Not for the first time, the head of the Roman Catholic Church sparked debate earlier this month after apparently preaching religious pluralism to crowds gathered in the southeast Asian nation of Singapore. “All religions are a path to God,” Pope Francis said, according to a Sept. 13th report from The Catholic Herald. He added, “They are like different languages in order to arrive at God.” According to the news report, the pope used “similar language at an interfaith meeting during a 2022 … [Read more...]
Pray against, vote against, preach against pro-abortion Amendment 3
UPDATE (Sept. 10): The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 10 that Amendment 3, which – if passed – will codify expansive abortion rights within the Missouri Constitution, must be placed on the state ballot, Nov. 5. Read more here. As I write these words, the fate of one of the most radical challenges to our constitutional order in the state of Missouri – namely, the proposed pro-abortion Amendment 3 – is being weighed in the state court system. Why do I call this legislation radical? I … [Read more...]
‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’
This month, campus life and classes are ramping up at Cooperative Program-supported schools, like Hannibal-LaGrange University, Missouri Baptist University, Southwest Baptist University and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary/Spurgeon College. Across the state, Missouri Baptist churches and associations have in recent years begun—or are expanding—their own educational programs: for example, churches like Crossway Baptist, Springfield; Heritage Baptist and Hillcrest Baptist, Lebanon; … [Read more...]
Pray, give to see Scripture available in all languages
A few years ago, at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, the International Mission Board (IMB) gave Southern Baptists the opportunity to help provide Bibles for people groups across the globe—particularly, for people groups who don’t have access to Scripture in their heart languages. To mark the occasion, Southern Baptists who participated in this effort could highlight a verse from Scripture displayed in the IMB’s booth. My wife and I highlighted Revelation 5:6, which exalts … [Read more...]
‘We’re better together’: Southern Baptist Disaster Relief proves we are
Denominational leaders, when rallying the 47,000 autonomous churches of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to work together for the proclamation of the gospel, often say, “We’re better together.” Few examples could prove the truth of this phrase better than Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR). Though SBDR has been rightly called the “third-largest disaster response group in the nation,” the work of this particular disaster response group isn’t coordinated by a type-A chief executive … [Read more...]
‘Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light’
As Independence Day rolls around each year, I think often about the young English Protestant Reformer John Frith, who was burned at the stake as a heretic on July 4, 1533. Why did he die? In short, he died because he refused to reject his biblical convictions regarding the Lord’s Supper and justification by faith alone. Frith lived and died in an era when few people could even conceive of the God-given liberties, expressed in the Bill of Rights, that United States citizens enjoy today. … [Read more...]
Father’s Day reflections
On a Sunday morning in June 2010, I first heard the congratulatory phrase directed toward me. As I turned the corner at a Texas church where my wife served as children’s minister, a sprightly, elementary-aged girl cried out, “Happy Father’s Day, Mr. Ben!” I accepted the words with delight, since my wife and I had just learned we were pregnant with our first child. No one at the time knew it. But, when my wife and I finally told everyone, an elementary-aged boy – who was at the church every … [Read more...]
‘Strong theology of joy’ needed in an ‘age of anxiety’
Two hundred years ago this month, on May 7, 1824, German composer Ludwig van Beethoven debuted his famous Ninth Symphony. In the symphony’s fourth movement, he used as lyrics an 18th-century poem best known in English as “Ode to Joy.” Then, in 1907, hymn writer Henry Van Dyke used Beethoven’s tune to praise the God of all joy. His famous lyrics are beautiful and timely: “Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love,” the hymn begins. Turning from praise to petition, it adds, … [Read more...]
‘Developmental Personhood’: Secular lie devalues the weak, defenseless
Pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia arguments presume an idea known as developmental personhood, the philosophical idea that human personhood and human life are separate categories of being and only human persons deserve protection but human life itself does not necessarily deserve protection. While human life is a simple matter of biology, personhood is a debated notion based on cognitive abilities, self-directed choices, emotional response, and the ability to interact with others. Based on … [Read more...]
Missouri Governor signs House Bill 2634, defunding Planned Parenthood
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, on May 9, signed a bill into law that defunds Planned Parenthood – more than this, a bill that prevents state funds from subsidizing the work of any abortion providers. According to House Bill 2634, it is “unlawful for any public funds to be expended to any abortion facility, or to any affiliate of such abortion facility.” “Our administration has been the strongest pro-life administration in Missouri history,” Gov. Parson said, according to a May 9th press … [Read more...]
Library content contested, summer reading options
Many of my fondest memories involve books—scanning my father’s bookshelves as a boy, perusing the set of print encyclopedias displayed in my family’s living room, growing in faith as a teenager while reading missionary biographies, like Jesse Fletcher’s Bill Wallace of China. My father often took me and my siblings to the local library in the small, western Oklahoma town where I grew up. It was a treat to spend an hour there, letting my mind roam free among so many books. The library was a … [Read more...]
God is all Goodness, the Giver of all good things
Only one week before his death in July 1555, English Protestant John Bradford wrote from prison to his mother. “I die not, my good mother, as a thief, a murderer, an adulterer,” he wrote, “but I die as a witness of Christ, His gospel and verity.” Though he would soon become a martyr for his faith, Bradford trusted in God’s goodness. Writing to comfort men and women who likewise faced suffering and death, he described the Christian life as a voyage on a stormy sea. Buffeted and beaten by … [Read more...]
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