Simply Gospel

Vox: Why Christian Conservatives Supported Trump — and Why They Might Regret It The questions in the interview are every bit as insightful as the answers — giving an insight about how recent events are shaping an unbeliever’s view of Christians. Moreover, it speaks to the dangers of creating cults of personality or lifting up individuals as “religious leaders.” (That would be people like James Dobson or Franklin Graham, not the president.) Their hypocrisies and power plays end up projected onto Christianity as a whole. I write this as a very conservative Christian. Finally, this quote regarding whether or not recent… Continue reading

Patheos: Don’t Support This Bill, Oppose This Bill The worst thing that has happened with the church since the 60s but especially since the 80s (under Reagan) has been the politicization and partisanization of the church. Church cultures now exist where in a local church if you are not a Republican or a Democrat you don’t fit. This is surrendering to Caesar what belongs to God alone. Now there is a bill underway, attached to the tax bill, that would permit churches or pastors or church leaders to identify with a political party and announce support for a political party and encourage church… Continue reading

Focus Press: A Dangerous Trend in the Churches of Christ When we’re constantly covering baptism, the instrument, and the other doctrines that set us apart from the denominational world, growth comes to a halt. As Hebrews 5:11-14 discusses, there comes a time when we need to move beyond the fundamentals and onto the meat of the word. When the Bible is reduced to being little more than a reference book filled with proof-texts that back up the doctrines we already believe, our ability to see its application in all areas of life is hindered. Where this is the case, God’s word is used… Continue reading

Christianity Today: Sorry Christians, We Can’t Blame the Media Any More Christians love playing the “blame the media” game. Not long ago, we might have had a legitimate claim that our reputation was bad because the media was against us. That’s not the case anymore. Oh sure, the media in general may still think negatively about Christians, if they think about us at all. But the days of blaming someone else for our bad press are gone. Do you know why Christians have a bad reputation today? It’s not because of CNN. It’s because of our own Facebook pages, Twitter feeds… Continue reading

Radically Christian: Why Arguments About Christmas are Counterproductive In my childhood, I argued about Christmas a lot. “You know,” I would say in a matter-of-fact tone, “Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th.” I relished correcting people about the inaccuracies of their religious holiday and their little nativity scenes. Since then I’ve learned, you can be right and be wrong at the same time. I was right, Jesus most likely was not born on December 25th, but I was dead wrong for thinking that rudely arguing that point was somehow pleasing to God. I can relate to this post a lot. It’s so easy… Continue reading

Timothy Archer: You Can’t Understand the Bible Without Interpreting It If we don’t interpret the Bible, we can never hope to understand it. And if we come to understand what the Bible is saying, then we have interpreted it correctly. I’m glad Philip didn’t have a prejudice against interpretation. He interpreted the Isaiah passage the eunuch was reading, helping him to understand God’s message. Continue reading