BOUND TO CHRIST

Albert Mohler and Mark Driscoll comment on Christians fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  Read as the USA TODAY article, Muslims find new Ramadan fast partners: Christians, allows Mohler and Driscoll to bring a reformed biblical perspective on this new trend.

[B2C] – boundtochrist.com

Collin Hansen, John Piper, and Carolyn James all spoke at the Religious Newswriters Association annual convention on September 11, 2009. The discussion entitled On The New Calvinists includes opening remarks by each of the speakers and a Q&A session with the news reporters.

The discussion answers several questions about the reformed movement, so anyone wanting clarification on some of the big questions should enjoy this.

“I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my strength in the dust.  My face has grown red with weeping and the shadow of death covers my eyes, although my hands are free from violence and my prayer is pure.” -Job 16:15-17

Katrina was God’s punishment for sin.  So are the deaths of soldiers in Iraq and the attacks of 9/11.

These were the claims of several religious conservatives and fundamentalists during some of our nation’s greatest tragedies.  , Pat Robertson, members of the Westboro Baptist Church and many others made headlines for their controversial statements about suffering in America.  Perhaps the most infuriating were Falwell’s comments after 9/11, where he blamed the ACLU, People for the American Way, gays, lesbians, abortionists and those who are their allies for the terrorist attacks on America.

After 9/11, Falwell and Robertson were essentially forced to recant because of the moral outrage against their words.  The outrage was not over who they were criticizing but over the claim that God hates individuals or that He causes suffering.  As R.C. Sproul observed, “We believe in a God that is infinitely capable of blessing people but incapable of cursing them.” Read the rest of this entry »

1) Mexico is considering using drain water to offset the effects of the drought plaguing the region.
2) The body of a Yale University grad student is believed to have been found buried in a wall in Los Angeles.
3) A report ranks Louisiana as having the most corrupt political system in the country.
4) Two men were killed in a nightclub shooting in Jackson, Tenn.
5) Johnson Bible College hopes its $2 million, 12,000 square-foot facility will more effectively teach prospective ministers how to preach sermons.

NASA recently released images from the newly repaired Hubble Space Telescope, and the Christian world is in awe.

John Piper, Between Two Worlds and Al Mohler all linked to the page or offered commentary on the telescope’s stunning images of deep space this week, telling their readers to look at their Creator rather than just marveling at the beauty of the Creation itself.

“The cosmos does reveal the glory of the Creator — indeed it is inevitably so,” Mohler said.  ” The heavens — and Hubble — are telling the glory of God.  He who has eyes to see, let him see.”

While it does not surprise me that the images are capturing evangelical hearts, I think it surprises me just a little that more Christians are not inspired to look at Creation a little closer.  Romans 1:20 says, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.”  We need more Christian scientists, and not merely ones out to prove a young-earth creationist view, but Christian scientists who worship God by studying the things that have been made.

Biology, astronomy, geology, physics–all of these are ways that, according to Scripture, God has revealed Himself.  Should we not take a closer view at what God has shown us?  Let us lay aside our presuppositions and let the stars do the talking.  After all, they are groaning to be free like us.

From around the Internet, here are a few quick hitters to check out:

1. James Thayer pointed me to this article about a man who went from inmate to evangelist in South Carolina.
2. C.J. Mahaney explains the benefit of having a tone-deaf pastor lead worship.
3. Two more good things from Al Mohler. The first is at the SBTS website, a panel discussion on N.T. Wright and the doctrine of justification.  The second is on his blog, an post titled “Why Moralism Is Not the Gospel.”
4. Appropriate for this blog: Mike Plewniak asks if technology is beneficial to Christians.  An oldie, but a goodie.
5. Purgatorio blog does not just joke but asks a serious question about this church with a sign outside saying “Islam is of the Devil.”
6. Came up in Google search for Christianity: a girl who converted from Islam to Christianity flees home, then seeks mediation after her family threatens to kill her
7. Forbes.com listed the top 10 megachurches in the U.S.

Here’s this week’s newswire, a day late because of the Labor Day Holiday:

The Nashville Tennessean ran an article Tuesday about the first Buddhist army chaplain, a former Southern Baptist who will head to Afghanistan without a Bible.  Thomas Dyer said that his goal as a chaplain is to “bring serenity and calm, honed by months of intensive meditation.”  The article discusses the major shifts in American religious culture, including the decline of mainline Protestantism and the rise of secular citizens in the army.

AOL news reported on Saturday the arrest of a Florida pastor who faked his own kidnapping to commit adultery. Wikler Moran-Mora had called his wife on August 25 saying he had been captured and his wife called the police after her husband told her not to.  For more in depth coverage, read the local news.

In other news:

• Some Texas schools are having a hard time trying to interpret a state law mandating biblical literacy.
• A Maryland church horrified at the direction of the Episcopal church was accepted into full communion with the Catholic Church.
• A drought is sweeping across Kenya, making resources there scarce.
• A woman is fined for wearing trousers in Sudan.

The Associate Press reported that the discontinuation of the TNIV will not commence until the revisions are complete in 2011.  This goes against the initial report, which implied that the TNIV would be discontinued immediately.

This revised Bible will be a revision of the NIV Bible, which was released in 1978.

All last week, every media outlet has been giving extensive coverage of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s death and funeral.  After a long battle with terminal cancer, Kennedy died on August 25 in Massachusetts.

Though some bloggers have described the Democratic party as being “atheist,” Kennedy was a devout Catholic.  His funeral was at a Catholic Church and conducted in a traditional liturgical fashion.

Because of this, the Catholic News Service wrote an obituary for the late senator on August 26. Jesuit Father William J. Bryon titled the article, “Nobody’s perfect–Remembering Ted Kennedy.” Of Kennedy, Bryon wrote,

“Upon hearing the news of the senator’s death, a priest I know asked whether or not he would be buried in the church. Of course he will, I said; he was a Catholic in good standing. True, he was divorced and remarried. But there was an annulment and he had the benefit of the sacraments.”

It is not surprising but still disappointing that at the end of this senator’s life, what the Church chose to focus on was not the gospel but the sacraments.  While marriage, confession, baptism, communion and all the others have their benefits, this would not be enough for a standing before God.  True, Kennedy was divorced and remarried.  But Kennedy had the imputed righteousness of Christ. And that clears the guilt of past sin where no annulment can.

Perhaps Bryon could learn from the wisdom of Kennedy’s mother, whom he quotes in the last part of his obituary:

“The most important element in human life is faith. If God were to take away all his blessings, health, physical fitness, wealth, intelligence and leave me with but one gift, I would ask for faith, for with faith in him and his goodness, mercy and love for me, and belief in everlasting life, I believe I could suffer the loss of my other gifts and be happy.”

Statistically, no.  But as Al Mohler writes in a post, this nation’s pluralism looks more like Hinduism than Christianity.

“Without doubt, Americans have been growing more and more accepting of plural and relative understandings of truth,” Mohler writes. ” A tragically large number of those who identify as Christians have been drinking from the same wells of thought (as Hindus).”

His post draws most of its material from Lisa Miller’s article in Newsweek.