Recently, we have witnessed two high-profile instances of how different communities have mobilized their supporters to produce conformity over the issue of gay marriage. World Vision, a Christian ministry that assists refugees, decided to change their employee policies regarding homosexuality. The ministry said it was leaving theological disagreements to churches while attempting to remain focused […]
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If you would like the background information on this post, go to Part 1. If you are more interested in the theological issue, see Part 2.) Though I think the theological difference between Jim Crow discrimination and the same-sex debate is important, the comparison also makes constitutional assumptions that are troubling and misguided. There was, […]
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Let Them Bake Cakes (Part 2)?
26 Feb 2014
(In Part 1, I talked a bit about the controversy surrounding gay marriage as it relates to providing public accommodations or services from Christians.) For me at least, there is one other question that few seem willing to address directly. Is the current homosexual rights movement analogous to the civil rights struggle of the 1950s […]
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Let Them Bake Cakes (Part 1)?
25 Feb 2014
To bake the cake or not to bake the cake? That is the question. It seems simple, but this query is generating a fair amount of controversy within the Christian community. The question is not really about whether our cakes should be from scratch or a box, but it is about gay marriage and the […]
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Back to the Future: Politics in the Past
20 Feb 2014
After a few weeks of being immersed in arcane historical reading and teaching, I have concluded it isn’t so arcane as we think. Of course, I knew that already, but there is nothing like being away from blogging to remind one. What I mean is this: Many or most of the political thinkers and ideas […]
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Law and the Christian: A Modest Proposal
01 Feb 2014
Do you know the difference between right and wrong? Do you have a good idea of what ought to be illegal and what legal? Do you know why you know, if you do? In other words, what is your foundation for distinguishing right and wrong? Do you have a foundation at all? Our society of […]
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A New Year and God: An Exhortation
05 Jan 2014
In this new year it is always useful to take stock of where we are and have been, but more helpful is it to take a renewed look at who God is and why it matters. For Christians 2013 has been a mixed bag, or worse, depending on one’s disposition. We read of persecution of […]
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Legislating Morality? Addendum to Part 3
02 Jan 2014
Well, it seems the third in a series of blogs on “Legislating Morality?” has elicited a few comments on the, shall we say, opposing side of the issue. So in the interest of fairness and sympathy I will try to clarify in this blog a couple of issues. The two most controversial issues I raised […]
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In the first two blogs, I have begun the attempt to initiate greater reflection on the origins, role, authority, limits and functions of government, as well as our place as Christians under the authority of government. I said at the start that absolute answers were limited. This is true mainly because the Scriptures are relatively […]
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My colleague Jeff Haymond wrote in a comment on my recent blog, “Legislating Morality? Christians, Law and Politics,” that I had raised questions but not given answers. He was correct. So now that he has prodded me for answers I will put myself in jeopardy of all sorts of criticism by offering some tentative answers. […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach