Grab bag

Seen recently on the internet:

• Fred Phelps, leader of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, died this week.  There have been numerous responses to both his life and death.  Al Mohler, in “Fred Phelps and the Anti-Gospel of Hate — A Necessary Word” offers this wise insight:

We must be very clear about the fact that Fred Phelps’ sin was not that he said that sin is sin. That’s an essential task of every biblical Christian. It was that he seemed to celebrate the sinfulness of sin rather than be brokenhearted over it, and he never saw it as the opportunity — without skipping a breath — to get right to the declaration of the promise of salvation and forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. The problem is that Fred Phelps gloried in sin and in his denunciation of sin to the expense of the gospel. The good news of the gospel simply never came through. The grace and mercy of God in Christ were never made clear in his message, and he became an enemy of the gospel rather than a representative of the gospel.

• Despite the errors of Phelps’ approach to the homosexual debate, Jason Helopoulos reminds us, “Christians, Don’t Give Up on the Homosexuality Debate:”

Let us resolve, that as we continue to speak against homosexuality and its acceptance in our culture, we will do so winsomely and lovingly; yet, we are also committed to doing so clearly. In our pulpits, in our conversations around the water cooler, with our children, or in simple talks over the fence with our neighbors, we will be clear that homosexual practice is a sin. We will not attempt to separate love and truth. A careful guard against the subtle language of “gay” and “gay marriage” should be in place.  Neither one of those terms should be used in our discourse about the homosexual lifestyle or homosexual union. There is nothing “gay” or God-honoring about the homosexual lifestyle, and it is not a God-ordained marriage when two homosexuals join together in a “state approved marriage,” even if it is a monogamous and committed relationship. We, as a people of the Word, know the importance of language and words, and it is crucial we give clear articulation of God’s purpose and plan for sex and marriage.

• Since 1973’s Roe v. Wade decision, 55.8 children have been aborted in the United States.  How many is that?  Here’s one sober perspective.
• Thomas Schreiner writes helpfully on a controversial subject:  “Why I Am a Cessationist.”
• How would you finish this sentence?  “If you are eager for real joy, such as you may think over and sleep upon, I am persuaded that no joy of growing wealthy, no joy of increasing knowledge, no joy of influence over your fellow-creatures, no joy of any other sort, can ever be compared with _______”  Here is Charles Spurgeon’s answer.
• When he was 11, J. I. Packer asked for a bicycle for his birthday.  Because of an accident he had when he was seven, his parents were concerned about the potential for further head injuries should he fall from a bicycle.  So they gave him a…typewriter?  Here is the providentially gracious story.
• J. Warner Wallace reminds us that “How Do I Share What I Believe? When Evangelism Is Like Baseball:”