We were all taught growing up that there is this thing called the separation of church and state. The phrase goes back to a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists (CT) in 1802 where he mentions a wall between the two. This metaphor of Jefferson was transformed by a Supreme Court case in 1947, Everson v. Board of Education, into a partition not between church and state, but between religion and public life that made the Berlin Wall look like rice paper. Ever since, American secular cultural elites have pushed Christianity ever deeper into the crevices of personal experience, so that any expression of specifically Christian faith is deemed, in an appropriate German word, verboten.
Then you don’t know the power of the gospel. I’m going to just quote directly from John Stonestreet and David Carlson at Breakpoint who briefly explain this powerful cultural moment:
News outlets and social media feeds exploded this week with video of one of the most beautiful, powerful, and moving testimonies to the love of God that you’ll ever see.
In a Dallas courtroom, Brandt Jean is addressing Amber Guyger, a former police officer just sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing Brandt’s brother, Botham.
As he chokes back tears, Brandt offers Guyger forgiveness, “I don’t even want you to go to jail,” he says. “I want the best for you, because that’s exactly what Botham would want you to do. And the best would be give your life to Christ.”
Then, he asked Judge Tammy Kemp, “Can I give her a hug please?” Brandt and Guyger embraced.
And if that weren’t enough, Judge Kemp hugged the Jean family, went to her chambers and returned with her personal Bible, which she gave Guyger, and urged her to read it. Then Judge Kemp hugged Guyger.
Glory to God.
Indeed!
Please pray for this young woman, that God’s word given to her by Judge Kemp would transform her from the inside out by God’s Holy Spirit.
Nobody likes a bully. I had my fair share growing up, and would much prefer life without them. The problem is that there can be no life without bullies because we live in a fallen world in a fallen body among fallen, sinful people. On this side of eternity, there will always bullies. Unfortunately, we live in a very strange age where a certain segment of the population thinks life can be cleansed of its unpleasantness, often through some government program or other. There is even government program to stop bullying! So I learned from a piece at Intellectual Takeout with a decidedly different take on bullying: “We Need Bullies so We Can Be Heroes.” That got me to click, because as my kids will tell you, I’m big on the whole life is hard thing, of which I never get tired of reminding them. The piece speaks to the schizophrenic nature of our culture:
Culturally, we understand the role of adversity in growth. Adversity is like Miracle Gro for character. Adversity forms the plots of our most popular films, books, and TV shows. But as our culture works to stamp out “toxic masculinity,” it is also attempting to stamp out human nature itself. Both attempts are doomed to fail at accomplishing their stated goals, but they are likely to do unpredictable damage. If we are able somehow to eliminate bullying, how do we replace an often necessary rite of passage from weakness to strength?
When I first came up with a title for my book four plus years ago I was going call it, Apologetics for Parents: How to keep your kids from becoming “Nones.” Since most Christians don’t know what apologetics is, or what “Nones” are, that wasn’t ideal. Keeping our kids from becoming “Nones,” however, is an increasing challenge in our secular 21st century. Over the past 20 or 30 years the fastest growing segment of the population when asked their religious affiliation chooses “None of the above,” thus the press christened them Nones. A piece in The Atlantichighlights how and why this might be happening. (more…)
If you’re at all familiar with popular music in the last decade or two you surely know of Amy Winehouse. This young talent died of alcohol poisoning in July of 2011 at the ripe old age of 27, joining the pantheon of young musicians who’ve died before they got old. My wife, son, and I recently watched the heart-wrenching documentary of her short life on Netflix; it was not easy to watch. Sadly, her most famous song is aptly titled “Rehab,” and the lyrics prophetic:
They tried to make me go to rehab
I said, “no, no, no”
Yes, I been black
But when I come back, you’ll know, know, know
I ain’t got the time
And if my daddy thinks I’m fine
He’s tried to make me go to rehab
I won’t go, go, go
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