With today being the 80th anniversary of D-Day, you may be interested in this brand new oral history of that momentous day: When the Sea Came Alive. It is a brilliant telling of the day’s events.
Today’s Kindle deals include Stephen McAlpine’s excellent Being the Bad Guys which helps Christians know how to live in a world that sees Christianity as a force for evil rather than good.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Least of My Children’s Accomplishments)
Toward a Protestant Pronatalism
Brad Littlejohn has written a very interesting and very helpful article about pronatalism (which is to say, about the goodness of bearing children). “As of 2024, the only developed country on earth with births above replacement rate (2.1) is Israel (2.9). The US has fallen to 1.7 per woman, which is near the upper end of the spectrum for European countries, which range as low as 1.3 (Italy and Spain). This number, which if maintained would result in a population halving every fifty years.”
The Rise of Hyperpleasures
Another very thoughtful article is this one by Samuel C. Heard. He writes about the rise of “hyperpleasures.” “If we take a broad look at our history, the pleasures associated with the ordinary activities of life have often been capped. Humans have always had access to pleasure, of course, but our capacity to remove discomfort from pleasure has basically always been nil.” But today some new forms of pleasure are available.
Why Only Pastors Can Baptize
I tend to agree with this: That only pastors should be able to baptize. Also, under normal circumstances, baptisms should only happen within the context of a local church!
Fighting the “Respectable” Sins of Gossip and Slander
“We are living with these sins, and we don’t have a problem with them. Not really. We have become desensitized to them. Perhaps, we have come to justify them.”
Can We Forgive When the Offender Doesn’t Repent?
You’re probably aware of the discussion (or is it a debate?) about whether a person who has been sinned against can forgive someone who isn’t repentant. Mike Wittmer brings helpful balance to the discussion by drawing some important distinctions.
10 Questions a Christian Man Should Ask Himself Before Making a Marriage Proposal
Just like the title says, here are some good questions for a young man to consider as he prepares to make a marriage proposal.
Flashback: Prayers That God Will Not Answer
Our task is to trust him—to trust him in what he will give and what he will refuse, in what he will grant in a moment and what he will grant only in time.
Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology.
—Gordon Fee
