Article Roundup: 2018.11.19
Some of the articles below are not from Christian blogs. In fact, one is from a legal consulting group and another is from the San Francisco Chronicle. But, they touch on issues critical to the modern Christian; I hope it prompts you to pray and think.
As a reminder, all of the articles I’ve saved over the past 4 years are available in my Evernote collection here.
Floral artist to Washington Supreme Court: ‘I serve all customers; I just can’t celebrate all events’ | Alliance Defending Freedom
“…the state of Washington has been openly hostile toward Barronelle’s religious beliefs about marriage,” Waggoner explained. “It not only went after her business but also sued her in her personal capacity—putting all her personal assets, including her life savings, at risk. …Meanwhile, the state has applied its laws unevenly, choosing not to sue a coffeehouse owner who profanely berated and expelled customers for their Christian beliefs. In Masterpiece, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that government hostility toward people of faith has no place in our society. We are asking the Washington Supreme Court to affirm that in this case.”
UC Berkeley campus senator abstains from a vote. Now students want her out | Nanette Asimov | San Francisco Chronicle
This story has garnered so much attention that Albert Mohler covered it on Thursday, Nov. 15th’s edition of The Briefing.
“Within hours, Chow’s political party, Student Action, cut ties with her. So did CalTV and her publications constituents. A Daily Cal editorial called her statements offensive and declared: “UC Berkeley students cannot allow and accept leaders like Chow to make decisions on their behalf.”
“The paper also rebuffed Chow’s attempt to further explain her views in its pages. In her rejection letter, opinion editor Shayann Hendricks said the paper wouldn’t run Chow’s comments because her submission reflected her earlier statements, “which utilized rhetoric that is homophobic and transphobic by the Daily Cal’s standards.””
Soul Diagnostic: How to Know If You Are a Christian | Eric Davis | The Cripple Gate
“After we die, when we stand before God in the judgment (Heb. 9:27), he is not going to ask, “So, did you think you were a Christian in life? You did? Oh, OK, come on in to heaven.” He will judge by his standard. And, according to Jesus, on that day many will be surprised when they are shut out from heaven for all eternity (Matt. 7:21-23).
“So, this matters. Eternity is at stake. This is a matter of our own souls and those we love. Thus, it is inappropriate, and even more, perhaps, spiritual suicide, to respond, “Who are you to question me?” The answer, of course, is, “someone who cares about you and your eternal well-being.””
Conversion: The Experience of Salvation | John MacArthur | The Master’s Seminary
“Conversion used to be a word I heard regularly. Growing up in the home of an evangelist, I often listened to my dad talk about people being converted. But we have lost touch with this word that focuses on the experiential part of salvation, the transformation. …I think the greatest failure of modern Christianity is its inability to distinguish a true believer from a false one. We talk so much about the non-experiential aspects of salvation and fail to talk about the experiential reality of the theology of salvation, which is conversion. The true church is the society of the converted.”