Tag: Christianity and culture

Morning Musing: Galatians 4:4-5

Leave a comment

“When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The family is the basic building block of any stable, healthy society. Thriving societies have a culture of strong, committed families. If you want to explain the breakdown of a society – take a society like ours for instance – you don’t really need to look much further than the breakdown of the families that constitute it. Nearly every social pathology can be traced back to a family problem of some kind. Communities with large numbers of stable, intact families are objectively better than those without. The trouble is, too many culture-shaping aspects of our society don’t seem to understand that. It is notable then, when a major Hollywood release not only highlights, but celebrates the goodness and worthwhileness of family. The latest major Marvel film, which I have finally been able to watch, does just that. Let’s talk about why Fantastic Four lives up to its moniker.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 13:2

Leave a comment

“So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What should be the relationship of followers of Jesus to the government? That is not such an easy question to answer. The answer seems like it should depend at least in part on who is running it. On the other hand, though, our basic attitude and approach should be consistent regardless of who exactly is in charge. The answer to the question will also be affected by the form of government we are talking about. Some invite more participation and input than others. The biggest impact on the question, though, comes from our understanding of what government even is in the first place. All of this needs to be in mind as we work through what Paul says next here. Join me as we do that today.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Luke 23:33-34

Leave a comment

“When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided his clothes and cast lots.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

My boys are all at or nearly in their teenage years. One thing teenage boys like to do is play. And one of the games we tend to play most around my house is to see who can hit each other with something last. One will hit the other with something – not hard, but playfully – and the other responds in kind. Then the first hits him back, and this continues back and forth until someone wins. How does someone win exactly? Well, in most cases the winner is whoever managed to get the last hit in before Mom or Dad finally tells them to knock it off. If it’s me they’ve picked a fight with, though, I win because I just respond with such overwhelming force that they don’t have a chance. If they start it, I make sure I finish it. Around the house this kind of thing is just playful and fun. It’s teenage boys being teenage boys. But there’s something deeper here worth considering. This desire to get someone back when they’ve offended us is natural. It is natural, but if we don’t control it, it can quickly lead to far more hurt than whatever the original offense was. Unfortunately, we can’t control it. But there is a power that can help. This power was put on display rather poignantly recently. Let’s talk about Erika Kirk and Gospel forgiveness.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 10:9

4 Comments

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

No, you’re not seeing double. It’s been a few weeks now, but we did indeed talk about Romans 10:9 recently, and we are going to do it again today. But as I thought about a verse that speaks right to the heart of something that happened this past week, there’s really not another that gets as close as this verse does. A public figure this week expressed his hope of salvation. That doesn’t happen very often generally. It especially doesn’t happen very often with a public figure of this nature. And because the media tends to react (some might say, “overreact”) to just about everything this particular public figure says, the whole country was talking about salvation for a couple of days this week. President Trump started it. Let’s add our thoughts on the matter today.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Matthew 6:18

14 Comments

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The church has a bit of a bad rap. Some of that we’ve earned over years of hard work. Much of it is unfair thanks to the equally hard work of critics who range from ignorant to bigoted to hurt and vengeful. Whatever the precise reason, though, the church in America and in the cultural West more generally isn’t what it once was. This trend started in earnest a couple of generations ago, but over the last generation it has accelerated to a sociologically rapid pace. Yet while there have been folks variously cheering and mourning this decline depending on which side of the line they fall on, some recent cultural trends backed by a growing body of research is pointing to a potential need for the ones celebrating and the ones mourning to change sides. Let’s talk for a few minutes this morning about the cultural comeback of Christianity.

read the rest…