Posts filed under Culture War
Non-Negotiable Holiness
"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it has been written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:14-16).
"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1).
My friend, seminary professor and fellow pastor here in Southeastern Indiana, Michael Pohlman, writes in his book Resolutions of a Pastor (Wipf & Stock, 2025), "A pastor must prioritize personal holiness in his own life even as he labors for holiness in the church. After all, the fundamental non-negotiable qualification for a pastor is to be 'above reproach.'"
The Satanic Sin of Sexual Abuse
"But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he seizes and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die. Do nothing to the young woman, because she is not guilty" (Deut 22:25-26).
"Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood" (Rev 22:15).
April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It came and went with little to no fanfare. We have learned to yawn at thousands of hours of Epstein files depicting unspeakably heinous acts committed against young women. And surely we know Epstein wasn't the only rich and powerful man abusing those girls. I am not sure we could handle it, if we could somehow know just who, what, when, where, and how often. It makes my stomach churn.
Hoosiers, Abolish Abortion!
Several months ago, a sister in Christ and pro-life leader whom I deeply love and respect made the comment that pro-life legislation in both Kentucky and Indiana has been and continues to definitely save the lives of pre-born babies. Since the overturn of Roe, the pro-life pregnancy centers she's connected to have been seeing significant increases in clients, as well as increases in mothers choosing to give birth to their babies. For that reality we can only give all praise and glory to God, the Creator of Life!
Merry Christmas?
The penchant of some Christians today to shun all semblance of celebrating various holidays, even those seemingly quite "Christian," such as Christmas or Easter, amuses me. And the fact that we feel the need to debate such things, is also, amusing, or maybe worse, saddening.
Sin Is Sin. Or Is It?
"God loves Satan just as much as He does you and me and everyone."
That was what a prominent deacon in a church I attended long ago said during a Wednesday night Bible study. We were studying the enemy of God's people, called Satan or the devil or the serpent. I was a new seminary student at the time, and although I was not then and am not now a world class Bible scholar, I knew enough to prevent me from staying silent. I spoke up, hopefully with respect and kindness.
Ready, Set, Vote!
The United States of America is an anomaly. An historic anomaly.
Our Constitutional Republic is unique in human history. The average citizen's opportunity and ability to both access and impact public policy at all levels, local to federal, is historically unprecedented. Our freedoms to picket and protest and petition and even personally pester our elected officials is unheard of in the vast majority of the world. We are a blessed people!
Remember
"When you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Deuteronomy 6:11-12).
We have a tendency to forget.
It's our nature. Our fallen, sinful nature. To forget.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
By now, the picture of a bloodied Donald Trump surrounded by secret service agents with his fist held in the air has been viewed innumerable times around the world. No doubt, it will come to define the former President's legacy. It certainly does speak volumes of his fighting spirit.
God Bless America
Our Nation is about to celebrate her 248th Birthday!
Hating the United States of America seems to be replacing baseball as our national pastime these days. Sadly, this is becoming more and more so even among some Christians. While it's one thing to despise all sin, including our own and our national sins, it's entirely another thing to view our Nation as something to be denounced or abhorred or destroyed.
A Nation’s Heroes
"Pay your obligations to everyone . . . respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor" (Rom 13:7).
Do you ever wonder who we will think of as our Nation's heroes in fifty years? Or 100 years?
It seems to me we are running low on true heroes these days. We are tearing down statues and monuments to the past with fierce swiftness. And whatever you might think of the men or women memorialized in statues and monuments, you must ask, "Is it good for a Nation to demolish its past or seek to erase its national memory?"