Why Is Homosexuality “Wrong” When We Don’t Follow the Whole Old Testament?

Tim Keller:

I find it frustrating when I read or hear columnists, pundits, or journalists dismiss Christians as inconsistent because “they pick and choose which of the rules in the Bible to obey.” What I hear most often is “Christians ignore lots of Old Testament texts—about not eating raw meat or pork or shellfish, not executing people for breaking the Sabbath, not wearing garments woven with two kinds of material and so on. Then they condemn homosexuality. Aren’t you just picking and choosing what they want to believe from the Bible?”

It is not that I expect everyone to have the capability of understanding that the whole Bible is about Jesus and God’s plan to redeem his people, but I vainly hope that one day someone will access their common sense (or at least talk to an informed theological advisor) before leveling the charge of inconsistency.

Read the whole thing. (HT Justin Taylor)

Jesus is Truly Risen from the Dead!

If Easter means Jesus Christ is only raised in a spiritual sense – (then) it is only about me, about finding a new dimension in my personal spiritual life. But if Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes good news for the whole world- news which warms our hearts precisely because it isn’t just about warming hearts. Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things- and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement the victory of Jesus over them all. Take away Easter and Karl Marx was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring the problems of the material world. Take it away and Freud was probably right to say Christianity is wish- fulfillment. Take it away and Nietzsche probably was right to say it was for wimps. -N.T. Wright, For All God’s Worth

My Spear Pierced His Side

Good?

How do I explain Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus to my children?

YOLO? Not if Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life

YOLO = You only live once.

Easter kicks that thought in the teeth.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me,though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” – John 11:24-27

Jase Robertson, from Duck Dynasty, Speaks Out On His Faith

A few ideas to take away, other than another reason to grow an epic beard

• Quality Time everyday with your kids.
  • Fame and money are fleeting.  What counts is your faith.
  • Raising kids who follow Jesus won’t happen naturally.
•  Hollywood is looking for rage, dysfunction and four letter words
  • When that happens in our life, we try to stop it
• Faith, Family, Ducks … in that order.
• “If God can use me to spread the knowledge of His Son … he can use anyone.”

Read more here.