In our last post, we mentioned the discussion held by David Lipscomb University in which there were some controversial remarks made by Lee Camp, professor at DLU. The article, as published in the Tennessean, and our post, sparked some debate as to what brother Camp actually said. Dr. Camp issued a letter that was published in the Tennessean in response to the article and the outcry it caused. It was published on Thursday, and it does clear up much of the controversy. His letter follows: My assignment for the day was to articulate the “Theological Ground for Peaceful Co-Existence.” Due to a front-page story in The Tennessean that mis-characterized my…

Tuesday, David Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, hosted a conference dedicated to the breaking down of religious barriers among world religions. There was a Muslim leader and a Jewish leader, along with Lipscomb professor Lee Camp. Sadly, when reading the report from the Tennessean (Nashville’s newspaper), it becomes clear that the “Christian” is trying to downplay the fact that Jesus is THE way (John 14:6). The article, written by Anita Wadhwati, follows: To live peacefully with Muslims and Jews, Christians must put aside the notion that their faith requires the creation of a Christian kingdom on Earth, a Lipscomb University theologian told an interfaith gathering at the university. “We are…

[NOTE: The following article was originally published in the Messenger from the Memorial Parkway church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama. I thought it lent an interesting perspective between Barabbas and us. I hope you enjoy it and learn from it. I know I did.]As we read Luke 23:19, the Bible doesn’t give us any room for debate on the type of person Barabbas was. He was a bad man, put in prison as an insurrectionist (one who disturbed the peace). His rebellion appears to have even led to him taking at least one life. John 18:40 calls him a “robber.” This is the man the Jews preferred over Jesus (Matthew…

For generations, children have wanted parents to be more “hip,” and not hang on to the “same old” rules and regulations. Sadly, many parents have changed and tried to be a “friend” to their children instead of being a parent. We who are parents need to realize that our children will come to respect us more when we draw lines and hold to them. With that in mind, allow me to share two items that will make me seem very old-fashioned. The first is about a Christmas carol. I like Christmas (just not until after Thanksgiving!). I enjoy hearing carols on the radio and in malls…when I have to be…

We’ll be away for a couple of days for Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d just share some short items that have been building over the past few days that might be of some interest to you. First, the United Nations recently announced that AIDS is spreading again. In fact, some 39.5million people have the dreaded disease. The numbers are increasing in some countries which had seen some major improvement, including the United States. They estimate that someone in the world is infected with HIV every eight seconds. To read the Houston Chronicle’s article, which contains a link to the UN fact sheets, click here. Scarlett Johansson, an actress famous for…

Maintaining this blog requires quite a bit of work, but it is also fun. We hope you continue to find it helpful and interesting. Every once in a while, though, we try to do something just for fun. We’ve added another feature that will be some fun to monitor in the coming days and weeks. On the right-hand side of the screen (about half-way down), you will find these words: “I’m a __ in the TTLB ecosystem.” “TTLB” stands for “The Truth Laid Bear.” It is a website devoted to tracking traffic on blogs, and monitors almost 60,000 web logs daily. I don’t like the “ratings” system, which uses evolutionary…

Ariana Hatton took this picture of Mary Carol on a recent youth trip. Just wanted to share. Thanks, Ariana!

Recently, I was on the website of the Daily Statesman, the newspaper of Dexter, Missouri (the town in which I was raised). I was floored to see a rather lengthy article (for that paper) about a miracle at the local New Life Full Gospel Church. It seems that the first time Dena Hamlitt (from nearby Essex, Missouri) visited this congregation she was “healed” of multiple problems. She had been taking 27 medications for all her various problems and had even had her collarbone removed. She also had lost hearing in her right ear. However, at “altar call,” she came forward and received a “miracle.” Her collarbone seems to be coming…

In an interview published Saturday, Elton John had a lot to say about the state of religion and homosexuals. Mr. John is an openly gay singer/songwriter with hits in at least four decades. While many like some of his songs, he, like other public figures, thinks that entitles him to share his “world-changing” views. Here are some of the quotes from Sir Elton’s interview: I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people. From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn’t seem to work. [Religion] turns people into really hateful lemmings and it’s not really compassionate. While Elton John is free to…

The song “Count Your Blessings” has been used countless times as a sermon illustration. We are often reminded that we cannot count all the ways in which God has blessed us. The song contains the famous lyric, “It will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Many will take a few moments this week to reflect on what God has done for them in the past 12 months. Some will have “major” things for which to be thankful (a good report from the doctor, a birth, a new job, etc.) and others will have the “usual” things (living another day). All of us, however, have countless things for which to…