Faith: December 2015 Archives
A Response to John Piper: Why Gun Ownership is Biblical and Good -Part A | Pulpit & Pen
"First, Piper needs to understand that stopping a crime in progress is not bearing the sword in a Romans 13 fashion. Romans 13 deals with trial and penology. The man stopping his wife from being kidnapped and raped by a Muslim man in a gas station restroom (like what happened in North Dakota a few weeks ago) is not 'bearing the sword' Romans 13 style. He's not enacting vengeance. He's stopping a crime in progress. Throughout this article, Piper repeatedly cites verses that speak against vengeance, misapplying them to his position on self-defense. Any serious Bible student or teacher should know better than this simple but subtle difference-turned-distraction."
'I Am Called a Cult Leader. I Really Don't Care.' | Christianity Today
A revolting story of spiritual, financial, and sexual abuse in an independent "evangelical" "teaching" "ministry."
How to Love God by Getting More Sleep - Joe Carter
"My poor sleep hygiene was affecting my family, my work, and my physical health. And it was also affecting me spiritually....
"Sleep is a sign of trust and humility. But it's also a spiritual discipline. As D. A. Carson says, 'Sometimes the godliest thing you can do in the universe is get a good night's sleep--not pray all night, but sleep. I'm certainly not denying that there may be a place for praying all night; I'm merely insisting that in the normal course of things, spiritual discipline obligates you get the sleep your body need.'"
Carter offers some practical tips to improving sleep hygeine -- avoiding blue light, regular sleep and wake times, limiting alcohol and caffeine.
The Left's Religious Ignorance | David French | National Review Online
"During my own time in places like Cambridge, Mass., and Ithaca, N.Y., I frequently encountered people who claimed they'd 'never met' another Evangelical or 'never heard' one of my relatively standard conservative arguments. Their ignorance was matched only by their condescension, as they were convinced they knew the 'true' motivations for my deeply held beliefs.
"That's not to say that nothing else matters besides religion, but when encountering people who proclaim faith-based motivations for their actions, it is generally prudent to take them at their word and evaluate their actions and intentions from within their own frame of reference. If the Left applied this framework to jihadists abroad and Christians at home, it would understand that the reality is both worse than they fear and better than they hope. Jihadists are more deadly and vicious than they understand, while the religious neighbors the Left so despises turn out to be among America's most kind and generous citizens.
"In other words, when it comes to religion, the credentialed Left needs an education. Its ignorance is making our nation weak and tearing it apart."
