What Macklemore Got Wrong and Right
Denny Burk comments on the abomination that happened at the Grammy Awards:

So here’s the question for everyone watching the Grammys and wondering what God really thinks about all of this spectacle. Are you going to believe in the God of the Bible and His way of salvation? Or are you going to trust yourself to the god of “same love.” The god of “same love” says no repentance and no savior is required. That god approves you just the way you are. The God of the Bible says you need repentance and salvation. That God will save you just the way you are. And He will take you to Himself and remake you into the image of His own dear son (Rom. 8:29). But you must repent, and you must believe.

In the wake of the Grammys, the big question is not what you thought of Macklemore. The big question is which God you will believe in. The false god of “same love,” or the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ? Which one will you choose?

10 Facts About Infidelity
A few rather predictable “facts” – infidelity gene, evolutionary biology, blah de blah. But a few real shockers too:

  • Approximately 93.1% of women and 91.8% of men marry by age 49.
  • 20 to 40% of heterosexual American married men and 20 to 25% of heterosexual American married women will also have an extramarital affair during their lifetime.
  • One thing is clear: infidelity is a worldwide phenomenon that occurs with remarkable regularity, despite near universal disapproval of this behavior.
  • Mate poaching is a pronounced trend. 60% of men and 53% of women admitted to “mate poaching,” trying to woo an individual away from a committed relationship to begin a relationship with them instead.
  • Among individuals engaging in infidelity in one study, 56% of men and 34% of women rated their marriage as “happy” or “very happy.”

A few facts we won’t hear or read about of course – like it’s a sin. Like the destruction of families. Like STD’s. Not exactly TED talk material that, is it?

Religious Difference, Not Ideology, Will Fuel This Century’s Battles
Who said that? Sounds like Osama’s replacement, doesn’t it. Wrong. It’s Tony Blair, ex Prime Minister of Great Britain. And he even names Islam, well, a perversion of Islam, as the main culprit. Though, of course, he rushes to add “there are also many examples the world over where Muslims are the victims of religiously motivated violence from those of other religious faiths.”

But this is still a rare moment of honesty and (relatively) plain speaking from an influential world leader. If the atheists were wrong in the past about “Religion is the cause of all wars,” looks like they’ll be right for the next while.

Mr Blair continues to believe that more education, democracy, and tolerance will win the day. In God’s good providence, these means may serve to restrain some of the evil some of the time. But there’s only one effective way to end the wars of false religion, and it’s the true religion of Jesus Christ, spread with with the spiritual weapons of prayer, preaching, witnessing, and love.

Eastern Europe’s Christian Reawakening
Definition of “Christian” here is too broad for me, but still, there’s some encouraging news in this article.

While many academics speak of Europe as a uniform secularized continent, two decades after the collapse of Communism it is more accurate, if still too simple, to speak of two Europes: a West that has largely abandoned its religious roots, and an East that is rediscovering its heritage.

Let’s hope and pray that they continue beyond medieval roots and get all the way back to the pure roots of New Testament Christianity.