religion sucketh

Three years ago, Chris Brown turned himself in and was arrested on domestic violence charges. Last Sunday, Chris Brown performed at the Grammy Awards, and later received a Grammy Award. “The reality is that a stage and an industry built for fame was quicker to forgive Chris Brown than most stages and communities built for Christ were.” – Los

9 Things Forgiveness Is Not.

Why the supposed war on religion is bad for religion.

The forgotten influence of Martin Luther.

How obsessed with craft beer are YOU? According to this quiz, I’m a geek in balance.

The future of health care.

I love Jesus, but I swear a little.

Earlier fragment of Mark’s Gospel rumored to be found.

Bad art doesn’t exist apart from good art.

Ed Stetzer presents 3 reasons why banning churches from meeting in NYC schools is a mistake. In response to the ban, many NYC churches are opening their doors and sharing their facilities with the evicted churches.

Til death do us part?

The key to apologetics is to win the person, not the argument.

Something profound.

Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation drops funding for Planned Parenthood, then renews it days later. I’m not sure what to think here. I respect that Planned Parenthood is making their own advancements in cancer prevention and detection, but without knowing with certainty whether or not Komen donations are used for abortions, I can understand why some are wary of donating to Komen and look, instead, to alternative breast cancer awareness/research charities.

How are you doing at loving the people you disagree with?

11 Gospel-centered ways to love your city.

“Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.”

Respect your enemy…… even if he is dead.

Theology matters.

No further than our fathers.

Watch your conjunctions in parenting.

“Fair trade products are too pricey!” – Debunking common objections to shopping ethically.

5 reasons craft beer is the world’s greatest beverage.

The real reasons you’re bad with money.

How big is the internet?

Get your beard on.

What is grace?

Proverbs are not promises.

Church plants, airplanes and bulldozers.

Heretics and Helpfulness: Relating to Those Outside of Orthodoxy.

Most of us think the iPhone was born in 2007. But Apple had a prototype in 1983.

For decades, the prevailing wisdom in education was that high self-esteem would lead to high achievement. The theory led to an avalanche of daily affirmations, awards ceremonies and attendance certificates – but few, if any, academic gains.
HT: Tim Challies

It is difficult to read the Bible and not see that God chooses to use us in spite of our weaknesses.

How to read the Bible the wrong way.

A Gospel-Shaped Pro-Life Passion.

Moving pro-life legislation forward: the need for prudence and civility.

Global warming according to NASA.
HT: Kurt Willems

The web’s latest viral video features a poem from Jeff Bethke, explaining why he hates religion but loves Jesus. Obviously, this is not unfamiliar territory for me – just look at the name of this blog. However, two of the best responses I’ve read so far have come from Jared Wilson and Tullian Tchividjian. In his response, Jared clarifies that religion is not the problem, nor is law, but instead legalism and self-righteousness, while Tullian reminds us of the antithetical relationship between me-centered religion and the Gospel.

Considering the amount of feedback (both positive and negative) Jeff Bethke has received on his poem, this post is a great follow-up – Bearing with One Another: On the Giving and Receiving of Criticism.

What is good news for the poor?

From HIV to Hai.

I know who I’m not.

Sexual history isn’t everything.

How can you forgive a killer?

U.S. Veterans Show Solidarity With Iraqi Restaurant – I absolutely hate prejudice – whether it’s racial, social, ethnic, sexual, etc. There is simply no excuse for hating someone simply because they’re different, so when I see headlines like the previous one, it brightens my day. Soldiers, who fought in Iraq, taking up the cause of Iraqis living in America. I love it!

Faith and reason can, and do get along.

You are not Jesus.

Jim Wallis on All-American Muslim: “These critics are nothing more than hate groups.”

Visit most Christian bookstores, or the Christian section of a secular bookstore, and you will see an array of books claiming to have a prophetic message or a handle on explaining prophecy. Yet, few of those books resemble the prophets of old. So, what exactly do we mean by “prophetic”?

Mark & Grace Driscoll’s new book, Real Marriage, shows that confession is still most dangerous in the one place it should be safest: the church.

“God cannot be more infinite, loving or holy tomorrow than he already is today.“

Issues churches face in the next decade.

Last week, Jim Wallis announced he will be taking a three month sabbatical. However, in his announcement he perfectly summed up today’s political and economic climate in America: ugly. “Now is the time to go deeper… It is time to engage in the spiritual reflection that would restore the moral compass our politics and economics have lost.”

Do you struggle with forgiveness?

How many conditions do you put on unconditional love?

Top 10 Reasons I’m a Christian. This isn’t my personal list, but I really resonate with number one.

A parable about the church.

Art, conscience and theological McCarthyism.

Bad art and the tortured beauty of the cross.

Stealing Christmas.

We three kings of Orient AREN’T.

Lose the incarnation, lose it all.

I like when other bloggers repost their top posts at the end of the year, because, inevitably, I’ve missed a few along the way. This post from Tony Morgan on how the “culture of honor” is hurting churches is a perfect example.

MillerCoors isn’t stopping with Leinenkugel’s and Blue Moon – they are actively buying their way into the world of craft beer. Is this a good thing?

Nothing says “advent” and “incarnation” better than Guns N’ Roses, uncensored and at high volume.

Does it matter how accurately we portray the nativity scene of the Christmas story?

How to handle God’s hatred.

Please don’t pre-label revival.

“The atheists I’ve talked to and read rarely seem to have a problem with Jesus and even more rarely are they frustrated by him, it’s the Christians who believe in him that give them angst.” Great words from Tyler.

Reflections on the death of Christopher Hitchens.

Mark Driscoll on 1 Corinthians 13. Great exegesis of the passage itself, along with historical interpretations and a lot of research.

The hand of God in sports.

A word to pastors from Spurgeon: What you preach is already decided.

5 lessons all leaders (not just pastors) can learn from Winston Churchill.