So to all the young, unmarried Christian girls out there, listen up: who you marry matters. You might think that the way he treats you isn’t so bad. It’s not going to get better after the wedding. You might think that he’ll change. It’s possible, but most don’t. You might think that you’ll be able to minister to him and help him. Possibly, but if you can’t now, you won’t then, and you will be at risk yourself. A husband should lead and cherish you, not need your counsel for basic personality or behavior issues.
No Truth Without Love, No Love Without Truth
True compassion demands speaking the truth in love–and there is the problem. Far too often, our courage is more evident than our compassion. In far too many cases, the options seem reduced to these–liberal churches preaching love without truth, and conservative churches preaching truth without love.
Belief Is the Least Part of Faith
In fact, you can argue that religious belief as we now conceptualize it is an entirely modern phenomenon. As the comparative religion scholar Wilfred Cantwell Smith pointed out, when the King James Bible was printed in 1611, “to believe” meant something like “to hold dear.” Smith, who died in 2000, once wrote: “The affirmation ‘I believe in God’ used to mean: ‘Given the reality of God as a fact of the universe, I hereby pledge to Him my heart and soul. I committedly opt to live in loyalty to Him. I offer my life to be judged by Him, trusting His mercy.’ Today the statement may be taken by some as meaning: ‘Given the uncertainty as to whether there be a God or not, as a fact of modern life, I announce that my opinion is yes.’ ”
Listening Well as a Person of Privilege – the complete series
As someone who identifies with both privileged (highly educated, upwardly-mobile) and oppressed (black, female) groups, I’ve experienced both ends of the privileged-oppressed spectrum. As a result, I’ve played the part of the privileged perpetrator of oppression as well as the oppressed target of oppression. And within the reconciliation context, I’ve often had to ask for grace and I’ve often had to give grace. These thoughts on listening well as a person of privilege are based on my experiences as a privileged person and an oppressed person.
It was just minor surgery, except…
Would I change anything if I knew I was going to die? Nope. Not really. If I knew today was my last day here, I wouldn’t do much different. Love God and my family, talk about Jesus and try to live like him. Yeah, pretty much what I try to do every day.
How to be on mission in the city
There is much more to be said about faithful gospel mission in an urbanized world, but this much is clear: the world is moving to the city. The question that hangs in the air is, “How will Christians respond?”
Sonar image may show Amelia Earhart’s plane
A sonar image may point to the wreckage site of Amelia Earhart’s plane, the Electra, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery announced. The nonprofit organization has been on the hunt for the Earhart plane for the last 25 years.
Animated gif from http://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/5/30/4380140/nba-playoffs-manu-ginobili-spurs-fading-brilliance