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Christian Issues

Christians and Spank Culture: How and Why to Stop It

by Jennifer C. Martin in Christian Issues

Between the “cool pope” speaking out in favor of physical discipline and Fifty Shades of Grey, spanking is back in the news.

Though I come from an evangelical background, I admire the pope, and so found his latest comments frustrating.

I don’t spank my children. (Full disclosure: my children are still quite young—but so far, so good.)

My relatives all spank their children with reckless impunity. To them I know it seems so simple: the actions of the child who has disobeyed is immediately met with the power and authority of their mighty hand, by which the child immediately learns that he or she has done wrong.

But I don’t discipline my kids that way. And people judge me for that. One relative mentioned casually to my husband, “You guys can get away with not spanking, because your kids listen—but my kid won’t do anything unless she’s spanked.”

I wanted to argue; I wanted to answer, “That’s because you’ve trained your child to be completely unresponsive to any form of discipline other than spanking. Your child knows that when you simply ask her to do something, you don’t mean it—you only mean it when you spank. (And no, my kids do not always listen.)”

The idea that not spanking is some sort of easy, overly lenient parental response is baffling to me. It would be much simpler to smack my kids every time they did something wrong (especially when I’m angry at them) than it is to consistently treat them like human beings deserving of the same respect that I believe I’m… [Read more…] about Christians and Spank Culture: How and Why to Stop It

Progressive Christianity won't give you measles

by in Christian Issues

Last week evangelical blogger Samuel James wrote a post in which he compared the anti-vaccine movement’s rejection of medical authority and expertise with progressive Christianity’s rejection of church authority and theological expertise.

I’m sympathetic with James’ warnings against anti-intellectualism and rejection of authority, but I’m disturbed that he only identifies those tendencies in groups he disagrees with. Such characteristics cut across cultural and theological boundaries, and while the progressive Christian movement has shortcomings that merit examination, the intellectual problems of evangelical Christianity are far more pervasive.

Evangelicalism has always had an uneasy relationship with intellectual pursuits. There’s a very good reason Mark Noll titled his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind and not The Scandal of the Progressive Christian Mind. There’s a very good reason we aren’t reading about measles outbreaks in mainline Christian churches, but yet the anti-vaccine movement continues to find a foothold in conservative religious communities.

Samuel James’ own evangelical background and his ties to the Southern Baptist Convention undermine virtually every word he writes in critique of progressive Christianity. Southern Baptists widely reject scientific expertise, especially in the form of evolutionary biology, and widely reject the consensus of mainstream biblical scholarship when it comes to biblical issues such as the inerrancy… [Read more…] about Progressive Christianity won't give you measles

Strachan & Fischer’s Big Gay Slip’N Slide

by in Christian Issues

One of the canards of the anti-LGBT industry is the tired argument that accepting LGBT equality will lead us down the slippery slope of moral corruption. Capitulate when it comes to gay marriage and just around the corner we’ll be facing, in words from the film Ghostbusters, “a disaster of biblical proportions … real wrath of God type stuff … Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! … Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes … The dead rising from the grave! … Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together … mass hysteria!”

In a recent episode of his Focal Point radio program, conservative Christian blowhard Bryan Fischer puts it this way:

One of the things we’ve talked about on this program is that once the threshold of man-woman marriage is crossed, once we cross that threshold, where we said there are other sexual unions that are permissible outside of the union … there is no logical place to stop. … Once there is some kind of endorsement of homosexual behavior then they’re going to move on from there. … when ground is given to the homosexual lobby, when their agenda is catered to, surrendered to, capitulated to, they’re not happy with that, they’re not satisfied with that, now they’re already pressing in to transgender rights, special rights for transgenders. … They’re pressing on to incest: I read you that story a couple weeks ago that’s now been mainlined in The New Yorker magazine [New York… [Read more…] about Strachan & Fischer’s Big Gay Slip’N Slide

Can Christians and Muslims be friends?

by in Book Reviews, Christian Issues, Islam

Can Christians and Muslims be friends? For Mennonite missionary David Shenk, the answer is not only a resounding yes, but a resounding imperative that we must diligently pursue and cultivate such friendships.

In his recent book Christian. Muslim. Friend: Twelve Paths to Real Relationship (Herald Press, $14.99), Shenk writes from the perspective that “every Muslim should have a Christian friend and every Christian should have a Muslim friend.”

He goes on to describe twelve paths to reach that goal, each of which is the subject of a chapter in the book:
… we live with integrity. We keep our identity clear. We cultivate respect. We develop trust. We dialogue about our differences. We practice hospitality. We answer the questions. We confront distortions. We consider the choice between the hijrah [the journey from Mecca to Medina] and the cross. We seek peace and pursue it. We partner with the person of peace. We commend Christ.
Shenk speaks from experience — he has spent over 50 years involved with Christian missions in Somalia, Kenya, the United States and around the world. He describes this book as “a collection of stories about my journey of meeting Muslims and greeting Muslims.” That is partly true, but Shenk is being modest. The stories of his interactions with Muslims offer profound insights into the nuances of interfaith relationships.

Shenk is forthright in his exploration of Christian/Muslim relationships, never shirking difficult topics. He… [Read more…] about Can Christians and Muslims be friends?

Must "American Sniper" Chris Kyle be seen as immoral?

by in Christian Issues

This is in response to so much that we’re now seeing on the Internet–and maybe especially amongst progressive Christian bloggers (such as Ben Corey)—about how “American Sniper” Chris Kyle must, by virtue of having done his job, be immoral.

It would have been wrong for Chris Kyle to have ON HIS OWN killed people. That would be murder. He, and his fellow soldiers, whether they were snipers or truck drivers, put the needs of others ahead of their own lives, and that is the very essence of both love and heroism. And we rightly honor heroes.

That of course is not the same thing as saying that all wars are just. Leaders make mistakes, and citizens have the responsibility to question the morality or need for any war. One could argue that the United States made either a moral or practical mistake by entering any number of wars. But the heroism of the individual soldiers who served in those wars remains exactly the same.

Non-violent means of political change is great, and should always be pursued. But non-violence is not a moral absolute. Gandhi is a hero, for standing up to British imperialism non-violently. But non-violence did nothing but encourage Hitler.

Without war, without the sacrifice of many, many, heroic soldiers, slavery would be legal in the Confederate States of America, and Auschwitz would still be in operation. To refuse to fight those wars would have been immoral.

Finally, out of necessity, soldiers don’t have the luxury of… [Read more…] about Must "American Sniper" Chris Kyle be seen as immoral?

Eliminating evangelical double-speak about salvation

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues, Christian Spirituality

Mega-church pastor, best-selling author, and evangelical icon, Rev. Rick Warren wrote the foreword to a 2008 book authored by Rabbi David J. Wolpe titled, Why Faith Matters. Rev. Warren had this to say about Rabbi Wolpe,
The closer I get to David Wolpe, the more I am impressed by this man of faith.  … his unique contribution of experiences has given him a credible platform from which he presents the case that faith in God truly matters … .

Regardless of where you are in your own personal faith journey, I’m certain that his profound insights in this book will stimulate your thinking and even touch your soul about the reality of God in fresh and surprising ways.
Of course, Rabbi Wolpe’s “faith in God” is not faith in Jesus, which Warren holds as essential for salvation.

In 2012, Mr. Warren was interviewed by ABC’s Jake Tapper, who asked if he believed that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Warren responded,
I do believe that. I believe that because Jesus said it. See, I don’t set myself as an authority. Jesus said “I am the way.” He didn’t say I’m one of the ways; he said “I am the way. I’m the truth. And I’m the way.” I’m betting my life that Jesus wasn’t a liar.
Tapper next observed that Warren was involved in a lot of Interfaith dialogue with friends of other faiths. He asked Warren,
Why would a benevolent God tell those friends of yours who are not evangelical Christians, “I’m sorry you don’t get to go to heaven?”
Here’s how Warren sidestepped that vital… [Read more…] about Eliminating evangelical double-speak about salvation

Did Jesus speak more about Hell than about Heaven?

by in Christian Issues

According to some well-known pastors, Jesus’ teachings are primarily about fire and brimstone. For example:
“… he [Jesus] himself speaks twice as often of hell as of heaven.”
— D.A. Carson, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World

“He [Jesus] spoke more often about hell than he did about heaven. We cannot get around this fact.”
— Leon Morris, “The Dreadful Harvest,” Christianity Today, May 27, 1991

“Jesus talked more about hell than He did about heaven in order to warn men of its reality.”
— John MacArthur, “The Ultimate Religious Decision”

“Jesus said more about Hell than Heaven.”
— Jerry Falwell, “Heaven and Hell”

“Obviously I do believe in hell. Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven.”
— Rick Warren, interview with John Piper

“Jesus said more about hell than about any other topic. Amazingly, 13 percent of his sayings are about hell and judgment …”
— Mark Driscoll, “6 Questions on Hell”

“Of the 1,850 verses in the New Testament that record Jesus’ words, 13 percent of them deal with the subject of eternal judgment and hell. In fact, Jesus spoke more frequently about hell than He did about heaven.”
— Robert Jeffress, How Can I Know?
Those are some very bold and very specific quantitative assessments of Jesus’ message. But are they true?

By my count[1] (with the help of some BibleWorks magic), there are 1,944 verses in the four gospels that contain Jesus’ words.

Surprisingly,  only about 60 of those verses–or an… [Read more…] about Did Jesus speak more about Hell than about Heaven?

The Misuse of Scripture (Southern Baptists seem to lead the way)

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues, Current Events

When our President issued his executive order giving deportation relief to millions of undocumented people in our country, as part of his explanation he quoted Scripture: “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9; also 22:21). This angered a number of conservative Christians who apparently felt they had a monopoly on the Bible.

Mark Coppenger, professor of Christian apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote a piece for the Religion News Service claiming that the President misused Scripture by running “roughshod over context.”

The irony of this is that the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution in 2011 quoting this very Scripture as a basis for compassionate action. The resolution declared: “The Scriptures call us, in imitation of God Himself, to show compassion and justice for the sojourner and alien among us.” Following that declaration the Scripture the President quoted was listed along with several others.

Did Coppenger change his mind or did he never support the SBC resolution to begin with? My purpose here is not to critique Coppenger’s hypocritical hermeneutic. Mainline Biblical interpreters can easily tear his shoddy reasoning apart (see Mark Silk’s excellent critique at the same website).

The question I want to ask is: Could there be some bias at work behind the argument that the President misused Scripture? Could it be a general… [Read more…] about The Misuse of Scripture (Southern Baptists seem to lead the way)

Actual War on Black People Distracting from Fictional War on Christmas

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues, Current Events

I feel sorry for the Fox-News War-On-Christmas crowd.

This is normally the season of the year when they foment anger and offense at perceived slights anytime a city renames a Christmas parade a “holiday parade” or anytime retailers dare to remain inclusive with Season’s Greetings banners.

For them, the failure of anyone to use the word Christmas amounts to a “war,” yet the actual gunning down of statistically large numbers of unarmed black men is no real cause for concern.

It is perhaps the greatest sign of privilege that those who continually parrot a narrative of “Christian persecution” based on nativity scenes and holiday cards will bend over backward to excuse the literal war – the actual systematic killing of civilians by increasingly militarized police forces – being waged on poor black communities in our own country.

So we should feel pity, I guess, for current events ruining their War On Christmas season. Kirk Cameron’s silly Saving Christmas has a dismal 1.3 stars on IMDB, and the exaggerated slights against the holy day have taken a backseat to protests over the latest round of grand jury decisions failing to indict white officers for killing unarmed black men. Jesus, a brown-skinned transient and known practitioner of civil disobedience executed by a brutal police state, is indeed perhaps the reason for the season, just not in the way the War on Christmas crowd wants to talk about.

Instead, many white conservatives, mostly Christians, have been trying… [Read more…] about Actual War on Black People Distracting from Fictional War on Christmas

A Christmas Play Gone Awry (or maybe not)

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues, Christian Spirituality

One of my favorite Christmas stories is about a little church that traditionally had a Christmas play for all the children and the “adult children” who loved it just as much. There was a ten-year-old boy named Barry who had been a disaster in every Christmas play in which he had been involved. One year his angel wings caught on fire, which nearly burned down the church. The next year, as Herod the Great, he jumped from his throne and, in his usual clumsy way, jerked the carpet out from under the three wise men and dumped them on their heads.

The children begged the director not to let Barry ruin another Christmas play: “Please, teacher, could you leave Barry out this year?”

But how could she reject a little boy who tried his best and loved Jesus with all his heart, even if he was a bit clumsy? She was able to convince the other children that Barry couldn’t do any real damage by playing the innkeeper of Bethlehem. He just opened and closed a door and spoke one short line. What damage could he possibly do?

Barry made it through all the rehearsals and the dress rehearsal perfectly. Then, the big night arrived, when all the mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, friends and loved ones gathered to relive the Christmas story with their children. Barry was given a chance to redeem himself from all his previous mishaps. He opened the door of the inn and looked straight into the face of Mary and Joseph. Mary, very sad and pale, sat on a little donkey, which they had never… [Read more…] about A Christmas Play Gone Awry (or maybe not)