Applied Theology
For 11 years, Cedar Grove Baptist Church has been working to get Christians together on One Night for the World. Sunday night, November 11, is the one night we have set aside this year to pray for persecuted Christians. We will be praying for Christians in Nigeria. The entire event will be streamed live at... Continue Reading →
Thank you, Representative Frank Wolf. A long-time advocate for religious freedom, Representative Wolf (R- VA) is now crying out for Christians in America to advocate on behalf of suffering Christians around the world. The slaughter of thousands of Christians in Syria at the hands of Sunni Muslims and the killing of thousands more Coptic Christians... Continue Reading →
Christians are not the only courageous people in the world. Here on my blog and at our ministry to the persecuted church (Project 13:3), we often highlight cases of Christian courage, telling the stories of those unwilling to yield their faith in Christ to the threats of police, parents, and employers. Such stories of... Continue Reading →
The targeted killing of Christians continues in Nigeria. As we have seen before, Boko Haram is well financed and likely well connected. They are continuing to carry out attacks on a routine basis. This past week, they attacked St. Rita Church in Kaduna state by driving an SUV loaded with explosives through a wall of... Continue Reading →
As adults, we are in the proper habit of assuming that our role is to teach kids rather than to learn from them. This habit is indeed proper because kindergarten would be chaos if the kids ruled the classroom. High school kids would produce only slightly less chaos (or maybe even more). No doubt, children... Continue Reading →
Scripture teaches us to make the most of our time because the days are evil. One of the ways to make the most of your time is to invest your time in the church. Why the church? Simply this, the church is the body and bride of Christ. I suspect that you are aware of... Continue Reading →
A recent editorial is making news in Malaysia. According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), the Umno government in Malaysia is making scapegoats of Christians in order to turn attention away from their own failures. The original scapegoat (Azazel of Leviticus 16) was an innocent goat who had the sins of Israel put upon its head... Continue Reading →
Christians in Egypt are glorious. Or, more precisely, Christ is being glorified through the lives of Christians in Egypt. Since the so-called “Arab spring,” which toppled Hosni Mubarak and other leaders throughout the Middle East, Egypt has become increasingly more hostile to freedom and more open to Islamic rule. As a result, Christians... Continue Reading →
For more than three years now, I have had an unsettling fear that religious liberty in America is on the wane. Turns out, I am not alone. A movement is afoot among state legislatures across the country. According to Baptist Press, there is a plan in place to have caucuses for religious freedom in every... Continue Reading →
The Family Research Council is calling on Christians to pray for those who are filing lawsuits against the Health and Human Services mandate. The mandate—which is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)--states that all employers must provide “preventative” care to all women. The word “preventative” must be put in quotes because... Continue Reading →
Usually, I love debating theology and the finer points of Christian doctrine. I am a pastor and a professor; I am supposed to love such things. But there is one aspect of doctrine that tends to provoke my inner Mike Tyson. I go nuts whenever I see or hear some modern day prophet spewing... Continue Reading →
In his recent U.N. address, President Barack Obama boldly prophesied that the future would belong to those who do not insult the prophet Muhamad. I both hope and suspect his is a false prophecy. The problem with his approach is that it is impossible. Exploring the question of what insults the prophet Mohammed yields answers... Continue Reading →
Last week, I asked if preachers ought to pick a fight with the IRS. Today, I want to revisit the issue and ask for more feedback. I have linked here an article from Baptist Press, which explains why an overwhelming majority of pastors support the IRS code forbidding pastors from endorsing candidates for political office.... Continue Reading →
The Apostle Paul once lamented the fact that he was guilty of throwing women into prison (Acts 22:4). Though it is politically incorrect to say, it is also patently obvious to see that women are, according to the Scriptures, the “weaker vessel.” As the typically more physically dominant of the two sexes, the man (again,... Continue Reading →
My posts recently have shown a growing concern for the loss of religious freedom in America. Unfortunately, the trend away from liberty is global. Since 2008, the number of countries with severe restrictions on religious liberty has increased by 23 percent, according to the extensive new study recently released by the Pew Forum on... Continue Reading →
Gregory C. Cochran 