Applied Theology
Thank you all so much for your willingness to stand with our brothers and sisters in Iraq. Many of you have been using the Arabic “N” symbol below on your Facebook or Twitter profile to show your concern for Christians being targeted for extortion and/or extinction by soldiers of the Islamic State of Iraq and... Continue Reading →
Maybe you have seen this little wine-cup looking symbol on your friend's Facebook page and wondered what it means. It means Christians are being targeted for death in Mosul, Iraq. I am so thankful that someone thought to create symbol sent through Social Media to call attention to the plight of Christians suffering genocide in... Continue Reading →
No one needs to ponder whether Christians in Palestinian territories are suffering terribly. They are. Who’s to blame? There are very strong voices in the media and in political circles who point out that Israel is the country doing all the killing. Sure, Hamas is firing hundreds of missiles into Israel, but they don’t end... Continue Reading →
Our van was nothing fancy. No one would have mistaken it for a limousine. It was plain, boxy, kind of like a Volkswagen cargo van in which someone bolted a couple of seats to the floor. Nothing about the van stood out in the bustling African streets of Addis Ababa. Like everyone else in town... Continue Reading →
Billy Joel famously confessed in song, “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints The sinners are much more fun—only the good die young!” Overlooking his obvious false dichotomy between saints and fun and his full-throttled embrace of sin, we can give Joel credit for seeing something that many sinners and saints equally... Continue Reading →
The following article was originally POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2012. I Re-post it now because a decision from the Supreme Court is imminent: There are two major stories whose trajectories are coalescing toward a permanent loss of religious liberty in the United States. The first story is the on-going saga known affectionately as Obamacare. The second... Continue Reading →
Just this past weekend, my family and I hosted a World Cup party. About 25 people crowded into my living room to enjoy the epic battle in which the U.S. Men’s National team fought against the highly-touted, Ronaldo-led squad from Portugal. Yes, the last-second cross from Ronaldo to the head of Varela sent shockwaves down... Continue Reading →
The Apostle Paul gives the following impossible command to the Philippian church: 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe First, he does NOT say, do your best to avoid arguments. He doesn’t say try... Continue Reading →
In my previous post, I sought to show why it is important for Christians to fight for religious liberty. What are some simple ways Christians can do this without selling out to a political agenda? I thought of 3 simple ways to get the conversation going: Learn. Disciples are learners. Primarily, this learning must be... Continue Reading →
Freedom, though given freely by God, isn’t offered freely by Man. It must be fought for and won, sometimes through reasoned debate and cool persuasion, other times through battles with swords or guns. Tyranny is always lurking, scheming to usurp individual liberty. This is as true in America as it is anywhere. I am thankful... Continue Reading →
Should Christians Watch the World Cup? The short answer (for me) is “Yes.” Whatever we do, we do all to the glory of God. Can the 2014 FIFA World Cup be watched to the glory of God? Each Christian will want to answer that question for himself. As for me, I have answered the question... Continue Reading →
Chaos usually ensues after our worship service concludes. It isn’t the chaos of a charismatic explosion, filled with dancing or laughing or strange verbal utterances. It isn’t chaos of any negative sort. Rather, it’s the delightful chaos of slightly uncontrolled children rushing around in search of candy, suckers, and places to run. My children are... Continue Reading →
As usual, Wanda’s café was crowded during the lunch hour, so my student and I decided to head outdoors under the breezeway to enjoy our fresh-grilled meals, which, in my case, included a side order of crispy fries sprinkled with that patented bay seasoning lightly coating them, giving them a salty, spicy kick to accompany... Continue Reading →
A few years ago, a friend of mine got in trouble. This time, my friend got in trouble for doing the right thing. In solidarity with his union brothers, my friend was walking a picket line because the company he was working for had been taking advantage of employees. My friend was enjoying conversation with... Continue Reading →
The hardest part of sharing the gospel (for me) is starting the conversation. Like most Christians, I love to talk about Jesus and the truth of the Scriptures, but it is hard to get the conversation going. So, I’ve tried to identify easy “connections” between the Bible and everyday life. One of the most natural... Continue Reading →
Gregory C. Cochran 