On this day, May 9, Merle Haggard and the Strangers recorded Merle's iconic song "Mama Tried" at the Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood. This song is rich with moral meaning, without at all sounding preachy.
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Ominous Omnibus: I’ll Think About Planned Parenthood Tomorrow
Our GOP-controlled Congress passed an Omnibus Spending Bill valued at $1.3 trillion that maintains America’s $500 million annual contribution to Planned Parenthood, our largest abortion mill. Does Paul Ryan believe in Judgment Day?
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The Gifts and Calling of “Beloved Enemies”
Today's Treasury of Daily Prayer New Testament reading includes two verses that defy several fashionable categories. Romans 11:28-29: "As concerning the gospel, [the Jews] are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."
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Engage the Culture? Don’t.
Do you engage the culture? Are you culturally relevant? If not, then how can you say that you believe in sharing the Gospel? Or didn’t you know that “lost people matter to God”?
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Virtues and Inclinations
Who said this, and about whom is he talking? "The Holy Ghost Himself ... asserts that through her his gifts were instilled in the prophets, namely, the inclination to all virtues..."
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Shepherds: Certain Duties and Limitations
I will venture to say that some of the pastoral duties Chemnitz lists, if executed today, would get a majority of pastors in the U.S. "fired."
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Defy Satan
Sometimes, when you see so much suffering all around you, you need to defy the Devil. This can be done through singing hymns.
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When “Culture” Norms the Church
The so-called Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a denomination created in 1988 through the merger of three groups whose common conviction was that the Bible isn’t always reliable, has been hell-bent on affirming sodomy for over a decade. The propaganda campaign from the home office began with Bible-class materials disseminated to the congregations, which explained away all of the relevant Bible references. The men of Sodom were rapist libertines, not committed partnered gays; Paul was a “man of his times”; did you know that the Bible also forbids bacon and lobster?; etc., ad nauseam. [See the ELCA’s Journey Together Faithfully, Parts One (2002) and Two (2003).] Now the ELCA has its…
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Affirmations of Ignorance: SBC, LCMS
In "conservative" American denominational polity, why are anti-traditionalists loath to separate from traditionalists? Why not secede, so as to lay aside the weight of the "anti-missional" doctrine-obsessed curmudgeons?
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Diversity: Guaranteed to Offend
I was thinking about blogging, or my hitherto lack thereof. I write, enjoy it, some folks enjoy reading it. So why haven’t I blogged before? Lack of time, a job in which I edit and write already, lack of time—these things came to mind. But if I’m being honest, I’ll probably say that it’s a fear of giving offense that’s kept me away. Which seems odd, considering I write for and (help) edit a magazine that offends more or less everyone, included fellow members of our own masthead, myself included. The truth is, I know a lot of people from diverse backgrounds. I’ve lived many lives. I’m interested in a…
