A Fresh Perspective

One of the frequent misused teachings of Jesus involves his instruction to ask, seek, and knock (Luke 11:9–13). There are Christians who treat this as something magical like a genie in a bottle or mechanistic like putting money in a vending machine. They think that if they say the right words, or use the right formula, or if they believe with all their hearts then the answer will be granted. The section on prayer in Luke’s Gospel where this teaching is found begins with the disciples asking Jesus how to pray. Jesus starts with the model prayer: When you pray, say . . . (11:1–4). This model prayer orients and frames the rest of his teaching on prayer. This is a prayer that teaches us how to be in relationship with God, how to be God’s friends and partners in doing God’s will. When we pray this prayer we are learning how to work with God for the common good. We are learning how to participate in the realization of God’s rule of peace — justice for the poor, liberation for the op...

Currently in the city of Frankfort , Kentucky where I serve as a pastor, a fairness law is being considered by our City Commission that would prohibit discrimination against the LGBT community. The ordinance, if passed, will be an amendment of the city’s fair housing laws, adding new sections banning discrimination in the categories of public accommodations and employment. It also adds “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of classes already protected under state and federal law.  The primary opposition to the fairness ordinance is coming from conservative Christians. Hershael York, Pastor of Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort , recently wrote an op-ed that appeared in the Frankfort State Journal signed by fourteen other local clergy. The op-ed was titled, Fairness Ordinance hurts people of faith.   The basic thesis of the op-ed, which has been the incessant cry from the conservative Christian community, is that a fairness ordinance reversely disc...

Conservative analyst and commentator Charles Krauthammer in a recent piece in the Washington Post lamented that in striking down DOMA the Supreme Court enumerated equal protection as one rationale for their decision. He argues (rightfully so) that the rationale of equal protection will lead eventually to nationalizing gay marriage.  We have turned a corner. While conservative states will rev up their stands against gay marriage as they did when the Supreme Court ruled segregation laws unconstitutional, their ultimate defeat on the issue of gay marriage is inevitable. Just as there are key transitional stages in biological evolution, so we have now entered a transitional stage in our spiritual and moral evolution, at least in our part of the world. Recent polling indicates that in some estimates as much as 80 percent of the younger generation now supports gay marriage. What’s a conservative to do? In an excellent piece in Baptists Today executive editor John Pierc...

            No biblical inerrantist who claims to apply the Bible literally actually does. Consider these examples.             In 1 Peter 3:3 Christian wives are told not to braid their hair or wear gold ornaments or fine clothing (see also 1 Tim. 2:9). How many literalists do you know who apply that literally?             In 1 Corinthians 14:33b-35 the Law is invoked to silence women in the church. They are not permitted to speak or even ask questions in the assembled congregation. Do you know of any church claiming to believe all the Bible (God said it and that settles it) who actually practices this? (Many progressives believe this passage was inserted into the letter by a later Christian scribe as a reaction to Paul’s egalitarian practice of including women in ministry and leadership; see 1 Cor. 11:5; Rom. 16:3-16; Gal. 3:28.)  ...