Tried With Fire

(In light of the #MeToo hashtag and October being domestic violence awareness month, this is an update of a post from 2 years ago with a few edits and additions.) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27 If you asked me to define the sanctity of life, here it is: Since all human beings are made in the image of God, all human beings should receive dignity, respect, and the right to life. This applies to the born and unborn. This applies to male and female. This applies to all people regardless of their race or ethnicity. The sanctity of life is not based on the ability to function independently or even the value with which a person contributes to society at large. The sanctity of life is an issue of  personhood  because identity is individual and never subsumed by another person regardless of the relationship. I think this definition covers what most evangelical Chr...

Lynette English has written the story of her abusive marriage and how it was handled by two churches. One handled it well, but one did not. The differences between the two reveal how much Christians need to learn about domestic violence. Here are a few excerpts, but please read the entire article for yourself. Thank you, Lynette, for sharing this! From A Tale of Two Churches: Abuse and Protection of the Vulnerable in the PCA Like many abusive spouses, my seminary-trained husband shed seminary-trained crocodile tears. The church’s compassion for my husband and the desire to save my marriage superseded church discipline. I was called to a meeting with my associate pastor and the elder task force, and told that my husband really needed grace. Lots of grace. I was to go home, love that man to death, and show him the grace of God by my actions, and he would find that irresistible. He would be forced to change, because my kindness would lead him to repentance. (I know now that this a...

Wendy Alsup wrote two posts ( part 1 & part 2) in response to the Nashville Statement. I agree with her concerns that the issue is bigger than just taking a stand against sexual immorality. The doctrine of Imago Dei is at stake: We are fighting now for an orthodox understanding not just of homosexuality, but of Imago Dei. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be made in the image of God?...Who bears human dignity? How should they be treated? (part 1) In the 2nd part , Wendy examines Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and a recent statement from John MacArthur. She comes away with the concern that -  it seems that image bearers need to respect role and authority to actually show God’s image. Practically speaking, if you are perceived as not respecting either role or authority in life, you go down the priority list for protection as an image-bearer. Folks who see image-bearing dignity mitigated by how well you respect role and authority tend to work in a...