A special gracEmail essay Don’t ask this columnist about critical thinking A widely-syndicated opinion piece by Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr. published on March 16, 2007 provides opportunity for a useful exercise in critical thinking. Under the title "Don’t ask this general about morality," Mr. Pitts takes to task Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, who four days earlier expressed publicly his personal conviction that "homosexual acts" are "immoral." The general made his comments during an interview with the Chicago Tribune in which he … [Read more...]
Archives for 2012
PHILOSOPHY AND FAITH
A gracEmail reader writes: "I have recently been involved in conversations with a philosophy student who has lost his faith. Several issues in the Bible trouble him, in the areas of original sin, predestination, and the nature of the resurrection. Can you point me to Scriptures or to other reading materials that might help?" * * * Philosophy students tend to think of Christianity in terms of an intellectual puzzle to be solved -- and to suppose that they cannot believe until they have all the answers. Unfortunately, that will never happen. Christianity is not primarily … [Read more...]
SPECIAL GRACEMAIL ESSAY
Robertson's comment on Haiti earthquake reveals bad manners, embellished history and poor theology The ground had hardly stopped shaking in Haiti when Pat Robertson, the affable but loose-lipped founder of Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and President of Regent University, started a rumble of his own by saying that the stricken nation was "cursed" because of a 200-year-old "pact with the devil" supposedly made by rebellious slaves to obtain freedom from their occupying French masters. Robertson's off-the-cuff remarks, easily accessible in a video clip now gone viral on internet's … [Read more...]
PREACHER’S AGONY
A young preacher who has just accepted a new position writes that when he first interviewed at the non-creedal church, he expressed his honest beliefs about the work of the Holy Spirit and concerning the role of women in the church which he knew were different from the church's traditional views. About half the church agrees with the preacher and half hold to the traditional understanding. The preacher puts a high priority on loving God and loving people. However, some members stated at a recent congregational meeting that "we believe [our traditional church] doctrine and if that doesn't work … [Read more...]
WOMEN ‘BE SILENT’ IN THE CHURCH (2)
A gracEmail subscriber asks, "What does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 when he says that women are to keep silent in the church?" * * * Even if this text did not have a context (which it does), and if it were intended to say women cannot speak at all "in church" (which it was not), its most literalistic interpretation would still not prevent women as well as men from acting as ushers, serving the Lord's Supper or taking up the offering, to name just a few silent areas where women often are not permitted to serve. In fact, the larger context shows that both women and men exercised … [Read more...]
WOMEN ‘BE SILENT’ IN THE CHURCH (1)
A gracEmail subscriber asks, "What does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 when he says that women are to keep silent in the church?" * * * The passage you mention is only one of several specific "sit-down-and-shut-up" commands found in the same chapter. The chapter is part of an epistle addressed to a volatile group of Middle Easterners known for their unruly assemblies, whether "secular" (Acts 19:29-41) or "sacred" (1 Cor. 14). Three times within a few verses, Paul issues a restraining order of "Silence!" First, to the disorderly tongue-speaker who lacks an interpreter (v. 28), second, … [Read more...]
WOMEN PASTORS
A subscriber in the Southwest U.S. asks whether biblically a church should ordain women as pastors (or elders). Reverent scholarship is not all of one mind on this topic. Some scholars conclude that Paul denies women leadership position in the church, a decision which they believe to be binding in all times and places (1 Tim. 2:8-15). The Apostles were all men, they note, and every mention of elders, bishops or pastors in the New Testament is masculine. These scholars acknowledge that men and women are equal before God, that males and females are joint-heirs together of salvation, that they … [Read more...]
MUST WIVES ‘SUBMIT’ TO HUSBANDS?
"You made some comment that sounded like you might adopt the politically correct line these days," writes a subscriber. "Have you forsaken the biblical truth that women should submit to their husbands?" * * * If I was ever politically correct, I assure you it was an accident. As Christians, we "march to a different drummer," and it is not the beat of the latest worldly fad. As for whether wives ought to be submissive, why should they be exempt from what is clearly a general Christian command for every believer -- regardless of gender, age or station in the world? The word … [Read more...]
‘VEILS’ IN 1 CORINTHIANS 11:2-16
Someone asks, "I am currently studying 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 and its command that women remain veiled at public worship but that men appear unveiled. Do you have any thoughts on that?" When I was growing up in North Alabama in the 1950's, many preachers in Churches of Christ taught that this text required the sisters to wear a "covering" on their head whenever they went to "church." If asked why, they would explain that it was a symbol of their submission to men, or at least to their husband (if they had one). Considerable study through the years since has led me to conclude that Paul's … [Read more...]
SHE FEELS THE CALL
A Christian sister writes: "I attend a United Methodist Church. We have raised our children and are now empty nesters. I continue to feel God's call to professional ministry. Why do I feel the call if it does not mean I am supposed to pursue it? I thank God for that call and hope to fulfill it as the Lord wishes. My gifts seem to always revolve around exhortation. My pastor is extremely busy as our church is growing dramatically and he doesn't have time for any personal mentoring. Any practical suggestions?" * * * I commend you for wanting to serve God with the gifts he has given to you. It … [Read more...]
