks
In my personal experience, violations of the following Pauline command mostly tend to fall into one category. Let us ... decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. (Rom 14:13) That category is entertainment. In my own life nothing other people have done has emboldened me to sin like movie and TV recommendations from fellow Christians. I'm sure there must be more subtle influences on me that I don't currently see, ways in which others have caused me to stumble...
Limits on Meaning in Language
I received a nice e-mail from an appreciative reader not long ago; I confess it was a big encouragement to know that one of the droplets of water I've been spraying into the Internet ocean hit a surfer. Actually, he found me while searching for "God and Linguistics"—no surprise. He sent me a paper he'd written (I'm sorry—there's nothing to link to), and it contained a paragraph I found to be genuinely helpful. I wrote back to encourage him. Here's that paragraph: The meaning granted to...
Marriage Termination Fees
In this country you can come home from work and tell your spouse the marriage is over and he or she can do nothing but cry, and fight for the best financial payout possible. Try doing that with Verizon. Or while under contract to buy a home. Or with your gym membership. You’ll get laughed at. —Ashley McGuire, at Public Discourse (HT: Brian Collins)