Off-site Highlights

(Compiled by Anna)

Here's some recommended reading to enliven your Saturday.

Pastor Pauls makes a perceptive point about the relationship between the way people understand marriage and the way they understand God.

Marriage and the Gospel Story by Rev. Tim Pauls 

If marriage is to depict redemption, do the world’s alternatives teach a different, false narrative? If marriage teaches of Christ’s enduring love, then does divorce teach that God breaks His promises? Does cohabitation teach that God is unwilling to commit, but just wants to try out the relationship for a while? As same-sex marriage pairs equivalents with no hope of procreation, does the relationship teach that there is no God or future hope? Should society slide into polyamory, will the ensuing “families” suggest a pantheon of gods who sort of care for a community, but where none claim us as his own children? MORE.

Related to marriage is our cultural understanding of sex. This well-written piece could be a useful starting point for talking with others about the problem of teaching that sex means very little.

"She Only Said 'Yes' Once" by Reggie Osborne 

Think about that for a moment.  We have so RUINED our image of sex that we now have to PASS LAWS requiring teachers to explain to our children that they must be sure someone wants to have sex before they go through with it. MORE.

Who doesn't relate to wanting to stay home from church?

"When Church is Too Hard" by Cindy Koch 

I dread Sunday morning. Nervous sleep pesters me until about 6:30 am. The alarm finally rings, giving me official permission to begin preparations. I shower and dress quietly and cautiously, so as to not wake the babies in the next room. I knew once they were up my hands would be busy with them, and I might not get to my makeup this week, again. Throw on the dress, wipe on mascara, just in time. MORE.

You may be familiar with the verbal storm created when Donald Trump declared that women who get get abortions should be punished (it wasn't long before he backed out of that position). His words sound logical. Yet, as Ms. Lu points out, we must consider more than punishment.

"Why Pro-Lifers Don't Support Punishing Women for Abortions" by Rachel Lu 

An unborn child is precious, and the decision to have it killed is terrible indeed. Still, we can recognize that fact without losing sight of the tremendous burden a child can place on the woman who carries him. As champions of life, we know that mothers and babies are intimately connected. It’s generally quite difficult to help the latter by threatening the former. Progressive liberals frequently speak as though mothers and children are natural enemies. We try to avoid making that same mistake. MORE.