What I think. What I know. What I think I know.
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Sermon Fails to Trend
Last week I submitted this entry for the new evangelical satirical website, The Babylon Bee. I haven’t heard back, so I post it here for your enjoyment, conviction, and/or critique, if you’re that kind of person. Rev. Geoff Cummings of Waters Edge Lutheran has been placed on administrative leave one month after his much anticipated…
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How to Talk to Terrorists
Sunday night at church I met a man who is a former missionary in Muslim countries and is now living in Grand Rapids. He teaches math at our community college and remains in contact with his indigenous brothers and sisters in Iraq, Syria, and Mali. He said several of his Christian friends have been killed…
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transgender thoughts
Some thoughts about last night’s 60 Minutes segment on Schuyler Bailar, a transgender swimmer at Harvard. 1. The episode contained none of 60 Minutes’ usual pushback. There were no alternate voices. No one wondering whether Schuyler had made a mistake. Instead, the segment praised Schuyler for sacrificing victories with the women’s team for back of…
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homosexuality and the church
I don’t enjoy writing on this topic, but I’ve heard recurring questions from Christians that seem important to address. Here are four questions, and what I think is a helpful response. I’ll answer two today and two more next week. 1. Why must the church make homosexuality an issue? It hasn’t. The culture has made…
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distraction
Here is my latest entry for Our Daily Journey. Much obliged if you spot any errors before I turn it in. Students at Arizona State University have invented a funny way to distract opposing basketball teams during free throw attempts. They position a “curtain of distraction” beneath the basket, and just before a player on…
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four views on hell
Zondervan’s new Four Views on Hell is another stellar volume in an already valuable series. I probably assign too many of these “views books” in my classes, but I don’t know of a more economical way to put in students’ hands the best, and most current arguments, from all sides. I finished this one in…
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endorsement
Many of us are dismayed by Jerry Falwell Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump, especially his remark that Trump’s life reflects the teachings of Christ. As far as I can tell, the main thing that Jesus and Donald have in common is neither thinks he needs forgiveness. Their main difference? Jesus doesn’t think he’s Donald. I…
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do Christians worship the same God?
Christians who insist their God differs from Islam and Judaism point to the unique feature of the Trinity. The God of Islam and Judaism is only one person, while the Christian God is three persons. This is an essential difference, though it is sometimes flubbed in surprising places. My last two posts addressed the problems…
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do Christians and Jews worship the same God?
This question is more complicated than yesterday’s question about Islam because Christianity arose from within Judaism. The apostles claimed Jesus was Israel’s long awaited Messiah, the promised Deliverer who came to keep Israel’s covenants and save her from her enemies. The early apologists said Christians were the “third race,” the climax of both Greek philosophy…
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do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
Last year ended with a flurry of essays and blog posts that chided Wheaton College for questioning whether Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. This is an intriguing question that forces us to reflect on our theory of language, general revelation, and natural theology. Both Muslims and Christians say God is one, but…
Mike Wittmer 