Moore to the Point
By Russell D. Moore. Russell D. Moore serves as the teaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. In addition, Dr. Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Find sermons and other resources to help Christians engage the culture from a biblical worldview at www.russellmoore.com.

I Wasn’t Aborted

— Thursday, August 17th, 2006 —

Ms. magazine has re-ignited its “I Had An Abortion” campaign, asking readers to “testify” of the fact that they aborted their babies. In today’s Wall Street Journal, journalist Julia Gorin offers her take on the campaign:

“The Web site of Ms. Magazine–yes, it still exists–is calling on readers to sign a petition: ‘I have had an abortion. I publicly join the millions of women in the United States who have had an abortion in demanding a repeal of laws that restrict women’s reproductive freedom.’

“Well, so much for the right to privacy. If Ms. readers hadn’t had so many abortions, there might be more Ms. readers. As for the rest of us, here’s a petition we could all sign: ‘I wasn’t aborted.’

“Having narrowly escaped being aborted, I’d be the first in line.”

Kinderphobic Community

— Sunday, August 13th, 2006 —

When I was growing up, we lived in a rural community, with lots of acreage to play in, and miles and miles of woods all around. But my grandparents lived in the city limits, with neighbors close by. There my cousins, my brothers, and I learned to stay away from the grouchy neighbor lady. We knew if we stepped onto her perfectly manicured yard, she would scream from her screen door: “You kids get off my lawn!” My grandmother would warn us, “She’s a nice lady, but she just doesn’t like children.”

We thought she was mean. We were probably right. But we couldn’t imagine a whole community designed for the “You kids get off my lawn” crowd.

This week’s New York Times Magazine features an article by Christopher Caldwell about the new trend toward “childproof” communities, developments intended for and restricted to those without children.

Religious Right vs. Religious Left, On the Air

— Saturday, August 12th, 2006 —

I’ve commented previously on pastor/theologian Gregory Boyd’s celebrated and allegedly “apolitical” evangelicalism. Biola University’s John Mark Reynolds notes his disturbance with Boyd’s recent foray onto Mars Hill, on a regional NPR radio interview.

Reynolds points out Boyd’s response to a caller who is concerned that people who “believe in the hereafter” aren’t really competent to decide issues such as global warming or the Middle East crisis. Boyd responds to the caller by offering a critique of the Religious Right, specifically Pat Robertson.

Reynolds sizes up the situation this way:

Joe Lieberman and the Politics of Religion

— Friday, August 11th, 2006 —

The Wall Street Journal’s Naomi Schaefer Riley investigates how the Religious Left is treating the current rumble in Connecticut politics. This is especially relevant given the fact that, as 2000 Democratic nominee Albert Gore’s running mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman was a prime example of the kind of synergy of personal piety and progressive politics that politically liberal clergy such as Jim Wallis have been seeking.

Jesus Hater

— Friday, August 11th, 2006 —

Guest Commentary by Robert E. Sagers

What is haunting Art Alexakis?

The frontman for the alternative rock group Everclear, Alexakis recently appeared on national television to defend the Portland, Oregon band’s latest music video, “Hater Jesus.”

In the video, Jesus Christ is depicted stealing from a blind beggar, drinking a fifth of liquor, tearing pages out of Scripture to use to roll marijuana joints, taking part in an orgy, and starting a fist-fight. All the while, he frequently checks his MySpace page on his Treo.

Blasphemous representations of Jesus are nothing new, especially among musicians, as pop and rap stars Madonna and Kanye West have recently demonstrated. But why an entire video devoted to “Hater Jesus” with a song that Alexakis says is all about the contentious divorce he went through two years ago? It’s because, he says, “this is a breakup song that I wanted to show a different face of hate. Everybody who goes through a breakup goes through a place where you’re sad, where you’re feeling lonesome, when you’re feeling hate,” Alexakis explained,”Well, this is the part when you’re feeling hate.”

Mars and Venus on Sesame Street

— Sunday, August 6th, 2006 —

The gender wars are tricky enough with men and women. Imagine negotiating sexual politics with Muppets.

The New York Times reports this morning that the makers of children’s television pioneer Sesame Street is adding a new addition to its lineup of characters: a girl who is, well, girly. The new character, Abby Cadabby, is a pink fairy with pigtails, wide eyes, and a pastel dress. Sesame Street has had female characters before, most prominently the zany Zoe. But this character is different in that she’s so distinctly feminine. So why did it take Sesame Street 37 years to introduce what producers describe as a “girly girl”?

As it turns out, portraying femininity these days is politically perilous.

Dear John

— Saturday, August 5th, 2006 —

As a Christian, I love all the Bible, and all the Gospels. But the Gospel of John is a bit nearer to me. I find my praying, my preaching, my teaching are all far more shaped by John than by any other book of the New Testament, with Hebrews and Revelation not far behind.

Tomorrow I’m beginning a sermon series on the Gospel of John in my Bible study group at Ninth and O Baptist Church here in Louisville. As I get ready for this, I thought I’d mention the resources I find most helpful for studying John.

Podcasting from Mars Hill

— Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 —

One of my favorite magazines is not in print, or at least not on paper. It is the audio journal, Mars Hill Audio hosted by Ken Myers. Someone once described it to me as “Touchstone on tape.” I always listen to it immediately upon receiving the CD in the mail, and have been known to drive further than I had planned because I’m too interested in the content.

Now, I’ve just learned, Mars Hill has a podcast available. The new edition can be downloaded from here. It is also available at the iTunes music store.

All-Day K, OK?

— Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 —

I did not learn all I need to know in kindergarten. Maybe some of you did. But kindergarten all day, every day, all year-round?

The Washington Post reports today that suburban D.C. school systems are on a fast-track for all-day kindergarten, by 2010 at the latest. As a Jeffersonian localist, I am happy for community school boards to decide what programs they want, and how extensive they’re to be. What I find interesting is the overheated rhetoric here, and elsewhere, about the “urgent” need for “early childhood education” that lasts all day, everyday.