In our last Grace Talk session I was tasked with answering a question about war:

“I have had discussions with a hippy friend of mine who says war is sinful because Christ calls us to “’turn the other cheek.’” Aside from Old Testament events, is there such a thing as a “’righteous war?’”

Within my reply I referenced the following views of war and was reminded (thanks Drew!) that I was late in my posting. So, here are the three basic views regarding whether or not it is right to go to war. P.S. I would stand in the tradition of the “Just War” category for the reasons I gave during the Grace Talk session.

What …

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I found the following article helpful in getting some answers to a question that seems to never get a straight “yes” or “no” answer. Does the health care bill include finding for the killing of a human life?

Read what Orin Hatch (Senator from Utah) says.

Have you contacted your representative regarding this piece of legislation? Do what you can to stand up and be a voice for the unborn. Let us not forget that a by-product of a faith-less life is not having the courage to stand up for what is true and right and just:

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, …

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I find lists that seek to synthesize large periods of time (such as end-of-year lists) helpful in providing a birds-eye view of cultural development. While it could be said that lists such as this have more in common with the particular author’s viewpoint or bias, I would venture to affirm that a magazine such as Christianity Today holds a larger degree of impartiality.

The reason that I am citing this particular end-of-year list is that the majority of the top issues directly related to an exercise of authority. Only #2 and #6 move away from this distinction. This should come as no surprise to anyone. The issue of what gives a person or a group of …

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To celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I am posting this simplified version of the afore mentioned document. This was paraphrased by Edward Fudge.

The Declaration of Independence Simplified

We are about to do something drastic and rare in human history. This document sets forth our justification to the world.

The Laws of Nature created by Nature’s God give any people the right to undo political ties binding them to another nation, and to take their own separate place among earthly powers as full equals. This is the case because the Creator made every person equal, and gave certain permanent rights to them all. These include the rights to live, to be free, and to pursue happiness. All this is so

…

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I’m not saying President Obama is wrong but… something really smells. While I am not a “conspiracy person” I have been astounded at the actions of President Obama. It seems clear to me that the present course of spending will drive this economy into the ground in the long-run regardless of any short-term benefit. It simply does not make sense that a very educated and naturally informed President would chart a financial course of action that is violently opposed to our free-market system. So I am asking for your help. I would like you to help me in striving for balance in my outlook. Does the following information serve as a …

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This post is a continuation of a discussion started in my When Blue Seemingly Goes Grey blog. In this blog we surfaced concerns regarding the upcoming prayer of Rick Warren at the Inauguration of now President Barack Obama. I am curious what are some of your perceptions post-prayer.

Since it’s my blog, I think it only right to offer up some of my own observations. First of all I am proud of Pastor Warren for standing strong in the face of such a pressure-packed situation. It was clear that this man was going to be a major lightning rod regardless of …

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I recently wrote a blog-post called How To Express Your Faith Without Losing Your Friend in which I tried to find the edges in various ways people (“Red” and “Blue” people) can legitimately express the Gospel in different ways without compromising the message. I’m a big fan of realizing that being different does not necessarily mean being wrong. In this blog, I use Rick Warren and a speech he gave to Muslims as an example. Although I didn’t endorse his comments and thought he needed to be very careful in his trajectory; I did think maybe he is still on solid ground just trying to create a dialogue that I don’t realize since the reference point …

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Being in politics is difficult in today’s media-saturated, options-oriented world. This can be especially true if you have strong beliefs that you won’t compromise on regardless of the polls. However, this type of politician will, almost assuredly, never rise to any significant level of power without a large dose of compromise.

However, those politicians who find compromise easy and fashion themselves as political chameleons (like Barack Obama) will face a day when specific measurable decisions need to be made (BTW. Both parties are guilty of this. In other words, I am not being partisan toward a candidate or party, but trying to evaluate the role truth and courage play in politics. I simply use Barack Obama …

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An Interview with Scott Klusendorf, President of Life Training Institute.

Read the entire interview by Justin Taylor
Scott’s forthcoming book, The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage Culture, will be published by Crossway in March 2009.

JT: Just how bad was this election for pro-lifers? Give us the big picture.

SK: There’s no doubt we’ve experienced a crushing defeat in the current political cycle. The executive and legislative branches of the federal government are now firmly in the hands of those deeply committed to the proposition that an entire class of human beings can be set aside to be killed simply because they are in the way of something we want. In the weeks ahead, even before the …

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While many were focused on the big prize of the Presidential election, there was a pivotal vote on a referendum called “Proposition 8″ in California. Proposition 8 is a amendment to the Constitution of California that would define marriage exclusively between a man and a woman.

What does this mean? Since California voters have approved the amendment, this effectively outlaws some 18,000 same-sex marriage that have taken place over the last 4 1/2 months. The voters have overturned the California State Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to marry.

The passage of Proposition 8 represents a crushing political defeat for gay rights activists. They had hoped public opinion on the contentious issue had shifted enough …

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