Tag: faith
I’m Definitely Not Abraham. Are you?
Posted on January 28, 2014 in Family by Nathan Cherry
I, like many people watched the History Channel mini-series “The Bible” when it aired nearly a year ago. I have not often been excited about biblically themed television shows. They tend to veer towards blatant misrepresentations after relying more on extra-biblical sources than the Bible itself. But this series, from husband and wife producers Mark Burnett (Survivor) and Roma Downey (Touched By An Angel) received much media attention and hype prior to the first episode for what critics said was careful attention to detail in staying true to Scripture.
As I watched the first episode I was pleasantly surprised and filled with promise that this could be worthy of the adjective used frequently to describe it on social media: epic. Of course it will be necessary to overlook the fact that everyone is speaking in a British accent. But I’m more interested in the series being biblically and historically accurate than employing the proper accent. (I do realize the historical inaccuracy of everyone speaking in the wrong accent. it’s just a detail that doesn’t bother me.)
Without Freedom of Religion There’s Only Tyranny
Posted on January 22, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
“The Church is the conscience of the state.”
These words were uttered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Many wish such an influential man would have never said such a thing, and still others are actively seeking to remove any presence of a conscience from our society. Our government, undoubtedly based upon biblical principles designed to bring blessing from God and success, is now militantly removing God from every corner. The result of this push to redefine morality in our society and banish the church from influence will be devastating.
An article at the Acton Institute blog sheds light on these results:
Report: The Extent of Religious Persecution in America
Posted on January 18, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
The Texas based Liberty Institute has released a report showing the extent of religious persecution in America for the 2013 year. The report is called: UNDENIABLE: The Survey of Hostility to Religion in America
The thorough 190 page report discusses such topics as attacks on religious liberty of churches and ministries, attacks on religious liberty in the public arena, and attacks on religious liberty in the schoolhouse.
Citing legal cases from around the country this report shows definitively that there is a concerted effort to persecute people of faith for simply living out their religious convictions. This effort is being perpetrated by many groups that all seek to remove religion and God from our country’s public life while forcing religious expression into the walls of the church.
I would encourage you to take a look at this report in order to understand just how assaulted our religious freedom truly is. And also to motivate you to defend religious freedom both in private and in public. Now more than ever America needs people that believe the sentiment of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Why Shouldn’t You Experience Pain and Suffering?
Posted on January 14, 2014 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
Have you ever gone through difficult circumstances and uttered that immortal phrase that runs through every mind at the time, “why me?” Sure, we’ve all done that. It’s a passphrase into the club of commiseration that every person wants to join as we loathe our circumstances together. And with the ability to network and share every detail of our lives on sites such as Facebook and Twitter we can quickly gain sympathy for “how awful” and “unfair” our trial is from lots of very well- meaning people.
And, as cyber friends remind us that “this too shall pass” we are increasingly pushed to focus on the day when our trial will be over and we’ll all look back and have a good laugh about it; rather than considering the purpose for the trial in the first place.
Christianity Is A Myth Without These Four Words (Part 2)
Posted on January 9, 2014 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
The Theological Context:
From a theological, or doctrinal standpoint these words mean absolutely everything. Our entire Bible is written under the authority and inspiration of God.
2 Timothy 3:16 says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…”
God, through the Holy Spirit inspired the authorship of the Bible. So if God wrote the Bible then we must first understand that before the Bible existed, God existed. God predates all things, history, time, theology, and the Bible. Our theology is based on God. Our doctrine is founded upon God. Without first understanding that God is the author of all things, our study of Scripture, theology, and doctrine is worthless.
A Hurried Life is Hard on a Family
Posted on January 7, 2014 in Family by Nathan Cherry
There’s an old saying I’ve heard all my life which says, “If Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” This sly strategy has effectively rendered the life of many Christians null and void. While inspiring authors like John Piper say “Don’t Waste your Life,” and visionary pastors like David Platt call us to be “Radical,” and respected leaders like Francis Chan push us toward a “Crazy Love” for God; Satan pushes us toward the breaking point with calendars so full they rival presidents and pop stars. Click here for 5 characteristics of a hurried life.
To say that we are “hurried” is perhaps a great understatement; hurried would be an improvement for most people today. Between strenuous workloads for mom and dad that produce less and cost more, school activities, community activities, sports, fund raisers, and the typical errands of life; we are far more than “hurried.”
And sadly, many people don’t see the hidden dangers of their hurried lives; or the consequences a hurried life has on children. Most notably is the negative effect on family a hurried life produces as each member of the family becomes a “ship in the night” passing by daily without more than a few minutes of interaction. In fact, one recent article I read says that in the very near future new homes won’t even include a dining room because they will be considered “unnecessary.” Yet we read in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 that one of the main times of teaching our kids occurs when we “sit down in our house” to eat. Click here to read about how to lead even when life gets busy.
Victory for SBC and Christians Against ObamaCare
Posted on December 24, 2013 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
AP: “A federal judge granted an injunction Friday that prohibits the government from enforcing the federal health care law’s requirement that insurance coverage include access to the morning-after pill and similar contraceptives on almost 200 religious organizations that have filed a class-action lawsuit to block the mandate. The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti will prevent the government from enforcing the mandate as the religious groups’ lawsuit makes its way through the legal system. The lawsuit was filed in October on behalf of 187 ministries that provide their employees with health benefits through GuideStone Financial Resources, the health benefits arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.”
This is fantastic news for Southern Baptist ministries and every one that believes it is wrong for the government to force people to violate their faith. This decision – like the Hobby Lobby case and nearly every case against the HHS mandate – has decimated ObamaCare in the courts. Even the Obama administration is now seeking to alleviate penalties, change laws, and accommodate citizens after the pummeling in the courts.
For Southern Baptists and people of faith, this is another victory in the fight to defend religious freedom from government intrusion. I hope verdicts like this continue to roll out of the courts until Obama and his administration finally admit what every other American knows: it’s a bad law that needs repealed. Click here for original article.
A Dynasty America Can Live With (And Be Proud Of)
Posted on December 23, 2013 in Marriage, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
I’ve been trying to keep up with the Duck Dynasty saga over the last week, not an easy task. Last Friday when I was writing my own commentary on the incident I was also having conversations on social media with people about what I thought would happen. (You can read my commentary here or here.)
In my conversations I mentioned that I thought this was the biggest mistake a cable network has ever made. A&E decided to cater to a small group of people that don’t even watch their network and offend the 15 million viewers making them a ton of money. I’m no cable network exec, but if making decisions like this is what it takes to be one, I can start today.
Additionally, A&E has already wrapped up filming the last 10 episodes of season 4 before this flap started and has no plans to scrap any of those episodes. So guess who will be in those episodes starting January 15th? That’s right, Duck Commander Phil Robertson.
Answering Questions on ENDA
Posted on November 25, 2013 in Public Policy, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
The federal ENDA bill appears to be stalled, perhaps dead…for the moment. After passing in the Senate by a solid majority it appears the House will not bring the bill up for a vote. Even though West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin promised to oppose legislation like ENDA, in the end he broke that promise and voted in favor of the bill. However, to this point House Speaker John Boehner has opposed ENDA and said he will not bring it up for a vote in the House of Representatives.
One thing is for sure: this is the end of ENDA. There is no doubt that this bill will come back and we need to be prepared to oppose it. West Virginians in particular need to be prepared to oppose ENDA on the state level as we will no doubt be facing a state level ENDA bill again in the 2014 legislative session.
For those who are not familiar with ENDA, Joe Carter, writing at The Gospel Coalition, has written a short, informative article answering some of the most frequently asked questions about ENDA. In particular he answers the question why should Christians be concerned about ENDA?
“As a practical matter, ENDA teaches a view of human embodiment that Christians will strongly object to. Christianity embraces the body and self as an integrated whole; as unique creations that witness to the divine action and creativity of God through our being created male and female. Male and female are not arbitrary, socially imposed constructs. They are rooted in our biology. In contrast, the worldview behind ENDA assumes an ‘expressive individualism’ where our bodies become instruments of the will, capable of being re-created according to preference and desire.”
I highly recommend reading this article.