Category: References (Page 2 of 5)

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Notes for Hot Topics – The Bible and Sex

May 18, 2023 / Joe Ginder

This weeks message is on the Bible and Sex. Here are links to some of the resources that I used and that you may be interested in pursuing for more information.

Matthew Vines is a well-known gay Christian activist and speaker. He is known for a viral YouTube video, entitled The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality, and for his speaking and writing to re-interpret the Bible so as to leave room for same-sex relationships for faithful Christians. There is a transcript of his Youtube video that I found very useful in pursuing study. Vines doesn’t so much present new arguments as effectively use social media to publicize scriptural interpretation that was little known before. He usefully converys the various approaches to scripture that are employed to support committed same-sex relationships as an option for a Christian marriage.

Joshua Gonnerman, a Phd student in Historical Theology who calls himself a Gay Christian, wrote an article rebutting Vines’ arguments. In this article, he refers to Elizabeth Scalia’s article entitled Homosexuality: A Call to Otherness? that many find helpful. Gonnerman also wrote powerfully on the churches failure to be family for gay people.

There are a number of links to other resources that one can trace from the articles and websites above. The Spiritual Friendship website is a place of links to good resources and frank discussion around issues related to sexuality.

I’ve appreciated the insights of Sam Allberry over the years. He has a website. He is an effective public speaker and popular writer more than a scholar.

Robert Gagnon is one of the most accomplished scholars focused on Paul’s letters in the Bible and sexual issues. He has a website. Gagnon is thorough to a fault. Reading him is like reading a commentary! (The Kindle version of his book The Bible and Homosexual Practice has 667 pages.) He also wrote a book with Dan O. Via entitled Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views where his consideration is only 58 pages. Via’s opposing argument is only 39 pages. Then each gives a response to the other. The first of the “top reviews” of this book on Amazon can give you a taste of what you would find in the book. A couple of years ago I worked my way through the audio and some assigned reading for Gagnon’s Regent College course The Bible, Homosexuality, and Sexual Ethics and decided I didn’t need to tackle the books.

If you want a very, very simple overview of the interpretations of scripture related to same-sex issues, consider the New York Times article Debating Bible Verses on Homosexuality. The article Evangelicals Open Door to Debate on Gay Rights is a useful introduction to the current state of affairs among evangelical Christians.

A Podcast episode on Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay!

March 30, 2023 / Joe Ginder

The Rest is History podcast had a recent episode over-enthusiastically entitled The First Abolitionist covering the life and abolitionist work of Quaker Benjamin Lay. Lay set out to convince Quakers in the Americas that slavery was a great evil back when slavery was simply taken for granted over most of the world. As usual, historians Sandbrook and Holland are tastefully entertaining in their telling of Benjamin Lay’s otherwise sobering story. Please note that his podcast contains description of the torture of enslaved people, and is not intended for younger audiences.

For more background on early Quaker abolitionists, see articles on John Woolman and Anthony Benezet.

A new podcast from The Atlantic

March 23, 2023 / Joe Ginder

I listened to a new podcast from The Atlantic recently called Holy Week. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, just before Holy Week of 1968 leading up to Easter on April 14 that year. The podcast is about the fallout from King’s assassination, reviewing some of the events and personalities of the times. It considers some of what his assassination meant to those for whom Martin Luther King Jr. represented hope… or weakness! And more…

I remember the week after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. In my mind I can picture the burning cities and clashes between protesters and police or soldiers that I saw on the evening TV news as a boy. Traumatic times, indeed.

To make it even more interesting, read Alan Jacob’s essay The Blues Idiom at Church in Comment for more insight and an interesting application.

I think perhaps this is all related to why I so appreciated Esau McCaulley’s Reading While Black! The perspective he presents has much in common with what I learned from the Quaker side of my family (particularly my grandfather, Albert Pike), who also taught me to appreciate Martin Luther King Jr. as a boy.

All of these are well worth your time.

Notes for the Hot Topics – Racism Message/Podcast

February 23, 2023 / Joe Ginder

In the Hot Topics – Racism message I referred to an episode of Brandon Cook’s Naming the Real podcast. Here is a link to A Conversation with Dr. Alex Gee: Race, Trauma, and What “Woke” Actually Means.

What is Thy only comfort in life and death?

January 18, 2023 / Joe Ginder

That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ…
from the Heidelberg Catechism, Day 1

I found those words at the beginning of the catechetical response to be encouraging. Of course, there is more detail to the complete answer in the catechism. Catechisms tend to be wordy! (Not that I object to the rest of the response…)

Q. What is Thy only comfort in life and death?

A. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

I recorded a message related to this thought for January 15, 2023, after returning from a family trip to Ireland.

For an historical Quaker catechism, check out Barclay’s Catechism here (Quaker Heritage Press) or here (Google Books) or here (Wikisource).

Seeing Color Newsletter/Journal of John Woolman

February 5, 2022 / Joe Ginder

In the recorded message this week, I mentioned the free newsletter Seeing Color. This note is to make the link to it available. If you subscribe, it will come in email each month.

I also mentioned the Journal of John Woolman. The text is freely downloadable or can be read online. Some may find the older style of his writing difficult. There is also a free audiobook version available on Librivox. You can read from a browser or get the Librivox app for your phone. There are updated and edited versions for sale in all the usual places.

A Special Christmas Message from Ray Bakke

December 25, 2021 / Joe Ginder

This is a timely and timeless Christmas message from Ray Bakke, given at Every Nation Church in Seattle. Ray’s son and my friend Brian Bakke thoughtfully provided a link to the recording – one of the best Christmas gifts ever! I’d like to pass it on. Happy Christmas!

Major Resources for Revelation 2021 Messages

October 2, 2021 / Joe Ginder

These are the three major resources I’m revisiting for the 2021 series of messages on Revelation. I’m using the series to address topics requested by members of the congregation that can fit into this approach. Apparently there is a lot of talk in the vein of The Revelation making the rounds! So this is not a straight through-the-text extended series like we did in 2017.

Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination – Eugene H. Peterson
Revelation: Four Views -Â Steve Gregg
Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey through the book of Revelation -Â Darrell W. Johnson

For more comments and more resource recommendations, see my post regarding resources on The Revelation from 2017.

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez

July 19, 2021 / Joe Ginder

Jesus and John Wayne is the eye-catching title of a book by Kristen Kobes Du Mez. The subtitle is even more provocative: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. It’s a fine historical account written for a general audience detailing exactly what the subtitle says, with extensive documentation of sources. I lived through much of it what she is writing about. It is troubling, indeed, and helpfully contextualizes much that is troubling in the church today.

To learn more about the author, one can find a set of four interviews Skye Jethani did with Kristen Kobes Du Mez on The Holy Post podcast. These interviews summarize some of the points covered in the book:

Lastly, Jim Lyon did a really fine, more personal, interview with the author on the All That to Say podcast. He interviews Kristen Kobes Du Mez about her background and faith in a very wholesome and helpful manner. I found this interview quite helpful.

This is a book that many are talking about, and rightfully so. Kristen Kobes Du Mez will take some heat for this work – just like her Lord did, when He told the truth.

On the Cost of War: A Demonstration of Extreme Love and Loyalty at Great Cost

June 21, 2021 / Joe Ginder

A recent trilogy of Rough Translation podcasts tells an amazing story of two people who make great sacrifices. I was struck by the display of the often unseen cost of war and violence and by the great display of love demonstrated by one who joined in with the sacrifice of a hurting veteran for whom she grew to care a great deal. There are many dimensions to the story and its implications; I’m still processing. The humanity, vulnerability, loyalty, love, sacrifice…

Here are links to the three podcast episodes that tell this story. They are worth your time. Beware if you are squeamish; the first episode tells the story of terrible injury and suffering in war.