George and Barbara Witness a Wedding—When a Private Act Sends a Public Message

Former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara attended a wedding a few days ago, and it made national news. According to The Washington Post, the elder Bushes attended the wedding of Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, held at Kennebunkport, Maine. The two lesbians, co-owners of a general store in neighboring Kennebunk, were married in an outdoor celebration attended by family and friends. The 41st President of the United States was present, along with the former First Lady. Bonnie Clement told The Washington Post, “Who would be best to acknowledge the importance of our wedding as our friends and as the former leader of the free world? When they agreed to do so we just felt that it was the next acknowledgement of being ‘real and normal.’”

As it turns out, President Bush did not merely attend the wedding. He also served as an official witness, signing the legal documents for the ceremony and the Maine wedding license. Under a photograph with the former president the couple added the words, “Getting our marriage license witnessed!”    Continue at Al Mohler

Why Online Pornography is Being Blocked in the UK—and Why It Should Be in the U.S. Too

The Story: Most households in the UK will have pornography blocked by their internet provider unless they choose to receive it, the prime minister has announced.

The Background: According to the BBC, Prime Minister Cameron warned in a speech that access to online pornography is "corroding childhood." The new measures will apply to both existing and new customers. Cameron also called for some "horrific" internet search terms to be "blacklisted," meaning they would automatically bring up no results on websites such as Google or Bing.

He told the BBC he expected a "row" with service providers who, he said in his speech, were "not doing enough to take responsibility" despite having a "moral duty" to do so. He warned he could have to "force action" by changing the law and that, if there were "technical obstacles," firms should use their "greatest brains" to overcome them.

Why It Matters: Imagine that as part of their mail delivery service, the USPS delivered to your mailbox an unlimited supply of free drugs, ranging from oxycodone to heroin. You could take the drugs out or leave them untouched, but they would always be there for you or any other member of your family. While you can't opt out of the service, people who don't want access to the drugs could attach a lock that prevents them and their family from picking up the narcotics when they collect their electric bill and postcards. But the postal service would always ensure that, without the postal customer taking preventive measures, the drugs were always ready and waiting for them.   Continue at Joe Carter

Same-Sex Marriage and the American Church

On Wednesday, five members of the Supreme Court struck down a 1996 decision by the people’s representatives that had limited marriage to one man and one woman.

We have included for you a number of insightful posts addressing this issue below, but let me offer 4 brief thoughts of my own by way of introduction.

1. As one of the articles below says, we as believers must get used to being a “missional minority” rather than a “Christian majority” in our culture. 

This is not altogether a bad thing—the church does best in environments like these. The end result of our culture’s departure from Christianity will probably not be less actual Christians (i.e. true disciples of Jesus), but simply the elimination of more cultural Christians. What is sad is that when any people depart from God’s righteousness, their society deteriorates. As Proverbs says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” God uses his church as salt and light in their community (Matt 5:13–16), praying for the peace (shalom) of our city (Jer 29:7), and pleading with the civil magistrates to preserve our freedom to be disciples of Jesus in our culture (1 Tim 2:1–4).   Continue at J. D. Greear

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Gay Marriage and the Eclipse of Religious Liberty

Ever since the court handed down its DOMA decision yesterday, it has becomeincreasingly clear that we are one lawsuit away from gay marriage being ensconced as a Constitutional right. My hunch is that such a lawsuit will come sooner rather than later, and that the matter could end up before the Supreme Court in relatively short order. President Obama is already saying that gay marriages performed legally in one state should be recognized by every other state in the union. This matter will be litigated, and—as Scalia noted in his dissent—that other shoe is going to drop.

In any case, the Supreme Court has led us to the precipice of legal gay marriage in all fifty states. As gay marriage moves forward, there is a real question whether proponents of gay marriage will allow any legal accommodation for the consciences of those who hold marriage to be the union of one man and one woman. Observant Christians, Jews, and Muslims would all have religious reasons for defining marriage in the traditional way, but will their religious liberty be respected as gay marriage becomes the law of the land?   Continue at Denny Burk

See also:

What has the Gay Lobby Revealed to You about Your Faith

Where the Prop 8 ruling leaves us?

How Should You Explain the Same-Sex Marriage Debate to Your Children?

Supreme Court Defies God’s Clear Teaching on Marriage
 

7 Lessons for Christians from the “Gay Victory”

Biblical Christians Are “Non-Jihadist Terrorists” and a “Greater Threat Than Those Who Admire Al Qaeda”?

Biblical Christians are being actively maligned with deliberate attempts to marginalize us in this increasingly secularized culture.

In recent times we have see an increase in secularists doing the following:

1. Accusing Christians/creationists of “child abuse” (as Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University professor, has been delcaring in recent times).
2. Claiming Christianity is a virus (as atheist Richard Dawkins and others have done).
3. Accusing people with religious convictions of mental health issues—and causing children to have their own mental health problems (as we saw in a recent TIME article).

I want to suggest to you there is an increasing ploy by secularists to indoctrinate the public into thinking that biblical Christians are the enemy and dangerous to the culture. I must admit, I’ve been quite surprised at how rapidly the anti-Christian rhetoric is growing across this country.

You may be shocked to read what was written in a CNN opinion piece April 4 by Peter Bergen. CNN describes the author this way:

Peter Bergen is CNN’s national security analyst, the author of “Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden — From 9/11 to Abbottabad” and a director at the New America Foundation. Jennifer Rowland is a program associate at the New America Foundation.

In this opinion piece titled “Growing threat of extreme right-wing violence,” Bergen states the following:    Continue at Ken Ham

When God Judges a Culture

“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave…” ~ Genesis 18:20

With the gay marriage question before the Supreme Court, the media (social, news, or otherwise) outlets of our culture have seen an explosion of activity and strong opinion in both directions.  At the core of this issue is the notion of homosexuality itself, and such always seems to draw minds to the story of God’s judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis.  God determined to rain his judgment and wrath upon the culture of those cities because of the greatness of their sin.  A hint of this sin is seen in Genesis 19 when two angels in the appearance of men go into Sodom and Lot welcomes them into his house, only to have men from the city surround the house and demand to forcibly have sexual relations with them (or in other words…to rape them).

The term sodomy itself shows the history of our religious culture’s connection of the events in Genesis with homosexual activity.  Yet a simple reading of the Genesis account shows that this wasn’t merely an issue of prevailing homosexuality itself.  Rather the perverseness of the men’s actions goes to something much deeper—an active abuse of others for the sake of self pleasure.  Furthermore, Ezekiel 16:46-50 shows how the greatness of their sin came in the totality of their unrighteousness and not because of a single issue—they were also prideful and prosperous yet neglected the poor and needy.  God says, “They were haughty and did an abomination before me.  So I removed them, when I saw it.”  Continue at Mike Bergman

USA Will Become Like the UK—The Battle for Culture

The battle for the culture in the UK (United Kingdom) continues to be lost from a Christian perspective! A recent article reported that Prime Minister David Cameron came out in support of same-sex couples being able to marry in UK churches (UK registrars currently cannot legally officiate same-sex marriage ceremonies), and a bill to that effect will be voted on in 2013. (Read the full report at this link.) You see, the UK has been in a downward spiral for years as far as the church and biblical authority are concerned. I’ve given these statistics many times before—church attendance in the UK is very low (from around 60% generations ago to 6.3% according to a recent report in the Telegraph).

Well, David Cameron’s view on gay “marriage” is being considered a historic moment, because “it means that all three party leaders now support a historic equality reform.” And sadly, Cameron is violating the views of half his party by taking such a stance on such “marriages” in churches—all because “he believes the public are relaxed about the idea.” Since a majority of the people seems to be in favor of gay “marriage” in churches, Cameron wants to support it.

Now, in my book The Lie: Evolution/Millions of Years, I wrote a section explaining why we cannot base our morality on man’s opinion. I’ve included it here because I believe it addresses the major problems with what is happening in the UK (and is happening here in the USA also):   Continue at Ken Ham

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Does Anyone Care What Happens to Hobby Lobby?

I am astonished that more Americans aren’t in an uproar about what is happening to Hobby Lobby right now. As many of you know, Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit earlier this year to try and get relief from Obamacare’s abortion mandate. The case is still pending appeal, but the Supreme Court just rejected their request for an emergency injunction. In response, the Christian owners of Hobby Lobby have said they have no intention to pay for the abortion-inducing drugs required by Obamacare. That means that beginning on January 1, the United States government will fine Hobby Lobby $1.3 million dollars per day until Hobby Lobby complies.

This is the most egregious violation of religious liberty that I have ever seen. The United States Government is forcing these Christian business owners to pay for abortion inducing drugs in their employees’ insurance plans. It doesn’t matter that the law violates their religious liberty to conduct business in a way that is consistent with their conscience. Obamacare mandates that these Christians comply or face fines that will put them out of business.

When the controversy over the abortion mandate erupted earlier this year, the American public by and large got the impression that this was about conservatives who wanted to ban contraception. Nothing could be further from the truth. No one wants to outlaw contraception. This controversy is about the fact that the government is forcing pro-life business owners to pay for chemical abortions. If the federal government can force citizens to purchase items that they believe to be immoral, where will this end?   Continue at Denny Burk

Demonizing the NRA

It is a shame that here—only a few days before Christmas—we have to focus on guns, violence and society. A bit ironic also, because the little baby born in the stable and laid in a manger, the Savior of the world and the Creator Himself, is the ultimate solution for the ills that plague society. When one repents of their sins and trusts in Christ for salvation, certain things follow. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer, day by day conforming us into His image. Most importantly, enabling us to live the kind of lives God wants us to live. We learn how to love one another. And when we love one another (and love God), we're not out conducting mass murder.

I hope to put up a Christmas-themed post before Christmas, but in the wake of the NRA news conference today, I thought I should make some comment about it. Heaven knows, the rabid left and their media acolytes will.

You'll notice I used a drawn picture of an "average family." Why? Glad you asked!

NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre made many excellent points and observations in his press statement. He didn't take questions, probably smart given the hostility of the media to the 120+year-old organization and our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. I read the Reuters account of the presser, and had to chuckle because of their inaccuracy on several counts. They called the NRA "press shy," which is laughable. The NRA usually has a tough time getting its message out via the "mainstream" media because everyone has to filter out the bias of the reporters and editorializing over the top of their statements. Two protesters stood up and began screaming in the midst of LaPierre's remarks and had to be forcibly removed. True to form, instead of addressing the FACTS that LaPierre was giving in his presser, they insisted "How do you answer these protests?" I guess they weren't listening to what Wayne was saying.    Continue at Seventh Sola

Why Republicans Will Never Win Big Again

I was born during the Carter administration when America's moral was at it's lowest, but remember my childhood during the Reagan years. I grew up believing America was good and descent and that we had a bright future ahead of us. My teen years were lived out during the Clinton years where I figured out that the moral conscience of America had been very corrupted, but there was hope if we could get another Reagan in office again. We thought Bush was that guy. I spent most of my adult years under the Bush Administration that left me disillusioned because a clever politician was able to play us Christians for fools by saying that Jesus was his favorite philosopher and we fell for it. I'm not sure if Bush 43 is really Evangelical or not, but I know that he spent more money than any other Democrat president before him and with his optimistic naive idealism, he got us involved in two wars in Muslim countries thinking that those people were actually capable of self-governing under a free democratic society.

Now, we have a president with worse moral convictions than Carter and worse economic record than Carter and Americans vote to keep him for four more years. I thought that Americans were more motivated by their pocketbooks than anything else, I guess I was wrong. How does a country that has suffered under 12 years of liberal fiscal policies (that includes the Bush years too) vote for four more of them when our economy is on the brink of collapse and total ruin?  Continue at Reforming Baptist

See Also:

I Grieve for the United States

Christians, Let’s Honor the President

In Light of the Election: Live the Gospel

When God Judges A Nation

How I Absorbed Three Punches and Stood Up Anyway

On God’s Election of Obama

The Day After: My Thoughts on the Presidential Election

Post-Election Reflections: One Pastor's Dilemma

The Meaning of the 2012 Election

God gave them over

Sorting Out the Election Aftermath

The People Have Spoken-- What Should Christians Do Now?

Five Responses to President Obama’s Reelection

What conservative surprise about Obama’s re-election says about conservatives

Dear Post-Election Self

Aftermath: Lessons from the 2012 Election

The Only Hope For America

A New Era: Where Christians Are a Cultural Minority?

For clarity, I am speaking in this post of biblically-based, gospel-founded Christianity, not cultural Christianity or Christendom.  A friend mentioned the other day that there were 4 billion “Christians” on earth. Not sure where that statistic comes from, but does any of us really believe that there are 4 billion “born-again” Christians – those who have repented of their sins and trusted Jesus Christ alone (and consciously) for their salvation.

I grew up in a Christianized, Christian-centric, Christian-sympathetic world. I have heard arguments on both sides, but I do not believe that the US was ever a “Christian Nation” It was one that saw itself as responsible to God and was Christian enough that people could make the argument that we were a Christian nation, though.

Such is no longer true.

We who believe the Bible to be the perfect word of God are entering a new era in this nation. Gone (or rapidly going) are the days in which our nation shared, in the main, our values. In my college years, a controversial organization formed called the Moral Majority. It was based on the premise that there was in America a majority of people who shared our values.

Such is no longer true.  Continue at Dave Miller

W.E.B DuBois Would Not Vote in This Election

I know. I was surprised at the notion myself. A tireless champion of Civil Rights, a participant of the Niagra Movement and one of the founders of the NAACP, one would expect DuBois to argue the moral responsibility of voting–particularly for a people recently disenfranchised.

But in a piece entitled, “Why I Won’t Vote,” delivered on October 20, 1956, DuBois made an eloquent case for not voting at all.  The entire speech really should be read; it’s haunting in its description themes and tensions in 1956 that could as easily apply to 2012. DuBois begins with a kind of biography of his voting record:

Since I was twenty-one in 1889, I have in theory followed the voting plan strongly advocated by Sidney Lens in The Nation of August 4, i.e., voting for a third party even when its chances were hopeless, if the main parties were unsatisfactory; or, in absence of a third choice, voting for the lesser of two evils. My action, however, had to be limited by the candidates’ attitude toward Negroes. Of my adult life, I have spent twenty-three years living and teaching in the South, where my voting choice was not asked. I was disfranchised by law or administration. In the North I lived in all thirty-two years, covering eight Presidential elections. In 1912 I wanted to support Theodore Roosevelt, but his Bull Moose convention dodged the Negro problem and I tried to help elect Wilson as a liberal Southerner. Under Wilson came the worst attempt at Jim Crow legislation and discrimination in civil service that we had experienced since the Civil War. In 1916 I took Hughes as the lesser of two evils. He promised Negroes nothing and kept his word. In 1920, I supported Harding because of his promise to liberate Haiti. In 1924, I voted for La Follette, although I knew he could not be elected. In 1928, Negroes faced absolute dilemma.   Continue at Gospel Coalition

See also:  John MacArthur Rebukes Democratic Platform

Rapture Theology: The Arrogance of the West

A Wall of Separation Between Church and State

Where does the phrase “a wall of separation between Church and State” come from?

The Constitution?

The Declaration of Independence?

Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists?

The First Amendment?

The Articles of Confederation?

Did you guess correctly?

The phrase “a wall of separation between Church and State” comes from the pen of President Thomas Jefferson when he wrote to a group of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut. They were concerned about the possible establishment of a church that they would be required to attend. 

Jefferson wrote to ensure them that their free practice of religious liberty would never be interfered with by the government, for that would go against the will of the people and the Constitution. Jefferson closed his letter by thanking them for their prayers on his behalf.  Keep Reading...

In His Own Words: A Radical Pro-Abortion President

When Barack Obama was running for President, he was described by some observers as one of the most radical candidates in the nation’s history, in terms of support for abortion. Once in office, President Obama has done little to dispel that judgment. Even as the President is tracking to the middle on many issues, this is not the case when it comes to abortion. 

This past Saturday, on the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, the President issued a statement that is remarkable, even for presidents who support legalized abortion. The President’s statement included not one word that indicated any recognition that abortion in in any case or in any sense a tragedy. There was not even a passing reference to the unborn child. President Obama did not even use the language used disingenuously by President Bill Clinton — the pledge that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” Keep Reading>>>

The Gulf of Mexico and the Care of Creation

A Decade of Radical Islam: Will the West wake up to the threat in time?