Does fatherhood still matter? Is religious freedom for non-Christians too? Should we give up on politics? Can a same-sex attracted person become a husband and pastor? And who is the gospel for?
Get thoughtful responses to these questions from Joe Carter, Russell Moore, Bruce Ashford, Allan Edwards and James Clark in today’s Weekend Reading.
25 Reasons Why Fathers Still Matter
In honor of Father’s Day, Joe Carter reminds us, empirically, why fatherhood still matters.
Christians, of course, should not need to be told the importance of fatherhood…. But when making that case to a secular culture it can be helpful to be armed with empirical evidence of the reasons why fathers are essential to the well being of their children. Read More>>
Is Religious Freedom For Non-Christians Too?
Should Christians support the rights of Muslims to build a mosque? In this post, Russell Moore addresses this question by appealing to Baptists’ long history of supporting religious freedom for all. He writes,
External conformity, backed up by government power, is easier to achieve than Great Commission gospel advance. It also leads nowhere but to death. Read More>>
The Story of a Same-Sex Attracted Pastor and Husband
Allan Edwards, a Presbyterian pastor from Pennsylvania, shares his story about coming to terms with his same-sex attraction and becoming a husband and pastor. He says,
“We need to identify with Christ. That’s the call of the gospel: come and be in Christ. Marriage is not the end of the Christian faith. Signleness is not the end of the Christian faith. Work is not the end of the Christian faith. Impact in the world is not the end of the Christian faith. We need to invite people into union with Christ.” Read More>>
Shouldn’t We Just Treasure the Gospel and Forget about Politics for a While?
Evangelical Christians haven’t been on the winning end of many political battles. So should we give up and retreat from the public square? Bruce Ashford answers with an emphatic no. He explains,
A strong and clear focus on the gospel will not cause us to forget about politics and culture for a while; instead, it will renew and reshape our political and cultural interactions, making them into the shape of a cross and undergirding them with the hope of Christ’s return. Read More>>
The Four-Chapter Gospel Is a Story of Awful People
Hypocrisy drives many believers to doubt and, occasionally, to abandon the faith. In response, James Clark points us to the gospel. He writes,
If we make clear that the four-chapter gospel is the story of bad people being made good again — them and the whole wide world too — then all who hear it will have cause to believe it is a story for them, a story of hope and renewal for all creation. Read More>>
What are you reading this weekend?
