Culture: Conformity and Contextualization

Brian Collins Pastors often warn their congregations about conformity to the culture. Missionaries are typically instructed to adapt to their new cultures. On the surface, the advice appears contradictory. The tension becomes greater because as American culture becomes more pluralistic, that is, as subcultures multiply, many are suggesting that churches must adapt to these subcultures…

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The Point of No Return

Tom Nieman Recently I have encountered a number of individuals who, after lamenting current conditions in our state and country (and the world), will suddenly swing to a default position with the claim that things are similar to the way things have always been. I do, however, encounter those who know of and even seem…

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Is Profanity Ever Appropriate?

Don Johnson The recent furor over Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty is a matter of much discussion on the inter web lately. I think everything that needs to be said has already been said somewhere by someone, so I feel no need to add much to that discussion. However, the incident raised the issue of…

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Our Christian Movie Rating System

Cynthia Blake Simmons Scripture instructs us that our time is valuable and given to us for a purpose. The minutes and hours entrusted to us upon this earth require faithful stewardship as do our talents and financial resources. If we are guiding our lives with an eternal view, then we will not be haphazard in…

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What Can We Do?

Keith Hamblen As believers feel increasingly marginalized in our secular culture, it’s tempting to simply withdraw. Political involvement doesn’t seem to be working, so why even try? God established the three institutions of family (Gen. 2:21–24), state (Gen. 9:6), and church (Matt. 16:17, 18). Most Christians seem to actively and even aggressively participate in two…

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Catching up on the news

The Eclectic Web A lot of interesting stories hit the web every day. The list below are a few that address issues that might be of interest to fundamentalist Baptists and also may have slipped ‘below your radar’. The topics we cover in this of The EW are: Television and Culture History Persecution Gender Issues…

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Confusing Cultural Times Call for Spiritual Clarity

The Eclectic Web It is no surprise that confusion reigns across our culture – a cacophony of voices declare all sorts of practices good what the Bible and believing Christians have always declared bad. Such times call for absolute spiritual clarity from Christian leaders. Instead of clarity, we often get more confusion. Sex in a…

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Culture is the Battleground

Don Johnson Is it just me, or are the issues we most argue about today in the separation debates largely focused on cultural questions? Whether the argument is over music, motion pictures, dress, the use of alcohol, or any other issue you care to name, the argumentation is largely a matter of “culture” and the…

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