Unpop Culture

Over the past few weeks, Tim Keller has received pushback for making some controversial political statements. One particularly troubling example came from a Twitter thread , in which Keller said the following: Here are two Biblical MORAL norms: 1) It is a sin to worship idols or any God other than the true God & 2) do not murder. If you ask evangelicals if we should be forbidden by law to worship any other God than the God of the Bible—they’d say ‘no.’   We allow that terrible sin to be legal. But if you ask them if Americans should be forbidden by law to abort a baby, they'd say ‘yes.’ Now why make the first sin legal and NEVER talk about it and the second sin illegal and a main moral/political talking point? The most astute criticism I’ve seen of this false equivalence is an op-ed by Andrew T. Walker for WORLD Magazine . Walker rightly calls Keller out for failing to adequately distinguish between sins and crimes, thus confusing the Christian position on abortion. Wa...

In one of his first acts as President of the Divided States of America, Biden has purposed to not only eliminate the Hyde Amendment, but to replace it with what he is calling the Rawhide Amendment. During a press conference awkwardly scheduled on the National Sanctity of Human Life Day, Biden said, “Why call it Rawhide? Well, why not? I mean, it even rhymes with Hyde. It’s perfect!” He continued: “We have a language problem, and it needs to stop. So many d**n people keep injecting the abortion debate with a vulgar vernacular. As such, I am introducing a legislative provision to make it a legal requirement to use only scientific terms.” First, Biden proposes that pre-born humans be referred to as fetuses—not babies. “A fetus is not yet a baby,” he said. “Science must be the determining factor here—not our emotions or personal preferences. Let’s stick to the facts, people! Our nation’s rich history illustrates how humans aren’t fully human until the United States government says th...

When it comes to movies featuring the Avengers, I’m definitely in the minority. My emotional response has wavered only between mild disinterest to outright boredom—especially when it comes to anything related to Thor and/or The Hulk. Similarly, Captain America: The First Avenger left me completely underwhelmed. I loved the character of Cap himself—how could I not?—but found his origin story uninteresting. That all changed when I saw Captain America: Winter Soldier . With tense action sequences, a healthy dose of espionage, a palpable sense of danger, a deliciously entertaining supervillain, and deft handling of moral/political themes, Winter Soldier rocked my socks off. My wife and I wanted to watch the film again even before it had finished. The announcement of Civil War thrilled me with the possibility of watching another Cap-centric Avengers film. At the same time, I knew the bar had been set quite high. Could Cap (the superhero) entertain Cap (the moviegoer) as muc...

I don’t normally get political because that’s not what this blog is about. But because we’ll be celebrating our nation’s independence this week, I wanted to honor the occasion by looking at two common misconceptions about the U.S. government. Here they are: There is a constitutional separation of church and state Faith-based concepts should be kept out of the public realm Let’s see if I can address these highly controversial topics in the least controversial way possible. 1. There is a constitutional separation of church and state The U.S. Constitution does not guarantee a “separation of church and state”—at least, not in the sense the phrase is understood today. In fact, that particular phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution. So where did the wording come from? We find it in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association . This group of Baptists was concerned about a potential restriction on their freedom to pursue religion as they saw...

I can take even the smallest incident and use it to prove my own superiority. When Shannon and I got sick a few weeks ago, I was tempted by the thought that I was a better person because I got over my sickness more quickly than she did. Chivalrous, right? My heart wanted to turn a normal life event into a competition—all so that my self-esteem could get a little pick-me-up. Maybe you don’t use innocuous circumstances for one-upmanship, but how do you act when faced with a hotly debated topic like abortion? Let’s say you’re of the conviction that unborn children are distinct entities that have been endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights , including the right to life. Such a stance is, I believe, true to science, logic, and biblical teaching. Nevertheless, it is a stance based on knowledge that must be used rightly. Truth was never designed to be a weapon of mass destruction, but that’s how we often treat it. It’s too easy to turn a healthy exchange of ideas i...

Here’s my first try at a political ad. Thanks to Laura Luster for the original idea! For the uninitiated: Jeff Hodgson is the pastor who oversees FX (our church’s singles ministry). And he really is a former military pilot. Ryan Mefford (the other guy in the video) assists Jeff in leading the ministry. (If the above video doesn’t work, try this link .)