Greetings!
I’ve got six more timely topics to share with you. Thank you for perusing this week!
- Mohler on former Atlanta Fire Chief’s $1.2 million settlement
I wish more people respected and sought wisdom from Albert Mohler. I believe the daily thoughts he shares on The Briefing are becoming more important than ever in this increasingly secular and sinful society.
Consider how he evaluated the news of Kelvin Cochran, former Atlanta fire chief, receiving a $1.2 million settlement from the City of Atlanta after he was wrongfully fired in 2015. Mohler takes an article written in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Cochran settlement and points out how this story has huge Christian worldview implications.
In his Thursday, Oct. 18 edition of The Briefing, Mohler said, “The (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) writer Zachary Hansen reports, ‘The City of Atlanta has agreed to a 1.2-million-dollar settlement with an ex-Atlanta Fire Chief over his firing, after he wrote a book that compared homosexuality to bestiality.’”
Mohler shares more of the details of Cochran getting fired, pointing out the former and the current mayors of Atlanta commitment to the LGBTQ revolution. And then he gives a direct conclusion:
“…the bottom line is that the Fire Chief of Atlanta was fired for holding to a biblical understanding of human sexuality. And further more for daring to teach it, even in a local class in his church. And then even daring to speak those biblical truths outside the context and the confines of that local church.”
Mohler also breaks down how misunderstood the Atlanta newspaper was about Cochran’s book.
“Kelvin Cochran made very clear that all sin dishonors God,” Mohler said. “That sin, by its essence, dishonors God, and using the category of dishonoring God, he talked about the sex acts condemned in Scripture that also dishonor God. And if you were just trying to come up with a list–as by the way, we do find in Scripture–if you’re just trying to come up with a list of all the behaviors, the sexual behaviors that the Bible does not allow, even condemns, even describes as unclean and describes as dishonoring God. Well, at least in that list would be what you find in this statement of Kelvin Cochran’s book. You will notice that there is no comparison here. That’s an absolute distortion of his argument.”
This is why I respect and appreciate Mohler’s presentations. He is objective, respectful and yet direct in presenting his view. Plus, he is hard to debate.
- Mohler on USA Today’s use of the word ‘sin’
Another excellent analogy by Mohler was in today’s Briefing edition. He breaks down USA Today’s one-year report of the MeToo Movement, but he hones in on the national newspaper’s use of the word ‘sin.’
“The editors of USA Today don’t just talk about mistreatment or even illegality,” Mohler said, “they don’t just talk about assault or harassment. They say that Americans in their DNA know sin when they see it. Sin, that short three-letter word, where does it come from? Well, it comes from the Bible. It’s so central to the Christian worldview. We can’t describe what it means to be human without sin. We can’t talk about the human predicament, the most basic human problem without getting very quickly to that short three-letter word. The Bible gets us there so quickly, it shows up in Genesis chapter 3.”
Thank you Dr. Mohler for sharing excellent insight from a Christian worldview on current issues.
- Thunder thoughts
I’m taking a risk. Usually when I write about the Oklahoma City Thunder, they seem to lose, even go on a crazy losing streak. Currently I’m writing before the Thunder’s game at the L.A. Clippers. At this point, it is uncertain if Russell Westbrook will play. It’s projected he will be listed as “out” for this game. I’m predicting he will make his season debut at home against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, Oct. 21.
The Thunder played the Golden State Warriors a lot closer than many projected. They even got within a possession in the final minutes. I like what I saw, but the most frustrating thing is missing 14 free throws and losing by eight points. Ugh!
Other than that, I like what I see out of the current Thunder squad.
- Other NBA thoughts
I think there will be a lot of surprises with how NBA experts are projecting. One definite should be the Warriors winning another title (yawn).
However, I don’t expect the Houston Rockets to be a great as many are saying. The Rockets looked horrible in their season opener against New Orleans. I expect many more horrible outings with this team.
New Orleans, on the hand, looked impressive. Anthony Davis and his teammates could make a lot more noise this season. Utah should also be tough, as well as Denver.
Other than Houston, teams in the NBA West I expect to not live up to their high projections include the Lakers, Minnesota, Portland. The rest of the West, we will see – Dallas and Phoenix have some interesting additions on their rosters that could make them interesting.
- Michael Foust movie review
Michael Foust continues to dish out great movie reviews every week for WordSlingers. His latest is on Goosebumps 2. Michael consistently offers a Christian Worldview on how to view new released films, and his concluding list of discussion questions definitely are great to use when discussing with family and friends.
Michael’s synopsis of approaching the Halloween season is great too:
“Christians remain divided over the tamer aspects of Halloween – corn candy and cowboy costumes – but we always should shun its darker elements. And, while we’re at it, we might want to consider handing tracts or sparking a discussion with families who come to our door. Halloween is definitely pagan, but it provides a few unique opportunities not found in other holidays.”
- ‘Christian Pixar’
Michael also writes for Baptist Press, and he provided an interesting news report on Christian filmmakers Andy and Jon Erwin. The Erwin brothers are planning to announce they have a new production company.
The movies the Erwins, and partner Kevin Downes, plan to make are described as “Christian Pixar or Christian Marvel” type movies.
If you are familiar with recent movie “I Can Only Imagine,” this is what the Erwin brothers have been doing. My favorite of theirs continues to be “Woodlawn.”
I hope they continue to make quality movies with definite Christian-influenced messages.