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Deadly Compassion: When Suffering Trumps Discipleship

I’ve been reading of late, a lot of viral posts on social media in which a person accuses pastors and churches, teachers and schools, politicians, police, government agencies and the like of wrongdoing because they show “insensitivity” to “X” by defending some right, holding to some standard, enforcing some...
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Justice Seeker vs. Sinner Winner

Two realities confront us a Christians. The first is that, as loving members of our own communities, it is unthinkable that we do not do all that is in our power to secure the safety and prosperity general of that community. We are to pray for and participate...
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Spirituality is Not a Personality Trait

I’ve had some interesting discussions this week about various churches’ perception of “Spirituality, Love & Humility,” My ministry is non-denominational and I travel around a bit so I encounter all kinds of interesting perceptions of these matters. In the movie Joyful Noise the choir director struggles with her...
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The Idolatry of the Modern Mind

When I was a child, I spent a lot of time irritating my teachers. I had the tendency to say, “What does that mean?” and “What am I supposed to do with that?” or “Why does this matter?” I was more practical back then than I am now...
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Solutions vs. Trade-offs: The Insidious Lie About Reality

There is no solution, this side of eternity, for the human condition. Anyone who promises solutions is either selling something, stealing something, or completely disconnected from reality. This is the liar, lunatic or liar paradigm. (Lewis, forgive me.) The best we have in this world is a series...
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A Word Concerning the Political Christian

In MacArthur’s commentary on Titus, we find a complex tirade of sorts against the political Christian who involves himself or herself in an attempt to effect culture in America by getting involved in the affairs of the community. I do not propose to represent all of MacArthur’s thinking on...
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Do You Really Have a Big Heart?

There is an old saying that goes, “If you’re not a liberal at 20 you have no heart, if you’re not a conservative at 40 you have no brain.” Indeed, liberals are often accredited with having a heart to help the less fortunate… mostly because it is easier...
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Weirdo Fixations and the Heart of True Religion

During my recent convalescence after surgery I received a disturbing letter from an earnest young man who was understandably distraught over his shunning from a congregation for whom he felt deep familial attachments. I know I joke around a lot, but I intend no jest here. His church...
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The Obliterating Folly of Single Text Christians

There’s been a lot of chatter on social media of late about torture. Now, torture is a powerful weasel word… i.e. a term that comes pre-loaded with good or bad sentiment meant to manipulate the outcome of an exchange without having to resort to actual discussion, facts, or...
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Confessions of a Middle Aged Professor, Part 1

In studies of cross-cultural communication, I have never ceased to be amazed at the potential for a disconnect even between those raised together. The unique struggles between nature & nurture, between innate personality & individual experience causes people to assess shared events differently, fostering frequent misunderstanding of each...
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Why You Must Watch the Documentary Poverty, Inc.

When I first saw the advertisement of the documentary advertised above, POVERTY, INC. I thought, “Great, another conspiracy piece about how nobody should ever make a profit, how all profit is theft, how the rich are rich because they’ve despoiled the poor.” I couldn’t have been wrong-er. Let...
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