I managed to fill up my Snippets by Monday evening. So, here is an extra snippets edition with some more articles I have read this week.
One of the most destructive statements a church member can make
Thom Rainer speaks about one of the worst things a member can say. Far too many churches are in thrall, and suffer, with those who have this destructive tendency.
Is Tim Keller a Marxist?
This is, bizarrely, a claim made far more than it should be. Carl Trueman answers: ‘While respecting him as a brother in Christ, I am not an acolyte of Rev. Keller. I disagree at points with both his theology and philosophy of ministry… And I am definitely not an optimistic transformationalist as he is—trust me, things are going to get worse before, well, they get even worse than that. But he is no cultural Marxist, and to call him such is to reveal not the politics of the good doctor but the ignorance of the troll. It is to indulge in the spirit of this age, which eschews thoughtful argument about difficult issues for moronic and often malicious soundbites.’
Police Scotland and Scottish Government reported for hate incident
David Robertson hoists the Scottish Government and Police by their own progressive petard: ‘I have just fulfilled my civic duty and reported both Police Scotland and the Scottish Government for a ‘Hate Incident’ following this incident described yesterday: The ‘Hate’ Police are Now Here‘.
How these three academics inspired a powerful Emperor’s New Clothes moment for our culture
‘This past week our culture has had an enormous emperor’s clothes moment… In order to demonstrate the bankruptcy of the peer-review system because of the cultural prejudice and bias within the academic system, these left-wing academics conducted a fascinating experiment. They submitted a number of spoof papers to academic journals for publication. Much to their astonishment seven were accepted.’
Does your church offer weak community?
It is one of those paradoxes of church life, the harder you make church membership to enter, the more value you place on it, the more people want to join.
Gay cake crumbles in rare win for real liberal values
Melanie Philips offers her take on the Ashers Bakery “gay cake” ruling. You can read my comment from earlier in the week here.
From the archive: Limited room for mavericks
‘There are guys who appear a little unconventional. They don’t wear the standard clothes (that is, they eschew the standard issue chinos and M&S shirt), they perhaps use language considered blunt – if not downright colourful – and they do things that cause an eyebrow to be raised every now and then. It’s all within the sweet spot, of course. Nobody is indulging rampant affairs and industrial-scale fraud. In fact, nobody is overlooking a clear flouting of the eldership criteria at all. What they flout are the unspoken rules of “how we do things around here.” They reject the social conventions and the generally prescribed formula for how things must be. What I have noticed, however, is that we tend to mark the cards of those who don’t fit the mould and yet tolerate those who “get results”.’