In 1859 Charles Darwin wrote about his belief that a human fetus underwent every stage of its evolutionary development in the womb. It started as a single cell, becoming a fish, a reptile, and an ape on its way to being born a completely human child. A little over a hundred years later the US Pro-Abortion movement would argue that a human fetus isn’t the same as a human life and is instead a piece of tissue that can be removed at any point during the pregnancy without moral consequence. A couple decades later, they were all proven wrong.
All this week we’ve been talking about how science relates to the Bible, in one way or another. I’ve been saving the best for last. We begin by setting the Way-Back Machine to 2004, when headlines were made by a mostly intact T-Rex skeleton found in Montana. What made these fossils so special, is that the skull contained in tact blood, and the leg offered up other soft tissue – still intact. Creationists (myself included) jumped on this find stating that such things as blood vessels couldn’t survive millions of years indicating that these bones were only a few thousand years old.
It’s a question I’ve been asked many times over the last few decades of ministry, and it’s one I’ve given a pat answer to without ever looking very deeply into the issue myself. That might seem haphazard, but in truth it was never anything I believed was very important. After all, it was nothing I ever planned to participate in, and even if someone did it was hardly something that seemed particularly vile or unspiritual. What am I talking about? Body art. The delicate art of marking one’s skin, usually with pigment inks but sometimes through branding or cutting.
As misunderstood as the book of Daniel is, few books of the Bible offers believers as much detail of -- or as much encouragement from -- end times prophesy. In Christian living, which is often befouled by the worlds hatred, encouragement is in dire need. Though we may understand cognitively that God will triumph, the heart’s understanding often wanes in the face of persecution. Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation, by John Walvoord, makes sense of the crucial and often confusing points of Daniel. The book takes into consideration the “symbolic features” of Daniel’s work, while maintaining that much of it can be interpreted literally.
This marks the start of a prolonged series on the Gospel of Luke. As we’ve already examined the book of Acts, it seems reasonable that the first Gospel we study should be Luke as both share a common author. Ask anyone to compare the gospels and two facts will almost always be mentioned: (1) that John is the Gospel of Love, and (2) that Luke is the Historical Gospel. While it is true that John gives us a look into Jesus’ personal struggles and relates stories not contained in any other gospel account, it is not true that Luke is purely a historical account.
This marks the start of a prolonged series on the Gospel of Luke. As we’ve already examined the book of Acts, it seems reasonable that the first Gospel we study should be Luke as both share a common author. Ask anyone to compare the gospels and two facts will almost always be mentioned: (1) that John is the Gospel of Love, and (2) that Luke is the Historical Gospel. While it is true that John gives us a look into Jesus’ personal struggles and relates stories not contained in any other gospel account, it is not true that Luke is purely a historical account.
One of the common criticisms of the nations of Israel is that the people did “what was right in their own eyes” instead of following the law (Judges 17.6, Judges 21.25, etc.). We are seeing the same indulgence in self-centered morality in America today. Endless demonstrations, violent outbreaks and even state governors refusing to enforce federal law. It is this later disruption to American law that is focus today, and the accusation that Sanctuary Cities are not only illegal but dangerous to the rule of law, something that cannot be justified in any society despite the arguments made by proponents.
In the city of Richland, Washington is a small business owner named Barronelle Stutzman. She is 72 years old and has spent her entire career as a floral artist, designing special works of art for events of varying types. Over the years she has employed other artists and assistants, some of whom were homosexual, and in every case she has treated her employees and clients with the respect they deserve. Barronelle is a person who loves people in a way that she hopes honors her savior Jesus. So why is she being sued by the state of Washington and former client, Robert Ingersol?
As a grade school age kid, I remember thinking about how few people brought their Bible to church with them. How can they follow along the pastor’s teaching if they can’t look at the text for themselves? I wondered. Back then we didn’t have tablets with Bible apps, nor were video projectors within the price range of most church budgets. As I got a little older I began to immerse myself more and more into God’s word. By the time I reached high school, I carried a pocket Bible with me everywhere I went and sometimes even a full sized Bible.
We’ve all been there, you’re at work and someone starts what they think is a highbrow argument about the infallibility of science and arrogantly scoffs at those who “believe the Bible instead.” They usually talk so much no one can get a word in edgewise and by the time their rant is over, no one wants to comment anyway. You, a firm believer, don’t want to let it go but you don’t want to appear as the “ignorant” straw man your coworker was just describing. After all, you still have to work with these people. What do you do?
Jesus said to those who came to arrest him on the night he was betrayed by Judas, “This is your hour, and that of the power of darkness!” Dark deeds are usually done in darkness, as was the case last Friday night when around the world those devoted to witchcraft cast a binding spell on the president of the United States. When I heard of their plan earlier in the day I couldn't help but think, “Oh it’s on, witches!” At midnight, a friend of mine and I prayed together for God’s intervention and protection of the Commander in Chief.
After receiving a lot of affirmative, and some not-so-complementary, email about last week’s articles I felt this follow-up was necessary. I maintain that the Southern Baptist Convention’s legal and missions arms did the right thing in helping Muslim neighbors navigate religious freedom laws to get a mosque built, but there are examples of Christian’s crossing a line from helping one’s enemies to actually supporting a false faith. The most recent example of going too far comes from a Christian university in the heart of the very conservative state of Texas, that decided to open a prayer room for its Muslim students.
