I’ve been waiting to see a response from other social conservatives to the recent Gallup Poll which reports that Americans now favor “gay” marriage by a percentage of 53% to 45%.

This year’s nine-percentage-point increase in support for same-sex marriage is the largest year-to-year shift yet measured over this time period. Two-thirds of Americans were opposed to legalized same-sex marriage in 1996, with 27% in favor. By 2004, support had risen to 42% and, despite some fluctuations from year to year, stayed at roughly that level through last year.

I haven’t seen much yet along those lines, so I’ll say something myself. I don’t expect to convince anyone of anything (I rarely do), and it goes without saying I’ll be compared to a Nazi, but I’ll do it anyway, because it’s been on my mind.

First of all, I’m not entirely convinced by the figures. My experience is that people with liberal views are generally oversampled in such polls.

But that doesn’t alter the fact that, beyond question, acceptance of homosexuality has been growing rapidly among Americans. Among young people, it’s barely an issue anymore.

Barring some major critical event, like a movement of the Holy Spirit or a re-make of Rocky Horror Picture Show, it would appear that gender-neutral marriage is in our future. How are we to think about that?

For me, the answer is clear. I shall despair of my country. I do not consider this a minor issue, a cosmetic matter, a sideshow. In my view, even if conservatives sweep all the elections and take all the seats of power for the next century, it will mean nothing if we lose the marriage battle.

It’s a matter of fundamental issues. Continue reading In which I play prophet of doom →

World reports on heresy preacher and Family Radio lead Harold Camping, who rejects clear biblical teaching in favor of obscure bible-based speculation. I hope those who are disappointed by having to wake up on May 22 will turn to the Word of God and a gospel-centered church instead of this cult leader.

But let’s talk about the end of the age for a minute. If the Lord told your church community that he would take you out of the world and destroy everything on two specific dates (say within a few years), what would your reasonable response be? Would it not be to love others as you love yourself and to love our Lord with all of your heart, mind, and soul? Seriously, how would a defined date for the end of the age change your lifestyle? If you would make dramatic changes, then what’s stopping you from doing it today, perhaps that old lie that you have several years left to get it right before you die?

I’m going to try to tone down the exultation. After all, a human being has died, one who was loved by God and might have found salvation. One who might have done much good if he’d turned his heart and considerable gifts to Jesus Christ, rather than to a doctrine of bloodthirsty deception.

Nope, can’t do it.

This was not some Pakistani peasant who’d never been out of the mountains. This was a sophisticated man, born to wealth, who’d spent time in the West and surely had the opportunity to hear the gospel. He was not interested in grace. He chose a form of Islam which hails the murder of innocents and considers women and children the perfect body armor (a woman was used as a human shield in the final firefight. I understand she was one of Bin Laden’s wives, but whether he or someone else tried to hide behind her I haven’t been able to determine). In his own words, he loved death better than life. He was a man without pity, who joyfully slaughtered thousands of my countrymen.

As a Christian, I’m gospel-centric and forgiveness-oriented. But I think we sometimes forget that justice is also a part of God’s nature. One of the chief consequences of the Fall (and a chief complaint of atheists and agnostics in their attacks on religion) is that the world is not just. God has postponed final judgment, leaving such justice as we can scrape together in this world in the hands of fallible human beings. In a situation like this, I think it’s permissible to rejoice a little bit when we see some partial justice done, especially when it’s visited on an individual who knowingly embraced evil.

There’s a troubling and intriguing passage in 1 John—Chapter 5:16:

If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that.

I don’t claim to understand what that verse means. But I think it provides adequate grounds for me to conclude (I could be wrong) that some people have gone so far in evil that the only thing that can be done with them is put them out of the world.

And if that putting out makes the world a safer place, and gives closure to the families and friends of victims, I feel good about that.

That’s my opinion. You may disagree.

What do I think of the royal wedding?

I think it’s very sweet that a whole country would get together to pretend a) that they believe in traditional marriage, and b) that they believe in the Christian religion, all just to please one old lady.

Frankly, in spite of my own snark, I’m tired of all the snide commentary about the event. I approve of tradition, and I am not at all offended that large amounts of public money are spent for ceremonial purposes. It’s one of the least corrosive uses for government funds I can think of.

I just can’t work up any enthusiasm. I have this feeling that tradition is the only thing driving this business–that nobody involved actually cares much about the sacred union of a man and woman in the eyes of God. That orchestra you hear playing the “Lohengrin” march? Their last gig was on the Titanic.

Marcia Segelstein writes about the true nature of God and what made the cross so difficult for Jesus. Quoting Tim Keller, she notes, “Jesus began to experience the spiritual, cosmic, infinite disintegration that would happen when he became separated from his Father on the cross. Jesus began to experience merely a foretaste of that, and he staggered.”

I write emails for a prayer list about once a week, and since it’s the Easter season, I wanted to share one with you.

“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.” (Psalm 17:15 ESV)

You know, asking what is life about may miss the mark. The better question is who is life about, and though it doesn’t flatter our pride at all, the answer to that question is Yahweh, the Lover of our Souls. Every good thing comes from him, but is not independent of him. That’s the reason Scripture calls us to give him our worries and find in him joy and peace. It doesn’t tell us to be satisfied in what the Lord can give us. Though the flooding river may destroy our current livelihood or careless men shatter the health of those we love, the Lord will take care of us. Today and in the life to come, we will behold his holy face in the righteousness he gives us and find satisfaction.

This week, we celebrate Christ Jesus wrestling death to the ground and breaking its back, so that we would live forever. He stood between us and the hatred of the world, so that when we face persecution we will know it cannot overwhelm us because someone on our side who has dealt with it before. He is the hero who accomplished what we could not do for ourselves; he absorbed God’s holy wrath so that we could be righteous.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings,

from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who surround me.” (Psalm 17:8-9)

Oh, Lord, do not let us wander out from under your shelter. Wean us from those things that distract us or worry us, so that we will be completely satisfied with you alone. (Photo by Alex Scarcella, on Flickr)

Was the resurrection simply the recasting of ancient mythology, akin to the fanciful tales of Osiris or Mithras? If you want to see a historian laugh out loud, bring up that kind of pop-culture nonsense.

One by one, my objections evaporated. I read books by skeptics, but their counter-arguments crumbled under the weight of the historical data. No wonder atheists so often come up short in scholarly debates over the resurrection.

That’s from Lee Strobel’s article in the Wall Street Journal on how Easter killed his faith in atheism.

Earlier this week, The Office funnyman and atheist Ricky Gervais opines on “Why I’m A Good Christian.” Gervais spends most of the article saying he has kept all Ten commandments, but his main point is here:

Jesus was a man. (And if you forget all that rubbish about being half God, and believe the non-supernatural acts accredited to him, he was a man whose wise words many other men would still follow.) His message was usually one of forgiveness and kindness. These are wonderful virtues, but I have seen them discarded by many so-called God-fearers when it suits them.