Communicating the Christian gospel clearly must include deep empathy of the way those in another culture are likely to misconceive it. For instance, Muslims have deep appreciation for intimacy within their families, so a gospel with a Western overly-individualistic setting must be transcended and overcome,

A few days ago Emily Letts, 25, posted a video showing her abortion. It went viral.  "I just want to share my story, to show women that there is such a thing as a positive abortion story," she says to the camera.

Everybody has been talking about it. The National Basketball Association came down hard on the Clippers’ owner, Donald Sterling.  Sterling is an old man—in his eighties.  He has owned the Clippers for thirty-three years.

It has been in the news for weeks now.  It started with the Veterans Administration Hospital in Phoenix where 40 patients are alleged to have died waiting to see a specialist. Now the scandal has spread to more than a score of other hospitals and who knows how many deaths.  

Why would we want to build credibility among Muslims? Well, there are short and long answer to that question.  The short answer is all I will try to provide here.

I ended my previous blog with this statement:    Not only do we not have to choose between “standing for the truth” and “promoting the good name of our neighbor;” WE MAY NOT DO THE ONE WITHOUT DOING THE OTHER.

I have recently been suggesting that telling the truth biblically involves considering and consulting the church and “giving due authority to the church.” There are problems when we try to do this and I want to try to address some of these problems.

Remember the point that I have been making  – we MUST tell the truth but we MUST do so in a way that “promotes the good name of the neighbor” about whom we are speaking.

In the middle of April, astronomers announced the discovery of a planet very like the Earth.  It’s called Kepler-186f.   Not the most romantic of names, but we can forgive that.  It’s named after the telescope that discovered it.

[Note: The item below expresses the views of the individual to whom the item is ascribed and does not necessarily reflect the position of the WRF as a whole.]

Let this be clearly heard and understood:  Speaking the truth as we perceive the truth is not an option. It is a requirement. Here is part of the admonition from the Westminster Larger Catechism,

Transcendental Pretense--now doesn’t that phrase get your attention, just hearing it? One of my favorite philosophers, Robert Solomon, is the one who made it up. It describes in two words the whole history of philosophy for the last three centuries: everything that’s really important is what makes a difference to me.

My mentor always tells me, “Don’t teach children songs you don’t believe in.”  We spend so much time selecting music for worship based on themes or their placement in services.   Yet how much time do we spend pouring over the texts to better understand the meaning behind common Christian phrases and metaphors