What They're Saying 06.14.11

Christianity Today asks, "Should Christians smoke medical marijuana?"

Most, or all, of the responses were basically "Sure," with different concerns being brought up. The first viewpoint is concerned with things like public image and causing others to stumble; the second was concerned about proving medical marijuana is actually the best treatment before consuming it; the third takes more of a "Yes, but handle with care" approach. It's actually a big deal that Evangelical Christianity's leading magazine just advocated Christian use of marijuana for medical purposes. I'll try to follow this up with a post of my own. -SEAN​

Mere Orthodoxy gives away two free chapters from "Earthen Vessels," a book about the theology of the human body

"I am in a perpetual state of crisis about what belongs on my reading list. In a world where the most precious resource we have is our attention and the competitors for it are endless, curating a careful list of books is an invaluable skill. And it’s one I’m slowly gaining. To help you make that decision, my publisher has kindly made two chapters of Earthen Vessels available for free. Download them, read them, and then pass them along to a friend."

Derek Leman asks, "Is Messianic Judaism about promoting faith in the Jewish community?"

"A comment I received privately from a Messianic gentile (self-described) suggested that what is really important is a place where Yeshua can be understood in Jewish context. It mattered little whether the aim was to promote Yeshua-faith in the Jewish community. What do you think? Should Messianic Judaism stick to its origins as a movement promoting Yeshua to Jewish people? Or is Jewish-roots for non-Jewish disciples of Yeshua an adequate basis for a movement called Messianic Judaism?"

IX Marks gives us "12 Reasons to Give Up Porn"

​IX Marks lays out 12 reasons to give up porn (from Tim Chester's book, Closing the Window), including "It wastes your time, energy, and money," "It's a sin against your wife," "It weakens your relationship with God," and "It wrecks women's view of themselves." -SEAN

The True Woman blog tackles submission in marriage in the post, "I'm a Better Leader"

"At one particularly difficult time during our marriage, my husband threw up his hands in exasperation and said, 'I tell you what we’re going to do! From now on you do what you want to do, and I’ll do what I want to do. I’m not going to keep going back and forth with you about who’s going to lead this family!' I must admit that to part of me that actually sounded like a plan... but even at the height of my anger, I knew that it was not what God intended for us. So, I said to him, 'Regardless of whether I’m having a hard time with submission or not, you don’t have the option of abdicating your responsibility to lead this family!'"