Applied Theology
Below is a plea from Open Doors USA for you and me to help persecuted Christians in Iraq: Please take a moment to sign a petition to Secretary of State Clinton asking her to work with the Iraqi government to immediately form and implement a comprehensive plan of action to protect the dwindling community of... Continue Reading →
A story on Fox News caught my eye. The headline said, "Taliban May Lift Ban on Education for Women." I thought to myself, "Wow! Maybe pressure from the Christian West is finally paying off in Muslim countries, which have often been much less amenable to women's rights than Christian countries." Even on Fox News, however,... Continue Reading →
How do we know when we are blessed? On first blush, we might respond that we know we are blessed when we have peace with God and peace with our wives and families. Many of us would think we are blessed when we have plenty of money. We think of NFL players making $6 million... Continue Reading →
Another Christian was shot and killed in Egypt according to this news report. It is not yet clear whether this was an act of persecution or murder. The shooter opened fire on a bus filled with passengers. It is possible that the bus was targeted because it was from a Christian village. The news report... Continue Reading →
My takeaway from the 62nd annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Atlanta, GA, is that N.T. Wright is at once the most winsome, witty, and incorrigible academic I have yet seen. His extraordinary intellect and persuasive abilities cause him to be a formidable foe indeed for any who wish to counter his positions... Continue Reading →
[From Barnabas Fund] Kenyan Christians abducted, tortured and raped Six Christian missionaries have been found alive but traumatized after suffering three days of unimaginable torture in Kenya. Three men including Mr. Y, the leader of a group of Kenyan missionaries supported by Barnabas, had travelled to Nairobi on the morning of Wednesday September 15, to... Continue Reading →
I am known as a Calvinist, and the church where I pastor is known as a Calvinist church. This phenomenon is interesting to me because I don’t use the term Calvinist in my preaching, and the church I pastor is Cedar Grove Baptist Church, not Cedar Grove Calvinist church. I think the reason folks want... Continue Reading →
Today, the President admonished Pastor Jones, encouraging him to "listen to those better angels" who recommend not burning the Quran. There is a united consensus among leaders in America that Pastor Jones should not burn the Muslim books. Political leaders, religious leaders, media elites have uniformly condemned the act. I heard this morning that some--including... Continue Reading →
Sarah Palin has a sensible response to the book burning down in Gainesville. Koran Burning Is Insensitive, Unnecessary; Pastor Jones, Please Stand Down Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation – much like... Continue Reading →
I am posting below an e-mail I received from Barnabas Fund, a Christian organization based in the UK which supports and encourages persecuted Christians. I post it because it makes a great follow-up point from my post yesterday. I really only made the first part of an important point in yesterday's post because I wanted... Continue Reading →
According to this article, Pastor Jones is still planning to burn the bible of Islam at a service commemorating the 9th Anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. I have a couple of simple observations. Pastor Jones has a right to burn the Quran. He lives in a nation which prides itself on freedom of speech. ... Continue Reading →
So, did your parents ever tell you to do something you didn’t want to do, using the rationale, “This is for your own good”? Yeah, mine did, too. We had to go apologize when the rest of our friends did not. We had to work while they got to play. We got the spankings… all... Continue Reading →
Is it OK to sever a man's spine if his crime caused another man to become paralyzed? I will be honest, I'm not sure. The government has been given the right to punish evil doers. The biblical injunction is "eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth." Such an injunction--though it has been given... Continue Reading →
If you are interested in Christianity in China, then you will want to read this report concerning a survey of Christianity recently completed in China. I would offer a couple of caveats to this report, however. They do not make much of the unregistered house churches. House churches are mentioned at the end of the... Continue Reading →
I just came across this information concerning a TV series on persecution. Looks like Anglicans and Roman Catholics are taking the lead. Let's get with it, protestants! You might check this out to see if you can watch the shows. http://archstl.org/archstl/post/suffering-church-%E2%80%93-new-tv-series-ew
Gregory C. Cochran 