SBC Voices

Eliezer of Damascus was the trusted slave of Abraham. He managed all of Abraham's worldly affairs. He was, until Ishmael and Isaac arrived, Abraham's heir-apparent. We have no reason to believe that he ever tasted the business end of a whip. We have no reason to believe that he was malnourished or ill-clothed or mistreated in any way. We have every reason to suspect that he partook in the prosperity of Abraham. I prefer my life to his. Freedom is of great benefit, and I desire for all to have it (1 Corinthians 7:21). Plaguing our conversation about slavery, however, is the ill-founded, … [Read more...] about I’d Rather Be Abraham’s Slave Eliezer Than…

Better yet, if Jesus walked into a bar would the people there be glad that he came? The popular notion of Jesus is that he’d walk into a bar and all the down and out sinners would greet him by name and give him a high-five. He’d be the most popular dude there—because you know sinners just couldn’t get enough of good ol’ JC. I’m being facetious—but only slightly. My portrait isn’t terribly far off. What we’ve done is taken the insults of Pharisees (Matthew 11:19) and constructed an entire portrait of Jesus as a response. But I’ve yet to see a portrait painted of Jesus dabbling in dark … [Read more...] about If Jesus Walked Into a Bar Would Everybody Know His Name?

Christian groups like the ERLC and the Kainos Movement are moving toward hosting discussions on racism in America and in the church in the 21st century, which is a good thing. But, if we are not careful, we will miss the deeper issues that animate the entire problem. I sought to explore those deeper issues in my book, When Heaven and Earth Collide: Racism, Southern Evangelicals, and the Better Way of Jesus (NewSouth Books, 2014). Because the manifestation of racism has changed from the separate water fountains and lunch counters and busses of the Jim Crow segregation era, many whites do not … [Read more...] about Racism Is A Symptom of a Deeper Issue That We Don’t Want to Address

Few things in the Bible are more countercultural than what we read there about slavery. It runs contrary to ancient Greco-Roman slave culture. It runs contrary to nineteenth-century American slave culture. It runs contrary to twenty-first-century libertarian culture. There's something here to afflict everyone. First, the data: Jesus nowhere advocated the abolition of slavery. Search for it in vain, for there is nothing in the gospels (or anywhere else in the New Testament) that delivers to us a clear abolitionist message. If you're thinking to yourself, "Man, if I lived somewhere that … [Read more...] about The Bible and Slavery

Christian groups like the ERLC and the Kainos Movement are moving toward hosting discussions on racism in America and in the church in the 21st century, which is a good thing. But, if we are not careful, we will miss the deeper issues that animate the entire problem. I sought to explore those deeper issues in my book, When Heaven and Earth Collide: Racism, Southern Evangelicals, and the Better Way of Jesus (NewSouth Books, 2014). Because the manifestation of racism has changed from the separate water fountains and lunch counters and busses of the Jim Crow segregation era, many whites do not … [Read more...] about Racism Is A Symptom of a Deeper Issue That We Don’t Want to Address

Dale Pugh graciously took a break from celebrating last night's Heisman Award to write a review of the recently released "Exodus: Gods and Kings." Thank you, Dale."  Let me get this out of the way right up front:  Ridley Scott messes with Moses’ story in Exodus: Gods and Kings (EGK).  It seems almost inevitable that Hollywood just won’t stick to the facts.  I suppose that it does the moviegoer well to remember that producers and directors are not necessarily concerned with commitment to a text.  Their goal is to put a story on the screen in order to make money. Ridley Scott has done his … [Read more...] about Exodus: Gods and Kings – A Review, by Dale Pugh

(I do a daily devotional for my church members. We are doing a "through the Bible in one year" reading, and I write some thoughts on one of the passages. I thought some of the readers here might enjoy this one today.) Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, Look upon a little child; Pity my simplicity, Suffer me to come to Thee. Charles Wesley penned the words to this beautiful hymn in 1742. We love this Christmas season because of the cute little baby in the manger, bathed in the star's soft light, surrounded by his mother, the shepherds and the Magi (a misunderstanding - they didn't leave until … [Read more...] about A Picture of the Real Jesus (Revelation 1)

Today I launch a series of posts on the subject of slavery. The thinking that lies behind this series has been brewing over the course of years. Only rarely do I wait so long before putting thoughts into writing. What is the cause here? This subject is fraught with difficulties that impede our discussion of it. I dedicate the initial post, therefore, to an exploration of those difficulties, somewhat in order to try to exalt every valley and lay low every mountain and hill before embarking upon the processional. It is hard to talk about slavery because we struggle to separate the subject of … [Read more...] about Why We Find It Difficult to Talk about Slavery