MARRIAGE: Do words have meanings?

MARRIAGE: Do words have meanings? With a single decision, a simple majority of five of nine justices on the Supreme Court of the United States, has successfully and irrevocably changed the meaning of a single word that has so clearly defined the most basic societal unit throughout history—a word with a meaning so clear and unambiguous that it had stood the test of time for millennia. Yet, on the morning of  June 26, 2015, the meaning of “marriage” according to U.S. law changed forever. The institution of marriage (and by extension, the family) is unlike any other societal custom or construct that has

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“Son of God” Translation Controversy

For years there has been a discussion among missiologists and linguists concerning the proper translation of certain biblical passages into various languages in the Muslim world. Over the years, the discussion has turned into a debate and more recently into a full-blown controversy that has gained a lot of momentum over the last few weeks. The present controversy centers around specific decisions by Wycliffe Bible Translators, SIL International and Frontiers (an exclusively Muslim ministry) concerning the translation of the “Father-Son” (“divine familial”) language in a number of Bible versions created for the Muslim world. Note: In the case of Frontiers,

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Saddleback’s Health and Fitness Seminar: An Eyewitness Account

A few days ago, I posted an article by Jan Markell (Olive Tree Ministries) concerning Rick Warren’s newest initiative—a health and fitness seminar featuring three doctors representing three very different worldviews – Dr. Oz (a Muslim), Dr. Hymen (a Jew) and Dr. Amen (a Christian). As a follow-up, I am posting this article by Jennifer Pekich (Ponderings from Patmos blog), who personally attended the event on January 15, 2011. This is a well-written, well-researched and very important article that has been picked up and re-posted on  many discernment and apologetics blogs across the internet. I want to extend my personal

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Rick Warren’s Controversial New Initiative

Rick Warren has been broadly criticized for both his alliances and his projects. His latest initiative, launched on January 15 at Saddleback, is almost certain to attract similar attention – not so much because of the issue itself, but because of those who are partnering with him. Jan Markell, over at Olive Tree Ministries, discusses this issue in her latest article which is featured in this edition of the ABI Blog. I hope you will take a few moments to read this important piece. (This article is reproduced by permission of the author.) __________________________ by Jan Markell What on earth

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Burning Korans (the right way)

You couldn’t watch or listen to the news for more than a few minutes this week without hearing about the Florida pastor’s plan to burn Korans on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. After it was reported that General Petraus had expressed his concerns that this could very easily put American soldiers and expatriates at risk in Afghanistan and other countries, I wrote an email to Pastor Jones asking him to reconsider his plans – both as a brother in Christ and as a fellow leader in ministry. I don’t know if he actually received or read my email.

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Homosexuality and the Bible – Part III

(This article is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2 column article format: Click here to download) According to an April, 2009 article on MSNBC, a Washington Post/ABC poll released that month became the first to indicate that the number of Americans supporting same-sex marriages (49%) is now greater than those who oppose it (46%). Although the two numbers are within the typical poll margin-of-error of each other (±3%), there does seem to have been a significant shift in attitudes over the preceding 5-year period, when a Post/ABC poll put the percentage in-favor at just 32% in 2004. Between 1982

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Eroticizing the Eucharist

This article is by guest contributor Larry DeBruyn, pastor of Franklin Road Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana and the author of the blog, “Guarding His Flock.” ——————————— T.D. Jakes and Communion at “A Table Set for Two.” “Brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:17-18, KJV) In the Upper Room and to memorialize His upcoming death, the Lord Jesus took the common but symbolic elements of

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What About Those Who Haven’t Heard? An Exposition of Romans 10

During his 30-year career, the Apostle Paul personally carried the gospel to some of the most important and populous cities along the central corridor of the Roman Empire, including Rome itself. But this work was no easy task. Paul endured incredible hardship and continually put his life on the line for the sake of the gospel, facing death time and again (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), until finally he was executed in Rome for the message he preached. History tells us that most of the other apostles met similar fates. And through the centuries, countless others have given everything in order to

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Those who haven’t heard – in the Amazon

As an introduction to the second survey in this series, I presented a hypothetical situation of an Indian village and a young girl named Ayanna. However, this blog is about a present, real-life situation deep in the Amazon jungle. Yesterday, my dad forwarded an email update from a missionary that very directly touches on the question, “What about those who haven’t heard?” And because of its timeliness and relevance to the issue, I have decided to post it (below) before addressing this question in light of Romans 10 in the next few days. Michael Guerink , is a missionary in

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What about those who haven’t heard? (Part 3)

This is part of a blog series concerning the question of the eternal fate of those who have not heard the gospel by the time of their death. So far, 77 people have participated in the first survey and 41 in the second, follow-up survey (which are part of this blog series). The tabulated results can be seen in the graphs below. Even though these results are not statistically significant due to the low number of respondents, they do seem to show that there is a fairly significant divergence of opinion regarding this issue. And although the results are not

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What about those who haven’t heard? (Part II)

This is a follow-up to the first ABI Quick Survey in this current series on an important theological and practical issue. It is well-known that the way survey questions are framed can have a significant influence on the way people respond. One factor can be when questions are posed in such a way that they seem more real or personal to the respondent – and aren’t just theoretical / hypothetical. This can be particularly true with questions related to difficult theological issues. I hope you will take a moment to read the following scenario and then continue to the second

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Manhattan Declaration: Conclusions

(An article combining this post and the previous one on the Manhattan Declaration is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2-column article format: Click here to download) This is the third and final post in a series concerning the Manhattan Declaration. I would encourage you to read the first two posts so you will have the context for understanding my final conclusions. Please take a moment to complete the ABI Manhattan Declaration Survey . . . The Nature of the Manhattan Declaration The Manhattan Declaration addresses issues that are a part of the current public debate and symptomatic of the

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Manhattan Declaration: A Response – Part I

(An article combining this post and the previous one on the Manhattan Declaration is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2-column article format: Click here to download) . A week ago today, the Manhattan Declaration was released by Chuck Colson and almost 150 other signers at the National Press Conference. Since then there have been countless blogs and articles written about the 4700-word document and the response has been quite mixed. Predictably, it has been denounced by liberals of all stripes who support the LGBT agenda and who advocate “a woman’s right to choose.” But neither has it been received

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Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

When I checked my Inbox on Saturday morning I found an email from Jimmy DeYoung (one of ABI’s co-founders) concerning the Manhattan Declaration. Because the Manhattan Declaration was still breaking news, Jimmy wanted to discuss it on his weekly radio program. So I quickly went to work trying to learn as much as I could before he called back to do the interview. The Manhattan Declaration is a 4732-word document which was made public at the National Press Conference on Friday, November 20. It was drafted by a committee that included Chuck Colson, Dr. Robert George and Dr. Timothy George

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“Pub Theology 000” by Pastor Larry DeBruyn

Larry DeBruyn, the guest writer of this ABI blog post, received his Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1974 and has been the Pastor of Franklin Road Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana for many years. Pastor DeBruyn has published two books; regularly writes articles as a guest contributor on several websites; is a conference speaker; and has taught internationally including at the Word of Life Bible School in Hungary. _____________________________ “Some thoughts on Sunday night church in a bar.” As he begins to rip into “a screaming guitar solo,” the band member yells out at the audience, “Let’s go to

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Worldviews: Born-Again and Unbiblical? – Part I

Several days ago, I posted a blog with questions / topics proposed by an ABI Facegroup member. This post deals with one of those topics – “worldview.” _________________________________ It would be natural to expect that Christians would have most of their values, morals, ethics – their overall philosophy of life – to be informed and shaped by principles found in the Bible. However, apparently such an assumption would be inaccurate based on the the results of a survey published by the Barna Group on March 6, 2009. The survey reports that only 9% of all Americans hold a biblical worldview

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