Here is my completely subjective list of the top Southern Baptist news stories of 2016. Presumably, all of our colleagues will be occupied with Christmas gaiety and not make news between now and the end of the year. The rankings are meant to be generally taken. _______________ 1. Russell Moore's strident opposition to Donald Trump and reaction from some segments of the SBC The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission CEO, Russell Moore, was a heavy critic of Donald Trump. Some segments of the SBC objected to what was seen as imbalance in his anti-Trump. One mid-level SBC personage spoke … [Read more...] about Top ten Southern Baptist news stories of 2016
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Christians Must Take A Stand Against Nationalism
Aaron Davis blogs at "The Writing World of Aaron Davis." A few days ago, I sent out a tweet on Twitter that said, “Nationalism and Christianity are mutually exclusive.” This is a concise statement (as they must be on Twitter) and deserves some explanation. The first thing to be examined is definitions. Labels are useless unless clearly defined. Nationalism does not simply refer to love or devotion to one’s country. According to Marriam-Webster, Nationalism is: “loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially : a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and … [Read more...] about Christians Must Take A Stand Against Nationalism
A Plea to the President-Elect and Congress: Let It Go – Don’t Let Hillary Be News
I do not like Hillary Clinton even a little bit, and it shocked me when I watched the votes roll in on election night how I found myself cheering for Donald Trump. Donald Trump! I won't go back over what I think of Donald Trump because I've committed to trying to show more respect now that he is president, but the choice was something like choosing between West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease. For me, Hillary was the worst. I find her personally repulsive. Her views are offensive on the issues that I care most about. And I am convinced she committed crimes against the security of this … [Read more...] about A Plea to the President-Elect and Congress: Let It Go – Don’t Let Hillary Be News
Telling the Truth: A Great Place to Start the Healing
Our God is truth but are we in danger of becoming a people who subvert the truth to our agendas? In our theological and political passions, the truth can often be left in the dust. We have a lot of euphemisms for what replaces the truth, but as Christians we only have two options. Jesus said our yes should be yes and our no should be no. He made it clear that the enemy is the liar and that God's people must "speak the truth in love." But we give cover to our lies. Inflated rhetoric. Impassioned, heat-of-the-moment verbiage. Enflamed with righteous anger. Senator Hiram Johnson said, "The … [Read more...] about Telling the Truth: A Great Place to Start the Healing
In Appreciation of the Religious Right
As you can tell by now, I've decided to give November over to writing posts from a posture of gratitude, particularly for institutions for which gratitude may not be the stock and trade of what I read online. I don't know how many of us #NeverTrump people are writing about what we appreciate in the Moral-Majority-slash-Religious-Right, but if it is not a genre yet, I'm willing to be the one to start it up. I've studied enough of our history to have an appreciation for the Religious Right. For Southern Baptists, the advent of the Religious Right was, in my opinion, a very healthy … [Read more...] about In Appreciation of the Religious Right
Random Observations, Questions, and Ruminations
Nothing I'm about to say has any social, moral, or spiritual value. 1. It is clearly not enough to simply rebuke morning people. Should they be subjected to church discipline and felony prosecution, or are more extreme forms of punishment indicated? 2. Why can't coffee taste as good as it smells? Why are there no coffee-scented after-shaves and perfumes? 3. Restaurants are robbing us blind by charging 3 bucks for a glass of tea or cola, then act as if "free refills" is some kind of magnanimous gesture. 4. I'm not sure I want to live in a world where something called a "gourmet … [Read more...] about Random Observations, Questions, and Ruminations
In praise of the apolitical church
I have enjoyed this political season, not the least reason for which is the lack of any intense political thrust coming from the church I currently attend. While the election may come up in a casual pulpit remark, the general thrust is that we do not "do politics" from the pulpit. I gather that this is pastor-driven but accepted and even welcomed by church leadership. Personally, I don't think the pastor could add anything to what I already know about local or national politics. There is not any group or even individual that I know of who complains that the church is inadequately … [Read more...] about In praise of the apolitical church
Taran Killam’s Prejudice: An Example of What’s Wrong with America
If you had asked me yesterday morning who Taran Killam is, I'd have told you I have no idea. Evidently he was on Saturday Night Live, which I haven't watched in about 2 decades - it's still on? He was fired a couple of months ago from that show. I was introduced to him yesterday by an insightful post-election tweet he shared with America. Rural=so stupid. As you might expect, a few rural folks responded. Actually, I was surprised at the reasonable nature of most of those tweets - they weren't insults for the most part (there were a few), but challenges to his prejudice and hatred … [Read more...] about Taran Killam’s Prejudice: An Example of What’s Wrong with America
A Plea to American Voters: Let’s Behave as if We Believe
I have written two posts about the election that I decided not to post - I have post-election burnout and they haven't even started counting votes. I can't wait for it to all be over, except for the reality that we are picking a leader for our nation for the next few years. There's so much that troubles me about this, but I've come to the opinion that further discussion is pointless. There's more talking than listening going on, more anger than reason, more division than reconciliation, and I'm pretty sure that I'm more likely to give offense than to sway opinions. My real burden all along … [Read more...] about A Plea to American Voters: Let’s Behave as if We Believe
Tomorrow I will vote, and I will vote my conscience
Tomorrow is election day, and what a year it has been leading up to this point. If anyone back then had said that the two major candidates would be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the rest of us would have nodded in agreement to the first prediction and shaken our heads and laughed at the second. Yet here we are. To call this election “contentious”, even among evangelicals, would be an understatement. I think most of us are ready for November 9 so we can see the end of robocalls, political ads on TV, and Facebook posts about how civilization as we know it will come to an end if either … [Read more...] about Tomorrow I will vote, and I will vote my conscience