What was the Sin of Sodom?
In the article titled, To Christians arguing ‘no’ on marriage equality: the Bible is not decisive, Robyn J. Whitaker suggests the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, as recorded in Genesis 19, has “nothing to say about homosexuality.” The destruction of the two cities is rather attributed to “sexual violence and rape.” But is Whitaker’s analysis correct? The story of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction begins in Genesis 18, when Abraham is met by the LORD and two angels. After the LORD told Abraham, “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave” (v.20), the two angels departed in the direction…
Love’s Hall of Shame
Share your experience in the comments below. One of our volunteers had this happen to them this morning in Sydney. This type of behaviour by either side is unacceptable & unAustralian. pic.twitter.com/ko2rbAJ96l — Lyle Shelton (@LyleShelton) November 14, 2017
Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought or anything else
No moral issue can be debated, in any meaningful sense, without reference to God. Take God out of the picture and all we are left with is the accidental product of time and chance acting on matter. Doug Wilson has argued that once we remove God from the debate, “then the difference between your thoughts and mine correspond to the difference between shaking up a bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of Dr Pepper.” You have no basis for arguing that your thoughts are nearer to the truth than anyone else’s thoughts. You fizz one way, they fizz another.…
What comes after same-sex marriage?
What comes after same-sex marriage? You only have to look to the countries that have already redefined the institution to get an idea. Here are twelve examples. Example #1: John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, has argued that the fight for “equality” is not over until churches abandon their faith. “We don’t want to behave like it’s all over [now that SSM is legal]… I still feel we’ll only have proper equal marriage when you can bloody well get married in a church if you want to do so, without having to fight for the equality that should…
Teaching An Angry Prophet (Jonah 4:1-11)
God has been gracious to Nineveh and to Jonah – sending Jonah to the pagan city, chasing the disobedient prophet across the Mediterranean, preserving him in the great fish, and finally using him to reach the Ninevites. In many ways we could expect the book to finish at the end of chapter 3 – the king of Nineveh is walking about in sackcloth, and the people have turned from their wicked ways. Maybe a little prayer of thanksgiving would have been a nice way to finish the book. Instead we get one major temper tantrum from one cantankerous minor prophet.…
The Prophet Commissioned (Jonah 1:1-3)
Everybody knows the story of Jonah – how he tried to run away from God, but was swallowed by a great fish, and then went on to preach at Nineveh. But there are actually two main stories going on – how God deals with Jonah and how God deals with Nineveh. So we will be looking at both subjects in our study. Martin Luther commented about the prophet Jonah: ‘a queer and odd saint who is angry because of God’s mercy for sinners … And yet he is God’s dear child.’ Jonah is all about history We have to say…
