Wading in Skubala

I so wish I had written this. The subject matter is controversial and the author addresses that very point in a powerful, no-holds-barred commentary on Paul’s words in Philippians. Go to Jeff’s blog and learn something really worth knowing.

You need to be warned that this post contains a bad word. But it does so only because the Bible itself contains a bad word. I never knew that. You don't know it either, because you've been protected from knowing it.
It appears in Philippians 3:8 (which I've recently been working on for my 3rd semester Greek class at seminary). Here it is in the original Greek:

ἀλλὰ μενοῦνγε καὶ ἡγοῦμαι πάντα ζημίαν εἶναι διὰ τὸ ὑπερέχον τῆς γνώσεως Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ κυρίου μου, διὃν τὰ πάντα ἐζημιώθην, καὶ ἡγοῦμαι σκύβαλα, ἵνα Χριστὸν κερδήσω...

The word you want to keep your eye on is "σκύβαλα"--pronounced "skubala." Here's a literal translation of the verse.

Jeff Wofford: Wading in Skubala

Children to be baptised as their parents are married -Times Online

Well, of course! Didn’t Paul say in Athens:

“The times of ignorance God continues to overlook, and now he encourages all people everywhere to think about getting married, maybe getting baptised, having their kids done while their there, and perhaps calling into church a little more often. Who knows, maybe you’ll get to like it and think eventually about repenting. But, hey, no pressure.” (Acts 17:30-31)

The Church of England unveils a two-in-one wedding and baptism liturgy today as it seeks to make peace with families “living in sin”.

The “hatch-and-match” service allows couples to baptise their children after the wedding ceremony. Parents can even get baptised themselves.

The aim is to encourage cohabiting parents to marry as the Church tries to become more relevant to the way people live their lives, but critics said that it appeared to sanction having children out of wedlock.

Children to be baptised as their parents are married -Times Online

The Scrawny Pulpit: Daring Thomas

Did it occur to you that:

Thomas was not so much a doubter, as a “darer.”

This is profound lesson from the Story of “doubting” Thomas told with great brevity and a lesson to share with Mormons for whom the account of first hand witnesses is not enough.

The Scrawny Pulpit: Daring Thomas

Children need Mothers and Fathers - Christian Legal Centre

Something needs to be said about the self serving nature of the homosexual agenda. Meanwhile this is an eye witness statement from Dr Dean Byrd, professor of Clinical Medicine of the University of Utah in the case of Andrew McClintock and published by the Christian Legal Centre. Here is the doctor’s conclusion:

Conclusion:

36. Traditional marriage has supported societies for millennia. Historical and current research clearly demonstrate that both adults and children benefit from this family structure. Differences emerge when comparisons are made between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. Same-sex relationships are less permanent and less monogamous. Homosexual practices place its participants at risk for mental illness and physical disease. Emerging research suggests potential risks for children raised by lesbian parents including gender non-conformity. The rejection of gender roles thus appears to be unhealthy.

Children need Mothers and Fathers - Christian Legal Centre