What happens when we realize the Bible is meant for more than teaching us right from wrong? How did the Bible embolden a movement of civil rights activists who felt abandoned and antagonized by their brothers and sisters in Christ? As Christians, we are called to hold fast to biblical convictions, even when cultural currents …
Baptism, prayer, and Communion can all go “wayward,” says Lauren Winner. Should we blame the sinful practitioners or the practices themselves? Guns don’t kill people,” goes one popular slogan. “People kill people.” In other words, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a gun. It’s an object, just like a butter knife or brass knuckles. The object …
Lawsuit reflects the complexity of making giving to missions more tangible. “Will you please raise your hand if you’ve ever seen the movie Groundhog Day?” asked federal judge Timothy Brooks in a February lawsuit hearing. “I feel like I am Phil Connors, who was portrayed by Bill Murray.” Brooks was frustrated that the defendant—Gospel for …
What two recent films get right, and what they miss. The recent films Unbroken: Path to Redemption and Indivisible center on spiritual responses to the personal toll of war. Those responses are, first and foremost, personal and individual. It would be a mistake to think that the transformations we see in the films can be …
Weary of attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, Christians in Nigeria ask how long they’re supposed to “count it all joy.” At the Church of Christ in Nigeria congregation, Sunday morning worship opens with the din of a military-style drumroll. Inside a long, one-room building with a sheet-metal roof supported by handmade trusses, the …
How singleness can inspire faithful service and hope for the Resurrection. Christina Hitchcock always assumed she would get married one day. But as years went by and it didn’t happen, she found herself trying to piece together a vision of life without marriage. Even though she's now married, Hitchcock, who teaches theology at the University …
Why the Christian case against the Revolutionary War deserves better than mockery and neglect. When a person dies, that person is usually forgotten as time advances. The Book of Exodus opens with the memorable saying: “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (1:8, ESV). Let’s face it, when …
General Roger Brady (USAF, Ret.) thinks soldiers are becoming more religious but the armed forces are more uncertain about religious expression. The issue of religious tolerance has created challenging times for the United States military. All the service branches are trying to protect the rights of both those with religious beliefs and those with none. …
The Netflix show offers a fresh way of looking at both Christians and immigrants. From the first moment of the pilot episode of Kim’s Convenience—a Canadian network comedy created by Ins Choi, now available on Netflix—I was squirming in my seat. But it took me some time to figure out why. Kim’s Convenience plunges the …
Has “holistic mission” won the missiological battle? Its champions say so, but their boast might be premature. In recent years, the ideal of “holistic mission” has dominated thinking about the church’s call to make disciples of all nations. Broadly speaking, a “holistic” approach weaves together two essential threads of mission: sharing the gospel of eternal …