From the Month of July 2011

July 11
Harry Potter, Jesus and Me by Andrew Peterson

I’m a fan of the Harry Potter books. There. I said it. Whenever I visit a bookstore I can’t resist a walk through the Young Readers section, where my heart flutters at cover illustrations of dragons and detectives and ghosts and kids dashing across fantastic landscapes. I’ve always loved those stories, and many times I take the books from the shelves and, with chills running up and down my arms, thumb through them. Sometimes I even smell them. (There. I said that, too.) Click here to continue reading. 

(I not yet read any of the Harry Potter books. - ah)

July 12
Is It OK For Christians To Believe In The Doctrine of Hell But Not Like It? by Keving DeYoung

It takes a certain courage to look at what the Bible teaches, not like it all that much, and still believe it. I am thankful for brothers and sisters who believe in hell or believe in complementarianism or believe in election and reprobation or believe homosexuality is a sin despite their internal protestations. It’s a good sign when we take our stand on the Bible even when we’d prefer to take our stand somewhere else.
But it’s a better sign when we take our stand on the Bible and learn to love where the Bible stands.
Click here to continue reading.

July 13
Burst the (Christian) Bubble by Alvin Reid

Leaders of the church in any era have the responsibility of identifying the idols of our time and confronting them with the gospel. David Platt has done this with the idol of the American Dream and it’s materialism, for instance. We have a variety of idols in our time, from rampant sensuality, to prolonged adolescence (especially in young men) to the new atheism, and the historically ubiquitous idol of worshiping self. But there is another idol that has slowly crept into our lives and into the very culture of our churches. We joke about it, and can see it around us. But I am not convinced we see it as the threat to genuine Christianity that it has become.

I refer to the Christian subculture, or the Christian “bubble.”  Click here to continue reading.

July 18
Freedom of Religion Has to Be Freedom For Everyone by Ed Stetzer

I have great concerns when people start deciding what "is" and "is not" a real religion and if other religions can build places of worship. Be aware that the standard that Christians advocate here may very well be used on Christians in the future.

As the views of evangelicals become increasingly distasteful to many in prevailing culture, some may use these same arguments when they ban your building. How you treat our Muslim minority may very well point to how the majority culture will treat Christians one day. Click here to continue reading.

An Open Letter to an Unborn Baby by Russell Moore

a young woman will give birth to a little boy, and has made an adoption plan for this couple to become his parents. The pastor asked if I’d write a letter to this boy, for when he’s old enough to start asking questions about his adoption and what it means. I’ve changed his name, but this is what I wrote. Click here to continue reading.

July 19
Reparative Therapy, Homosexuality and the Gospel of Jesus Christ by Albert Mohler

This controversy will inevitably demonstrate the basic worldview divide that separates the secular therapeutic community and evangelical Christians. The politicians, the mental health industry, and the media will have their own debate on the matter, but Christians now face the urgent challenge of thinking about these issues in a way that is fully biblical and theological — and thus faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Click here to continue reading.