Created in His Image: Ethical Concerns with Human Cloning
As Christians living in the 21st century, we face a number of issues for which Paul of Tarsus has no specific instruction. In the past few years, various biotechnologies have emerged from the realm of science fiction to everyday reality. This reality was pushed to the forefront when Ian Wilmut and the Roslin Institute announced that they had cloned the first large mammal (Dolly the sheep) in 1997.[1] That an adult sheep can be cloned...
Striking a Balance Between Duty and Delight
Serving the Church is hard. Staying motivated when things are not going well is especially difficult. Studying for the Sunday school lesson seems pointless when we are not even sure if anyone will attend the class. Striving for excellence in our given position can can be grueling when the only reason we accepted it is because no one else would. If we serve God long enough, we will experience these things, and the only thing that keeps...
Augustine and the Problem of Evil
Through the centuries and millennia, many have discussed some version of the so-called problem of evil. Usually it goes something like this: “If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, why does evil exist? Is He malevolent or just impotent?” This is the question of theodicy. Theologians, philosophers, and ethicists have offered all kinds of responses. Augustine stands as an important figure in this discussion. Living from 354...
Confessions: What They Are and Why We Need Them
Free Will Baptist can sound a bit odd to those who have never heard the name before. When I announce that I’m a Free Will Baptist to Calvinist Baptists at Southern Seminary, I often receive questions such as, “What exactly is a Free Will Baptist?” or, “Do you all believe in Perfectionism like Wesleyans, or that Man’s will is totally free like Semi-Pelagians?” I do my best to quickly calm my classmates’ fears that a heretic, having...
Preaching and Teaching 2nd Corinthians: Challenges and Opportunities
My congregation and I recently completed a 7-month, 23-message journey through the book of 2 Corinthians on Sunday mornings.[1] Like past Forum contributor Jeff Manning, I believe that expositional preaching is the most effective means of communicating God’s truth in a faithful, balanced way over time. While this approach to preaching doesn’t exclusively require going through entire books of the Bible, I find that the expositional...
Teach Them to Sing
by Rebekah Talbot Alabama summers: hot, humid days where there’s little left to do than to sit under a fan, staring at the heat waves hovering over the sizzling pavement. By the time night fell, this curly-headed girl and her sisters were stir crazy to say the least. These were times when my wise mother would sit down at our antique, upright piano and pull out her childhood hymnal. We’d hear the melody from a distant room, and one by...
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