Bad readers and their twitter swarms
This is both insightful and important. If we are going to behave at all well online, if we are going to read people well and if we aren’t going to jump on every twitter storm bandwagon, we need to pay attention to this one.
What makes a Bible translation really bad?
‘I recently saw a funny meme that showed pictures from old TV shows I grew up watching. In the picture from each show, our hero is buried waist-deep in sand, struggling and in deadly peril. The caption read, “When I was a kid I thought quicksand was going to be a much bigger problem on a daily basis than it really is.” This word is truth. In like manner: for all the terrible warnings people make about the perfidy and error of other people’s Bible translations, I’ve literally never once encountered a Bible-believing Christian who was misled in the ways predicted by the discernment gurus… simply because that someone read an allegedly erroneous rendering in a Bible translation. When it comes to Bible translation: never have so many complained so much about so little.’
How evangelicals lose will make all the difference
‘Jesus tells his followers to take up their crosses, not their crowns (Matt. 16:24–26). Historically, the church has thrived during some of its bleakest winters of cultural power. We can see modern examples of this in Iran and China. Though our faith may be increasingly marginalized and devalued in the West, losing cultural battles with grace, dignity, and love can persuasively display Christ’s cruciform beauty. Conversely, there’s nothing persuasive about chasing the perks of power.’
The abuse of headship in the home
‘May I submit to you that the biblical role of husbands and wives under the model of headship and submission is not superior and subject, not conquer and surrender, but servant and co-servant? In other words, a wife serves her husband by submitting to him, and a husband serves his wife by loving her sacrificially. It is foreign to the Scripture for a husband to have the mentality of a master who commands his wife, “do what’s best for me.” Instead of the mentality of a servant who says, “I will do what’s best for you.” Any view of marriage where the husband doesn’t see himself as a servant towards his wife is unbiblical and false.’
Only John witnessed the ascension twice
This was an interesting one that I hadn’t really considered in this way before.
Where is the Spirit of Cricket?
It was nice, from this English cricket fan’s point of view, to read this Australian piece on the spirit of cricket (for obvious reasons which I wish were applied more directly). I liked the flex to some spiritual implications even more.
From the archive: Your kids can’t get a new father but you can get a new phone
‘If you are an elder or pastor, you are in that role because you manage your family in a godly way. If your involvement as an elder or pastor is leading you to manage your family in an ungodly way, by constantly forsaking them in favour of church stuff, you are disqualifying yourself from your role by attempting to “put the church first”. Considering this order of priorities, one day per week really doesn’t seem like too tall an order to commit to family. After all, your church can get another pastor but your children can’t get another dad and your wife can’t get another husband. If the price of that to my church is one day where they cannot reach me and must speak to another elder instead – and, let’s be honest, that’s not exactly major cost – then so be it.’