There Is No Secular Remedy to Rape Culture
This is an absolutely excellent article in response to goings on at Cornell University: ‘Our society has only consolation for sex’s losers. Our elites offer no real safety, no transformation, no deeper understanding, and certainly no meaning, to sex. When it comes to sexuality, consent-or-no ethics are like Pawn Stars. “Best it can do” is a few bucks.’
All of Life is Worship?
This one offers a helpful corrective on the phrase ‘all of life is worship’, particularly in relation to our Sunday gatherings.
How Substitutionary Atonement Helps in an Abuse Crisis
‘When my husband and I suffered abuse in the church, and when we shepherded people going through similar hurt… We kept returning to solid, biblical theology. We even returned to the theology of penal substitutionary atonement (PSA). This doctrine is a valuable help, not a hindrance, if you’re suffering in or shepherding others through an abuse crisis.’
Church Hurt and the Bride of Christ
‘It was Sunday morning. The last place I wanted to be was exactly where I was: church. I had forgotten how disorienting it is to visit a church for the first time, how even Jesus seems unfamiliar for a second or two. I hid myself in the back pew, holding a printed bulletin that I kept opening and closing until it ripped. Perhaps I would find a family in this strange and beautiful place with golden chandeliers and a grand piano. But that would mean my time at my old church really was over.’
Because of Jesus, Grief Is Temporary and Love Is Eternal
This is a moving, but nevertheless true and encouraging one, from Randy Alcorn.
Is Britain Really Experiencing a Christian Revival? And What If It Isn’t?
‘Perhaps Britain is witnessing the beginnings of something remarkable. Perhaps interest in Christianity will increase significantly over the coming years. I sincerely hope so. But even if it doesn’t, the fundamental realities remain unchanged. Jesus Christ is risen. The gospel is still true. The Holy Spirit is still at work. And Christ is still building his church.’ Amen!
From the archive: Leave the New Atheists alone on their Holy days
‘What many fail to realise is that New Atheists also have their special holy days too. Most interestingly of all, they coincide with the Christian ones. Just as the Christian religion is built upon the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus so the New Atheist religion is built upon those events too. Just as many Christians will spend Christmas and Easter celebrating the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, so New Atheists look forward to their yearly celebration of their self-satisfied rightness and relish the opportunity to engage with the key outworking of their own faith: smug superiority promoted through attempts to make Christians feel small.’