Al Mohler on UTube

Has anyone seen this? This is a video from UTube that depicts Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, playing “hangman,” “go fish,” and “tic-tac-toe” witho someone named Rhett McLaughlin. It’s quite funny, and I can’t quite determine which parts are fake and which are not. Either way, it’s hilarious if not a bit odd.

When a Picture is Worth 1000 Words

With the beginning of a new semester and the addition of a second baby boy, I have neglected this blog, and to both of my readers (Hi Dad!) I apologize.

I am not the artsy type, and so I don’t know if this picture will resonate with anyone else. I took it at the birth of our first son, Haddon, when he was two weeks old, and get emotional every time I see it. I won’t tell you the story or the true-to-life symbolism behind the picture, and I hope that the picture is big enough for you to see. The title of the photo is “Cancer” and was taken on the spur of the moment when my father came to visit his first grandson – just three months after he was made a widower when my dear mother lost her battle with colon cancer.

The Joy of Family

Since becoming a father 19 months ago, the Lord has been pleased to bring innumerable joys to me through the life of our first son Haddon Walter Joslin. Now he has granted to us another gift in the form of Carson Douglas Joslin, born August 5, 2006. He was two weeks early, yet tipped the scales at 8 pounds 3 ounces. Jessica was truly exemplary and is excited to come home and mother these two boys. May we daily point them to the One who is both Lord and Christ.

This post is not so much an announcement as it is a public declaration of my own thankfulness to the only Triune God who is Father, Son, and Spirit. To Him be glory forever.

The Myth of the Apolitical Evangelical

Southern Seminary’s Dean of the School of Theology Dr. Russell Moore has posted a great first-person article responding to the recent NY Times article that featured Greg Boyd (of open theism fame). The Times article featured Boyd (as well as McLaren) who openly complained that evangelicals should not align itself with any political party. This is very true. However, as Moore states, that does not mean that evangelicals should not bring a biblical perspective to bear on political issues. There are issues that we should indeed speak out on, while not giving a free ride to any political party. Here is an excerpt:

If Pastor Boyd wants his church not to be seen as “Republican,” many of us can agree with him. If he wants his church to be silent on theological issues, such as abortion and religious liberty, that the ambient culture deems “political,” then he is now just what he fears about the flag-waving megachurch pastor down the street: a dupe for the powers-that-be.

While the Dem’s claim to support the poor better than the GOP, the GOP has resisted higher taxes to go to pay for many of the wasteful governmental programs that are supposedly for the poor. While the Dem’s border on socialism (Hillarycare, for example), the GOP has (traditionally) stood for capitalism. While the Dem’s claim to care about the earth and its preservation, the GOP traditionally has stood firm on the matter of caring about and preserving the unborn.

As such, what is a Chritian to do? What is our governmental responsibility to the poor? Should we support a party that protects the unborn better than the other, yet at the risk of supposedly not caring for the poor and homeless? These are pressing issues to be carefully thought through given the mid-term elections coming up in November.