This Week’s Good Reads

I found lots of good articles from around the web this week. There is probably something here that will interest you.

1. The Precious Puritans brouhaha! Maybe you’re like me and you don’t listen to a lot of rap (or any). But Christian rap artist Propaganda got a lot of attention this last week over a song from his newest album. The track analyzes Pastors who quote the Puritans and the reaction of African-American Christians who hear them quoted. Propaganda says, “You know they were chaplains on slave ships.” The song is actually very powerful and while it is important to hear this critique of the Puritans, the song is actually more about our own blindness both to our sin and the ways that God uses “crooked sticks to make straight paths.” Owen Strachan, however, wrote a response to the song in which he argued it was too hard on the Puritans. Others responded saying Owen didn’t get the song, Owen doesn’t do justice to the Puritans failures, and that Owen writes from within a cultural bubble. The whole discussion is wroth reading for a number of reasons: 1) It reminds us that even those “Precious Puritans” were deeply flawed people, 2) It’s not always easy to see our cultural blind spots, and 3) Racism is still an extremely important issue for the church to address. Check out all the links.

2. “How Biblical is Biblical Counseling” by David Murray

As someone who both loves and gets frustrated with the Biblical counseling movement I found this article a breath of fresh air. Murray talks as a family member to the movement and argues that a few things need adjusted, namely he says we need to be more honest about the Word/World dichotomy. Biblical counseling doesn’t ignore the benefits of extrabiblical help, and he says we need to make that clear.

3. “Gender Roles – A Complimentarian and Egalitarian Spectrum” by Adrian Warnock

A helpful chart for distinguishing the views varying views and degrees of views on the subject of gender roles. I think I fall more in the moderate to soft complimentarian camp.

4. “A Battle I Face” by Julian Hardyman

This is a wonderful interview of Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St. Ebbes Church in Oxford and author of a number of great books (including God’s Big Picture). The interview centers around Roberts personal confession of his struggle with same-sex attraction. It is a great example of how to struggle with temptation and yet be obedient and faithful to God. It’s also a great living example of the distinction between one’s sexual attraction and one’s acceptance of homosexuality. Worth your time, friends.

5. “A Dying Pastor’s Letter to His Town” by Erik Raymond

Raymond gives full copy to a letter a pastor from another town had published in the local newspaper. It’s a moving picture of what love for Christ and love for community look like at the end of a life.

6. “Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy, and Puritan Slavery” by Nathan Finn

In lieu of the aforementioned discussion, church historian Nathan Finn offers some reflections here on the connection between orthodox theology and proper living. It’s a good note for all of us who love our historic Christian forefathers, and it’s a good note for us who live inconsistently today.