ConnECtion2020EC’s 80th ConnECtion over 40 Summers By Ralph Blair (PDF version available here) “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them. He saw they were anxious and as helpless as lost sheep without a shepherd.” (Matt 9:36) Jesus saw what Hebrew Prophets and the Psalmist saw and grieved over, so many centuries earlier: “All, like…
by Dr. Ralph Blair “A Response to the Editor of Christianity Today” by Dennis Prager, Frontpage, December 27, 2019; “Evangelical Elites are Out of Touch” by Carl R. Trueman, First Things, December 20, 2019. by Dr. Ralph Blair (PDF version available here) Prager is an Orthodox Jew, a serious scholar, historian, syndicated columnist and a…
PDF version available here. After decades of secular media’s contemptuous disregard of evangelicals, it celebrates Christianity Today’s exiting editor-in-chief, Mark Galli, with multiple rounds of thrilled approval and full-throttled praise. Galli’s antigay stands are overlooked to adore his grumpy scolding of those the Left despises: President Trump and his everyday evangelical supporters. It was all…
“A Question about Evangelical Churches that are ‘Welcoming and Affirming’ ” by Roger E. Olson, Evangelical Patheos, November 7, 2019; “14 Years After Becoming Transgender, Teacher Says, ‘It Was A Mistake’ ” by Walt Heyer, The Federalist, February 5, 2019. By Dr. Ralph Blair (PDF version available here) A Baylor seminary professor raises “a question”…
PDF version available here. EC’s 2020 weekend retreats are announced. Over Presidents Day Weekend, February 15-17 (Saturday afternoon through Monday lunch) we’ll be at the Kirkridge Farmhouse for our 33rd Winter Bible Study Weekend. On the weekend of June 5-7 (Friday evening through Sunday lunch) we’ll be on top of the mountain, at Kirkridge’s Lodge…
(PDF version available here) EC’s 2019 Columbus Day Weekend at Ocean Grove will honor the Bicen-tennials of Philip Schaff, Julia Ward Howe, and Susan Bogert Warner. Each was born in 1819. EC’s theme for the weekend is: “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, His Truth Is March-ing On” – through biblical history, church history, and all time and…
On Sexuality and Personal Identity, Resolution 5, The Southern Baptist Convention, Birmingham, Alabama, 2019. By Dr. Ralph Blair (PDF version available here) “The Friendly Atheist” blog notes that, the Southern Baptist annual meeting took place “on the heels of multiple stories about how sexual abuse thrived in Southern Baptist churches” – even among pastors. What’s…
by Dr. Ralph Blair BEWARE of BOASTING and BLAMING! is Dr. Ralph Blair’s Keynote at the 79th EC Summer ConnECtion, May 31 – June 2, 2019 at The Kirkridge Retreat Center atop the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania (PDF version available here.) Three weeks ago, 150 years ago, a single word was telegraphed all across America. …
“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or, even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation.” President Trump tweeted this…
“Porn is Slowly Killing Evangelicalism” by Grayson Gilbert, Evangelical Patheos: June 12, 2018. “Of Rats, Voles and Online Porn” by Declan Gernon, Areo, February 12, 2019. “Does Empathy Have A Dark Side?” by Jonathan Lambert, NPR, April 12, 2019. Full-page ads in the Christian Right’s World magazine carry stats on “pornography and the church”, alleging…