With more than 50 years of faithful preaching of the Scriptures and zero public scandals, Pastor Begg had certainly earned my unofficial designation as a “solid” celebrity pastor. However, his recent handling of a cultural matter countered a Biblical worldview, and this was not at all consistent with the reputation that has long preceded him.
Which begs the question that many have raised in recent weeks: What are we, as Believers, now to do with Alistair Begg?
Since publishing the original SITMAC series in 2018, I’ve received several requests to write another installment. Admittedly, I didn’t believe one would be necessary because, as my logic went, by exposing the up and coming protégés of the old guard (see Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, etc), it should be easy to sniff out other false and extremely problematic preachers and pastors by association. Those birds all seemed to flock together, so writing about yet another member of their coop felt redundant.
What I didn’t consider at the time, however, was the role social media was beginning to play in platforming charlatans who don’t necessarily have ties to the old guard. I also didn’t consider how, thanks to social media, false teachers and problematic brothers (and sisters) no longer need a pulpit or a local church to sow error and confusion before a mass of God’s people.
Prior to episode 902 of the Relatable Podcast with Allie Beth Stuckey, I had extremely little knowledge of Kat Von D.
I’ve certainly heard her name in passing as I’ve consumed pop culture news over the years. In recent weeks, for example, I’d seen various headlines reporting on her recent baptism into Christianity. So, indeed, I’ve definitely heard of her.
Yet, I’m embarrassed to admit that I was so unfamiliar with her claims to fame and professional résumé that I initially confused her with the burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. In my defense, both women do have “Von” in their names; they’re both undeniably gorgeous, fair-skinned brunettes who often rock a bold, red lip; and they are both closely associated with Marilyn Manson.
In the premiere episode of Season 4 of Truth + Fire: The Podcast, host Veritéetfeu tackles "married single motherhood", a parenting phenomenon where married mothers take on the sole responsibility to care for their children. But is this practically beneficial for the mother, the father or their children? More importantly, is it Biblical?
While browsing through Twitter the other day, I happened upon an interesting post from one of my favorite Christian writers, Samuel Sey.
In it, he declared:
“If a woman doesn’t want to be a mother, she shouldn’t be a wife. My dude, stay away from her.”
Founder and blogger at slowtowrite.com and contributing writer for various other outlets, Sam has done well to pen prolific thought pieces on the state of our culture, and he always endeavors to do so through a Biblical worldview. We also share a platform at Pyrolithos Foundation, where we each publish articles that address cultural issues from a Biblically-conservative perspective. In other words, Sam and I are on the same team; he is indeed my brother in the Lord; and, in most instances, I agree with his commentary.
Yet, admittedly, I found his tweet to be a bit provocative and potentially discouraging.
As current cultural trends and ideological differences seemingly divide Christians along political lines, Host Veriteetfeu is joined by Truth + Fire Subscribers and other special guests to discuss whether these divisions are actually Biblically necessary. Join the discussion live Friday, July 29th at 7PM ET.
Regardless of one’s eschatological view or thoughts about “the mark of the beast,” there’s something rather sinister behind mandating all men to become vaccinated against a disease with a 99% survival rate. Even more immoral is to link Covid-19 vaccines to a human being’s access to goods and services and to restrict their agency if they refuse it.
For the past couple of months, a worst case sampling of such woefulness has been mainly on display in Australia, where their citizens are enduring extended lockdowns, travel and relocation restrictions, and privacy violations - at least until they reach a vaccination rate of 70%. Once this goal is attained, the economy will reopen and things will return to “normal” - at least for the vaccinated. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews recently announced his state will move to a “vaccine economy” that will “lock out” the unvaccinated from most aspects of their society, including access to healthcare. New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian recently announced a similar plan as she admonished unvaccinated residents to not get “left behind” once NSW is back in full swing.
As I and others have pointed to Australia as a cautionary tale to our family and friends, it was easy for most to dismiss their experience as irrelevant to our way of life in America. Despite the lockdowns, church closures and mask mandates we’ve enjoyed here in the U.S., there have been those who believed what’s happening in Australia could and would never happen here.
Are we cowards? In this three-part special, we’re talking about the Christian response to COVID-19. Declared a global pandemic, COVID-19 has impacted political, social and economic practices around the world. But how has it impacted the Church? And, most importantly, has the Christian response been Christ-like? In Part 3, host Veritéetfeu examines justifications given for COVID-19 church closures.
Are we cowards? In this three-part special, we’re talking about the Christian response to COVID-19. Declared a global pandemic, COVID-19 has impacted political, social and economic practices around the world. But how has it impacted the Church? And, most importantly, has the Christian response been Christ-like? In Part 2, we examine new social and hygienic measures that could easily take Believers down an unloving and hypocritical path. Available on all podcast streaming platforms.
This past week, I've been quite passionate and vocal concerning church closures in response to COVID-19. Some have rendered me and those who share my sentiments as selfish, unwise or foolish, as they believe the church needs to do its part to help the world overcome a global pandemic. Yet, that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to communicate these last several days: that the church does its part. And by closing its doors in a time of crisis, I fully believe we are doing the opposite of that.
Even those who have disagreed with me on this topic don’t believe church closures to be ideal. The issue comes when we discuss the best course of action in light of government mandates and public health concerns. I am sensitive to and certainly respect our need to obey our government. I also respect the concerns some may have regarding the potential spread of COVID-19. Yet, with all of these elements at play, we can’t surely believe we should continue to forsake assembling should present conditions extend beyond April.
So what should we do?
Are we cowards? In this three-part special, we’re talking about the Christian response to COVID-19. Declared a global pandemic, COVID-19 has impacted political, social and economic practices around the world. But how has it impacted the Church? And, most importantly, has the Christian response been Christ-like? In Part 1, we take a look at COVID-19 prepping and how to know if it's being done in wisdom or out of fear.
