Antidepressants work fast?
Oct 26, 2009 • By David Murray • 0 Comments“Antidepressants get to work immediately to lift mood, contrary to current belief, UK researchers say.”
Read the whole of this fascinating article on the BBC website.How to turn ministry into idolatry
Oct 24, 2009 • By David Murray • 0 CommentsTim Keller on turning the ministry into idolatry.
“I was using people in order to forge my own self-appreciation. I was looking to my sacrificial ministry to give me the sense of “righteousness before God” that should only come from Jesus Christ. People make idols out of money, power, accomplishment, or moral excellence. They look to these things to “save them” — to give them the sense of purity, value, and acceptability that only Jesus can give. In my case, I was using ministry (and my own people) in this way.” Read the whole article here.Journalism and Counseling
Oct 23, 2009 • By David Murray • 0 CommentsWhat does “the sufficiency of Scripture” mean for Christian counseling? Marvin Olasky’s answer on the sufficiency of Scripture in Christian journalism has much to teach us.
God has a particular point of view on things. You can see his view as you read the Bible. Some issues are clearer than others. The God’s-Eye point of view is the only objective point of view out there, because only God has the knowledge that allows him to know what the world is made of and what we’re made of, etc. The only objectivity is biblical objectivity.
Our goal as Christian reporters is to try to pick that up as best we can. Again, we are fallen; we are sinners; we are certainly limited in our understanding. But we do have clarity on a variety of issues.
The metaphor that I developed (which we still use at World) is white water rafting. In white water rafting, there are six classes of rapids. Class 1: very easy gently down the stream. Class 6: waterfalls.
Similarly, when we look at certain issues, some are Class 1 issues, where the Bible is very clear. Example? You shall not murder.
On a Class 6 issue, the Bible is very unclear. Example? What should we do about a particular treaty or a certain foreign policy issue?
On Class 1 issues, the biblical teaching is explicit. On Class 2 issues, the Bible is implicit. An example of implicit teaching would be the value of Christian education.
When you understand the different types of issues, you can be very direct in your reporting. Everyone is directed by some philosophy or some worldview. When you are directed by a biblical worldview on those issues spoken to explicitly in the Scriptures, you can report clearly. On Class 5 and 6 issues, the lack of biblical clarity means you should move more towards balancing the different viewpoints.
In between those extremes, there are places where the Bible gives you direction. Take, for example, our duty to fight poverty. The Bible lays out some very clear guidelines. The particular way we fight poverty may not always be that clear, but I think you can always arrive at some conclusions from the Bible. I would label that as a Class 3 issue. The way you fight poverty may not be immediately apparent. Discernment is key.
Read the whole article here.
Why are women getting gloomier and men are getting happier?
Oct 23, 2009 • By David Murray • 0 CommentsAl Mohler’s answer: “Instead of producing a vast expansion of happiness among women, the feminist movement must now answer for the fact that women, by their own evaluation, appear to be less happy than before the revolution.”
Read Al Mohler’s full answer here.Glorifying God and email
Oct 23, 2009 • By David Murray • 0 CommentsMarvin Olasky on his goals:
“My chief goal in life is to glorify God and to join him forever (as the Westminster Confession suggests). My immediate goal is to end the day with no more than 20 e-mails unanswered. That’s a challenge, because they keep raining.” Read the whole article here.
