Always Reforming

Millennials. Much proverbial ink has been spilled bemoaning our well-documented flaws, but that's not what I'm here to do. I'm not here to predict the demise of our culture because of a generation that refuses to do anything but listen to "music" and drink craft beer. I am not here to talk about how all of society's problems are blamed on us despite the fact that these issues have existed throughout the history of mankind and are simply exacerbated/more noticeable due in the age of technology. I'm not here to talk about how our parents' and grandparents' generations laid the foundation for our licentious, hedonistic lifestyle. I am here, however, to say that we Millennials need to reevaluate our priorities. So, fellow Millennial, what is important to you? In an age where our open eyes are rarely off of a screen, what is truly important to you? In a culture that rarely stops to think deeply about anything, what holds value for you? ...

I received a disconcerting email the other day.  It arrived in my inbox courtesy of Lifeway , the subject declaring, "Christianity is not about Following the Rules!"  It seems they want to make apparent via clickbait their continued descent into liberality, as if changing their name from Berean wasn't enough.  Now, some of you may think that I'm being a little bit harsh.  After all, there's some element of truth to it, right?  Christianity isn't just about following rules, right?  Wasn't that the whole point of the Reformation?  Justification is by faith and not by works, right?  Well, here's what bothers me about this email: 1) Christianity is about following rules.   You know why Jesus came to die on the cross?  Because Adam, along with all of his descendants, broke the rules.  Rules are a pretty big part of our religion.  Any version of Christianity that doesn't include rules is a bastardization of the Faith.  There ...

As painstakingly as generations of Americans have tried to keep politics and religion separate in this country, the holistic nature of human nature will simply not allow it.  It is simply impossible for one's religion, or lack thereof, to fail to impact one's politics.  Too often, however, the inverse takes place--one's political leanings bend and contort his/her religion.  This became apparent as Donald Trump was not only nominated despite his moral problems, but actually hailed as the savior of the American theocracy by some extremists.  The other side of the aisle cannot claim to be innocent of this either as liberals have often imported the modern welfare state into the Bible, painting Jesus as the bleeding-heart type who would've supported the redistribution of wealth they so ardently desire. The truth is that the Bible does not teach communism, or even socialism, at least not the kind that threatened to destroy Europe in the second half of the 20th century....