Extracurricular Activities — May 3, 2014

A Fascinating Conversation between Albert Mohler and Stanley Hauerwas

[Mohler begins by asking]: Professor Hauerwas, you have been in an ongoing conversation partner with me, perhaps without even knowing it. I read everything you write and always find a great deal in it that makes me to think. Sometimes, quite frankly, that aggravates me; other times that pleases me. You are one of the most unusual writers and thinkers that I engage with quite regularly. You’re newest book is entitled Approaching the End: Eschatological Reflections on Church, Politics and Life. How in the world did you get there?

David Lamb Explains the Western Wall and His Recent Experience at It

The wall dates back to the time of Jesus; it is the only part of Herod’s Temple that has survived 2,000 years. It’s not the wall for the Temple building itself but for the outer enclosure of the Temple courtyard on the western side. For Jews, it is the most sacred spot outside of the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock currently resides.

Some Christians think that since Israel has been reestablished as a nation, the Temple needs to be rebuilt so that Jesus can come back.

There are at least two problems with that idea.

Kevin O'Brien Explains Why Catholics See the Bible Differently than Protestants

In Catholic circles, the joke goes that if you want to quote from the Bible, find a good Protestant to help you. There is some truth to that. Catholics generally don’t know their Bible as well as Protestants, especially evangelicals, whose worship and private devotion are centered on Scripture. Catholics rely on the Bible, of course, but they also turn to rituals to enact the full meaning of Scripture.  Why do Catholics engage the Bible differently than Protestants?

Roger Olson Asks, "Is Christianity Irrational?"

My claim is not that every Christian belief can be proven by evidence or logic. My claim is that none contradict evidence and logic and that evidence and logic can actually be used to demonstrate to open-minded inquirers why and how Christianity, as a world view, is overall more consistent with evidence and logic than any other world view. I do not claim that apologetics can prove the truth of Christianity or bring someone to salvation apart from an inner witness of the Holy Spirit. But the inner working of the Holy Spirit that produces faith is not necessary because of any defect in evidence or logic but because of the defect in us under the rule of sin—that causes us to turn a blind eye to evidence and logic in matters spiritual. 

Mark McManus Reveals 5 Steps Churches Can Take to Cut the Divorce Rate in Their City

More than half of America’s marriages are failing — 1.2 million ended in divorce in 2011, 56% of the nation’s 2.12 million marriages that year. In Metro Washington where I live, there were 15,800 divorces compared to only 24,600 marriages, for a divorce rate of nearly two-thirds.

But, it doesn’t have to be this way. I believe any city’s divorce rate could be slashed. How? Two-thirds of Americans are members of a house of worship, any of which could take five steps to save marriages and prevent divorce:

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Extra-Curricular Activities is a weekly roundup of stories on biblical interpretation, theology, and issues where faith and culture meet. We found each story interesting, thought-provoking, challenging, or useful in some way – but we don't necessarily agree with or endorse every point in every story.

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