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Missing Link: Bill Nye, Ken Ham, and the Lack of Transitional Bloggers
In case you missed it, Ken Ham, founder of the Creation Science Museum in Kentucky, and Bill Nye (of Science Guy fame), will debate “Is Creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era?” You can catch the debate on 2.4.14 at debatelive.org. It sounds like a great event. The chief apologist for […]
“The Other Half of My Brain is My Grandmother”: Why Christians Must Learn to Think
I grew up in a Bible cult full of intelligent, sincere people. Many were college graduates. But when it came to studying the Bible, for the most part we rolled over and accepted whatever our pastor said. He was a Princeton grad and had attended seminary. He knew Greek and Hebrew. He had a commanding […]
Brother’s Keeper or Big Brother? 15 Signs of Surveillance in Your Church
We’re back to our series entitled “Frankenstein Faith” about scriptural distortions in the church and how to correct them. [You can see other posts in this series at the end of this post] In George Orwell’s famous dystopian book, 1984, the main character is ever aware of the presence of “Big Brother” looking on. In […]
The Strange Trial of 1 Timothy 2:12
In the spring of 2014, in a small courtroom in the quiet town of Public Opinion, Ohio, 1 Timothy 2:12 stood trial. The charge? Discrimination against women and crimes against humanity. You probably remember reading about it in the paper. I was a cub reporter in those days, still wet behind the ears and eager […]
To Train Up A Child…. Abuser (Part 2)
This is the second part of a post about the abusive teachings of Michael and Debi Pearl’s book, To Train Up a Child. You can read the first part here. 5.) Faulty Theology – Pearl’s entire “training” system is built on the speculative premise that children must be trained to obey a parent without question […]
To Train Up A Child… Abuser (Part 1)
Michael and Debi Pearl are the authors of To Train Up a Child: Turning the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children. The title of the book comes from Proverbs 22:6, which says “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The […]
Is It a Sin to Celebrate Christmas?
The bells above the door jangled. Dave looked up from behind the sales counter, his reading glasses perched precariously on his nose. It was a quarter till seven, but the shop didn’t close till ten. He’d stay open later tonight because of Christmas. The customer was a young fellow, about the age of his son. […]
What’s at Stake in the Gender Debate?
Let’s talk for a moment about fear. Fear frames the gender debate in evangelical America. You can sense it in many of the comments posted on my recent article about “The Myth of Biblical Manhood.” Fear of dissent. Fear of being wrong. Fear of entertaining the thought that someone who believes differently might be just […]
Christian Leaders and the “Don’t Talk” Rule
Since I come out of a Bible cult background, I know something about unwritten rules. In cults and spiritually abusive churches there is something called a “Don’t Talk” rule, an unwritten, unspoken rule which says that you are not allowed to criticize or question the leader because they are God’s man or woman. To say […]
The Myth of Biblical Manhood
After a long correspondence, Mark Driscoll, John Piper, Doug Phillips, and John Eldredge decide to meet at a bar to discuss whose view about Biblical Manhood is most biblical. At Driscoll’s urging, they gather at the Red Herring Pub in Seattle to knock back a few adult beverages. Fog settles outside. The four men sit […]
Liberty for Captives 