Thinking to Believe

A biologically normal person who experiences transgender feelings is not the opposite gender trapped in the wrong body, but a person who is experiencing mental and emotional confusion (I’ve written some on gender issues here and here).  They need therapy, not gender reassignment surgery.  But what about a person who was born genetically male (Y chromosome), but with malformed or ambiguous genitalia?

There have been many cases where doctors and parents made the decision to surgically alter their genitals to appear female and then raise the child as a girl.  But the child is a male, biologically, and the male hormones make them feel and act like a boy despite being told they are a girl and raised as a girl.  Later in life, they discover their past.  Now, as an adult, though they look like a girl, they want to be what they feel like and truly are: a man.  They want to dress as a man and act like a man, and even undergo surgery to physically alter their genitals to look like a man again.

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See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

On its face, these words of Paul to the church at Colossae appear to denigrate philosophy.  For that reason, this verse has been one of the favorite verses by anti-intellectuals and those opposed to the study of philosophy.  Philosophy, they say, is the not just worthless, but dangerous to the Christian faith.  This would be a gross misreading of the text, however.  We must pay attention to the qualifications Paul made concerning his indictment of philosophy. (more…)

[A]nd you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

This phrase adorns the buildings and statues on many college campuses.  The message is that knowledge of the truth will liberate one’s mind.  While that may be true, is that what Jesus was trying to communicate in John 8:32?  Let’s take a look at the context. (more…)

The effect of same-sex parenting on child development is a highly politicized research topic. Various studies have come to different conclusions. Most studies suffer from sampling bias, too few participants, etc. (see “A Review and Critique of Research on Same-Sex Parenting and Adoption” for an analysis on every study related to same-sex parenting).

The most objective study to-date comes from the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the U.S. Center for Disease Control.  They collect a range of data on civilian households each year. Out of a sample of nearly 1.6 million people, they found a random and representative sampling of 512 children from same-sex parenting homes.  When compared to children raised by married parents of the opposite sex, they were found to have a significantly higher rate of emotional problems and developmental disabilities.  (more…)

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. (Philippians 3:13)

If I had a dollar for every message I heard using this verse to encourage people to forget the bad things that have happened in their past and to look forward to what God will do in their future, I would be rich.  While there is wisdom in this approach to life, that was not Paul’s point in this passage.  Let’s look at the context. (more…)

There are four passages in the OT that speak of God “visiting the iniquity of the fathers unto the third and fourth generations of those who hate God”: Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9.  Deuteronomy 5:9 is probably the most familiar:

You shall not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Many interpret these passages to teach “generational curses”: curses on the children resulting from their fathers’ sins. There are whole ministries dedicated to helping people break free from these generational curses over their lives, many of which they may have no knowledge of. Is this the point of the passage? Does it really mean to convey the idea that God punishes the children for the sins of their fathers?  There are three good reasons to think not.

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Mark Langedijk was an alcoholic.  He battled his addiction for eight years.  The battle was so difficult for him that he decided he would rather die.  And in the Netherlands – where the logic of euthanasia has run its course – he found a doctor who would make him dead.  And why not?  He was suffering.  It doesn’t matter that his suffering did not involve physical pain or that he was not terminally ill.  All that matters is that he was experiencing suffering and wanted relief.  Euthanasia knows no limits.

And last year, a person suffering from mental illness due to sex abuse as a child was also euthanized.  Euthanasia is an easy way to throw broken people away rather than treat them.  It is abandonment.  These people need our care, not a lethal injection.

I applaud Nick Cannon for having the guts to state the obvious: Planned Parenthood is responsible for “real genocide” in the black community, and is a form of “modern eugenics.”  Indeed, more black Americans die from abortion than from anything else.  The abortion rate for black women is three times higher than that of white women.  Black lives truly matter, and that includes in the womb.  And if the Black Lives Matter movement truly believed black lives matter, they would become pro-life because nothing has done more to desecrate the black population than abortion.

There are two passages in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus speaks of “binding” and “loosing”:

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

I have heard two different types of interpretations of these passages.  The first understands this to give power to the church leadership (whether at the level of the local pastor or the denomination as a whole) to legislate on matters not addressed (or not sufficiently clear) in Scripture.  This often gets applied to morally questionable practices.  For example, some Christians think it is morally wrong to wear jewelry while others think it is morally acceptable.  To settle the dispute, a pastor will either “bind” the issue by prohibiting the use of jewelry among his congregants, or will “loose” the issue by allowing it.  Whatever the pastor binds or looses on earth is also bound or loosed in heaven, so to disobey or contradict the pastor is to disobey God Himself.

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The go-to passage for prayer groups and prayer meetings across the globe is Jesus’ words in Matthew 8:19-20:

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

The common interpretation of this passage is that Jesus is present when two or three believers have gathered and agree together in prayer concerning any matter.  Even when I subscribed to this interpretation, I always had the nagging question about the implications this had for praying alone.  Is God not present when you are praying by yourself?  I resolved that perhaps God was present in a special way when more people were gathered.  The power of unity, right?

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