Postmodernism

1517 Was Cool And All, But What Does It Have To Do With Me?

/ DebbieLynne Kespert / 1 Comment

Ancient ScriptureLeslie A left a comment on yesterday’s blog post stating that her articles on the Protestant Reformation were also pretty much ignored by her readers. Okay, so I have assurance that my writing skills weren’t the reason my Reformation articles went over like a lead balloon.  There’s a modicum of comfort in Leslie’s comment, weird though that may  be.

I love my blogger friends!

As I thought about her comment (or more accurately, the apathy toward history that seems to characterize most people in our century), I couldn’t help wondering if the self-absorbed nature of our post-modern culture has something to do with it. Sure, we’re concerned about the myriad of problems in today’s church.  After all, that’s the church we Continue reading →

And We’re Surprised Because…?

/ DebbieLynne Kespert / 3 Comments

Holy BibleLast week Amazon pulled books about “conversion therapy” (therapy helping people overcome homosexuality) from its website. Last week Facebook warned one of its users that posting a meme quoting 1 Timothy 2:12 was hate speech. Last week apologist James White cautioned his readers that our ability to speak out for Christ on mainstream social media platforms is quickly coming to an end.

Admittedly, such persecution is minor compared to things Christians in other countries endure for the sake of Christ. I’ve served as a contact person for missionaries in both our previous church and our current church — a position that allows me to read about people who receive physical torture for turning from Islam to Jesus Christ. A missionary from our former church regularly writes to me chronicling the intense suffering and resolute faith of a woman she led to Christ. Believe me, nothing American Christians presently face is anything like what that lady goes through on a daily basis.

At least not Continue reading →

Pride, Arrogance And The Seduction Of Western Culture

/ DebbieLynne Kespert / 3 Comments

Untitled-1

Approaching the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Americans unabashedly celebrate Gay Pride Month. Boston has Rainbow flags everywhere; somehow I doubt its display is very different from most major cities. The way that Western culture champions the LBGTQ movement now makes it hard to believe that homosexuality was illegal just 50 years ago.

Although I don’t believe homosexuality should still incur criminal penalties, I do grieve that even professing Christians now embrace it. Bowing to public pressure, even evangelicals have begun compromising their convictions that the Word of God condemns all forms of sexual deviation. After all, merely saying that Continue reading →

It Doesn’t Matter Whether Or Not They Accept God’s Word

/ DebbieLynne Kespert / Leave a comment

Untitled-1This past weekend, John and I listened to the debate between Jeff Durbin and Andy Stanley on the necessity of embracing the Old Testament. In reality, the true question revolved around the authority of Scripture. Stanley believes that we cannot effectively evangelize millennials by appealing to the Bible as the standard for truth. Rather, he grounds our authority in Christ’s resurrection, believing that Scripture derives its authority from that singular event.

Honestly, some of his attempts at logic made John want to scream and made me want to bang my head against the refrigerator.

But l don’t want to spend this blog post analyzing the debate. I don’t even want to write about the various Continue reading →

Dying To Self Actually Means Dying To Self

/ DebbieLynne Kespert / 2 Comments

Untitled-1We Evangelicals often get caught up in the narcissism that characterizes this age. Personally, I believe the absorption of psychology into the visible church has a lot to do with this epidemic. But whatever causes this selfishness,  too many of us succumb to it. Including yours truly.

I remember avoiding weddings early in my battle with singleness (I didn’t marry John until I was almost 49). For a couple years in my mid-twenties, I’d explain to my girlfriends that attending their weddings would just be too crushing for me.

Usually my girlfriends accepted my decision without complaint. Finally, however, one had the guts to confront me with my selfishness. She wept with me over my romantic disappointment, but now she very much wanted me to rejoice with her. The man who had broken my heart would also be there, she admitted, but having me there meant a lot to her.

I went. I saw the man who had broken my heart, but then I actually enjoyed myself! More importantly, I Continue reading →