New Early Fragment of Romans « Daniel B. Wallace: "At the Society of Biblical Literature’s annual conference in Chicago last week (17–20 Nov 2012), Grant Edwards and Nick Zola presented papers on a new papyrus fragment from Romans. They have dated it to the (early) third century, which makes this perhaps only the fifth manuscript of Romans prior to the fourth (though a couple of others are usually thought to also be from the third century). This manuscript is part of the Green Collection (inventory #425). It will be published in the first volume of a new series by the Dutch academic publishing house, E. J. Brill. The series, edited by Dirk Obbink and Jerry Pattengale, is called the Green Scholars Initiative: Papyrus Series. Volume one is edited by Jeff Fish of Baylor University."

Potential 10-year terms for ‘bias’ challenged by pastors: "A controversial law long pushed by homosexual activists but decried by one key congressman as an ‘unprecedented move to regulate and criminalize thoughts’ may be headed for the Supreme Court.

The federal ‘Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009,’ signed into law by President Obama, enhances penalties for ‘hate crimes’ deemed to be motivated by ‘actual or perceived sexual orientation’ of a victim.

The American Freedom Law Center announced today it has asked the high court to review a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that Michigan pastors who preached the biblical condemnation of homosexual behavior were not protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of speech."

WORLD | Dead Sea surprises | Andrée Seu Peterson | Oct. 29, 2012: "It is hard to imagine it was the 1950s and not the 1850s, but the fellows who first worked on piecing together the jigsaw of thousands of paper fragments found by Bedouins in caves in Qumran were smoking cigarettes as they bent over their tables—there are photos. Also, Scotch tape and postage stamp glue were the not-so-high-tech supplies at hand for pulling Isaiah and other biblical books together."

A public law school faces trial over liberal bias - Houston Chronicle: "Praised by colleagues as smart, friendly and passionate about the law, Teresa Wagner was a leading candidate when two jobs came open to teach writing at the University of Iowa law school. An alumnus, she was already working part-time at its writing center and received positive reviews from students and a key committee.

But after she interviewed with the faculty in 2007, one job went to someone without teaching experience and the other wasn't filled. She was passed over for other jobs in the coming years. She now says she was blackballed because of her legal work against abortion rights and will take her complaint to a jury this week in a case that is being closely watched in higher education because of longstanding allegations of political bias at left-leaning law schools."

Study: One-Third Of Adults Under 30 Have No Religious Affiliation « CBS DC: "One-fifth of American adults have no religious affiliation, and this number is increasing rapidly.

The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a fast pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.

In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15 percent to just under 20 percent of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6 percent of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14 percent).

This large and growing group of Americans is less religious than the public at large on many conventional measures, including frequency of attendance at religious services and the degree of importance they attach to religion in their lives.

But the survey may be affected by a differing view of the words ‘religion’ and ‘spiritual.’"

WORLD | Curious creation | Marvin Olasky | Oct. 6, 2012: " In Nature's Compass: The Mystery of Animal Navigation (Princeton, 2012), James L. and Carol Gould describe the marvels of creation and don't try to fit them into particular theories. Astounding: the ability of monarch butterflies to steer, honeybees to use the sun as a compass, turtles to use magnetic information, and much more. Gould notes that 50 years ago 'animals were thought of as simpleminded robots,' but now more scientists recognize their genius.

The Goulds give advice to future writers: 'We need to tell the fascinating story of navigation and migration … communicating the awe and wonder that fuels the research of most serious biologists.' It's great that Gould, a 67-year-old Princeton biology professor, is still in awe of animals' 'ability to judge time and distance, use vectors and beacons, create cognitive maps, take compass bearings from cues indecipherable to us, or draw on an inborn map sense to position themselves on the planet.'"

First non-Catholic business sues HHS over contraceptive mandate | Washington Free Beacon: "An arts and crafts business with more than 500 stores across the country launched a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) implementation of Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate Wednesday, the Becket Fund announced.

Hobby Lobby is the first non-Catholic business to file a lawsuit objecting to the mandated coverage of certain contraceptive drugs that it considers abortion inducing.

Hobby Lobby ‘should never be put in a position of choosing their faith over their business,’ Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund, said this morning in a conference call with the press.

‘We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate,’ said David Green, CEO and founder of Hobby Lobby.

Hobby Lobby will have to comply with the mandate or face fines totaling over a million dollars."

Buchanan: A Godless party expels the Creator - Conservative News: "The authors of the Democratic platform have inadvertently revealed to the world the sea change that has taken place in that party we once knew.

For the first time — and in the longest Democratic platform in history, 26,000 words — there was not a single mention of God, the Creator, whom Thomas Jefferson himself, father of the party, proclaimed to be the author of our right to life and liberty.

The convention had approved the new platform, but when a firestorm erupted, a panicked Barack Obama hastily ordered ‘God’ reinstated.

But when the amendment was offered to the convention by its chairman, Antonio Villaraigosa, the idea of restoring the name of God to the platform was hooted, jeered and booed by half the delegates on the floor, who three times howled, ‘No!’"

U. of Texas backs professor in battle with gay blogger | Fox News: "The University of Texas-Austin is backing a sociology professor who came under withering attack for a study that found children of same-sex parents are more likely to be depressed or on welfare than kids raised by heterosexual couples.

The school launched an inquiry into Professor Mark Regnerus' peer-reviewed work last month after a New York-based blogger attacked him for a controversial paper which compared the adult lives of people raised by parents in same-sex relationships to those raised by parents in traditional marriages. The study found several differences, including some that were potentially negative. But an inquiry by the school found Regnerus used sufficiently scholarly methods, university officials announced this week.

'Since it's a sensitive subject that offers quite different conclusions from previous studies, it's not surprising that it has drawn critics.' - Mark Regnerus, author of controversial study

'The University of Texas at Austin has determined that no formal investigation is warranted into the allegations of scientific misconduct lodged against associate professor Mark Regnerus regarding his July article in the journal Social Science Research,' the school said in a statement. 'As with much university research, Regnerus’ New Family Structures Study touches on a controversial and highly personal issue that is currently being debated by society at large.

'The university expects the scholarly community will continue to evaluate and report on the findings of the Regnerus article and supports such discussion,’ the statement concluded.

The study asked thousands of adult children of straight, lesbian and homosexual parents dozens of questions and compared the results. While many questions did not produce statistically-significant differences, the study found major differences in a few categories. Adult children of gay couples were two to four times as likely to be on public assistance, more than twice as likely to be unemployed and more than twice as likely to have contemplated suicide.

After it was published, blogger Scott Rose accused Regnerus of scientific misconduct in two letters to the school, first charging Regnerus with deviating from ‘ethical standards’ for research and later accusing him of ‘possible falsification’ of research. Rose, who is gay, claimed the study was compromised because it was funded by the conservative Witherspoon Institute and that Regnerus was unable to be impartial because he is Catholic.

The inquiry was conducted by a four-member advisory panel composed of senior university faculty members, who seized Regnerus’ computers and 42,000 emails.  Once it was complete, the school had Alan Price, a former associate director of the Office of Research Integrity in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, review the inquiry, which he found was ‘consistent with federal regulatory requirements of inquiries into research misconduct.’

Even though the school ultimately backed Regnerus’ methodology, the entire process was troubling, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

‘It seems to us that UT Austin should take a closer look at its rules to make sure that the provision for sequestration does not become an open invitation to hassle and discourage researchers working within politically charged topics,’ the Philadelphia-based group, which takes no position on same-sex parenting, said.

After the school’s announcement, Rose wrote on his blog, The New Civil Rights Movement,’ that he plans to pursue his claims against Regnerus with the American Sociological Association.

‘The legitimate scientific community is united in concerns about the Regnerus study’s lack of intellectual integrity, and the fact that prior to publication, the study did not receive ethical and appropriate professional peer review,’ Rose wrote.

Regnerus’ New Family Structures Study sampled 3,000 people ages 18-39, of whom 248 said their mothers or fathers had a same-sex relationship while they were growing up. Regnerus, an associate professor of and a faculty associate at the university’s Population Research Center, said his study is unique because prior probes of same-sex parenting have been based on smaller samples and anecdotal cases that seemed designed to conclude there are no differences between children of the two groups.

'My conclusions were quite different than many other studies that have been done in this area, in part because my study was both larger and more random than all but a few studies that came before it,' Regnerus told FoxNews.com."

Christians victims of rising 'hostility' from gov't and secular groups, report says | Fox News: "A new report by the Family Research Council and the Liberty Institute claims that there's been a rising pattern of hostility toward Christians in America over the past decade. 

The 140-page 'Survey of Religious Hostility in America,' prepared by the Liberty Institute and the Family Research Council, highlighted more than 600 examples illustrating what it characterized as religious animosity shown by judges, government bureaucrats, schools and secular groups. From ObamaCare mandates that force religious entities to pay for contraception, to children being punished for uttering prayers in school, the report's findings shocked even those who commissioned it.

'It's way beyond anything we had imagined. It's so much more prolific than it's ever been before.' - Kelly Shackelford, president of the Liberty Institute

‘It’s a conflict of world views,' Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, told FoxNews.com. 'These groups want people to check their faith at the door of the public square.’

Among the examples listed in the survey:

Matthew Reynolds, valedictorian  for HLV Junior-Senior High School in Victor, Iowa, was told he had to give a 'secular' speech after he wished to attribute his success to his faith in Jesus Christ during his graduation speech.  

A cross was removed from a veterans' memorial in San Diego, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit  held that the memorial was unconstitutional.

Dr. Frank Turek, a Cisco employee, was fired for expressing his views on traditional marriage in his book, even though he never voiced his religious opinions at work.

Samantha Schulz, 8, was barred from singing 'Kum Ba Yah' at a Boys and Girls Club in Port Charlotte, Fla., because the song included the words 'Oh, Lord.'

Catherina Lorena Cenzon-DeCarlo, a nurse at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital, was forced to participate in a late-term abortion against her religious convictions, and was threatened with job termination and loss of license."

WORLDmag.com | Good deeds punished | Warren Cole Smith | Aug 25, 12: "An important component of pro-homosexual propaganda is the notion that children raised by homosexuals turn out as well as children raised by heterosexuals—but University of Texas at Austin (UT) professor Mark Regnerus undercut that notion with a study published in June in the journal Social Science Research. 

Regnerus used one of the largest data sets ever amassed for such a study. He found that children raised by homosexual parents have had more problems than children raised by married heterosexual parents in virtually every one of more than 40 categories examined. When the children grow up, they have problems with impulse control, depression, and thoughts of suicide. They are more likely to need mental health therapy and identify as homosexual themselves. Regnerus concluded, 'The empirical claim that no notable differences exist must go.'"

Cecil May is the Dean of the V.P. Black College of the Bible at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama.  He is not only learned in the Scripture, he is an outstanding writer.  The following article appeared in his monthly Preacher Talk.

Vision is the ability to look beyond the present to what the church can be in years to come.  It involves goal setting, but it also involves dreaming, confident hope, and a realistic plan of action so see the hope realized.  Where should our meeting place be?  What do the age demographics of our congregation say about our future?  Are we reaching the people in  our neighborhood.

A great illustration of this kind of vision is Walt Disney's conception of Disney Land.  Walt died before the park was finished.  Afterwards, when tremendous crowds were jamming the park, one of the Disney executives said, "I am sorry Walt didn't live to see this."  Another insightfully said, "He did see it.  That"s why it's here."

Rarely has anyone said so much with so few words!

When Chick Filet recently stood up for the traditional definition of marriage (as defined by God!), they were accused of being filled with hate.  Someone even painted the slogan "Tastes Like Hate" on one of their buildings.  According to the homosexual lobby, anyone who disagrees with them has but one motive for doing so -- hate.  More often than not, this charge of hate is aimed at Christians.  But that is hardly a new charge.  The Roman historian Tacitus wrote the following description of the aftermath of the great fire in Rome, which some were blaming on Nero:

"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind".

Two things to note: First, the real haters were those who hated the Christians.  Second, the Christians were accused by those haters of being hateful themselves.  2000 years, and not much has changed!

"A sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on."

Boycott about so much more than a chicken sandwich | Fox News: "There’s something about the public flogging of Chick-fil-A by government officials that seems un-American – lawmakers hell-bent on destroying a privately owned American company simply because of the owner’s personal opinions.

Democrats in more than a half dozen major cities have led the charge – slandering Chick-fil-A’s owner and calling for all-out bans on the company’s expansion efforts in places like Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and San Francisco.

And Chick-fil-A’s only crime is being a family-owned company that ascribes to the teachings of the Holy Bible – a belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman."

Does the word SAVED mean the same thing in Romans 9:27 as it does in Romans 11:26?:   With chapter 9 Paul begins new section that continues to the end of chapter 11. His beginning theme, that the gospel is God’s power for man’s salvation, has come to an end. His theme has been that it is only through obedience to the gospel that both Jew and Gentile can be saved. With chapter 9 Paul begins to address questions that arose concerning the Jewish nation. The Jews have played a major role in God’s plan. They had had a close and peculiar relationship with God. How then was it possible for them to reject the Messiah? What is their present state and their future destiny? How, if at all, does this affect Christians? Paul answers these questions with special emphasis upon his preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. The choosing and election involved is not dealing with man’s final salvation, but with the working out of the purpose of God to bestow his salvation upon Jew and Gentile alike, a salvation in Christ that was conceived before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20) and announced to sinful man in the first Messianic prophecy (Gen. 3:15).

In 11:1 Paul begins to address the specific question, “Has God rejected his people” (ESV). He holds himself up as a living example that that is not the case –he is a Jew and he had not been rejected. He quotes Elijah for further proof. Though Elijah thought that he was the only faithful person left, God assured him that there was still a remnant that had not bowed the knew to Baal. He then adds that in the same manner there is “a remnant according to the election of grace."  Suffice it to say here that many Bible readers fail to distinguish between works by which a man merits salvation and commands that one must obey in order to be saved. It is unfortunate that many religionists either cannot or will not see this distinction. Failing to see this distinction they conclude that a person must do nothing, indeed can do nothing, in order to be saved. A man has no real understanding of either works or grace when he thinks that conditions of forgiveness make salvation a matter of works and not of grace.  More...

Mike Huckabee News - News - Mike Huckabee: "I have been incensed at the vitriolic assaults on the Chick fil-A company because the CEO, Dan Cathy, made comments recently in which he affirmed his view that the Biblical view of marriage should be upheld. The Cathy family, led by Chick fil-A founder Truett Cathy, are a wonderful Christian family who are committed to operating the company with Biblical principles and whose story is the true American success story. Starting at age 46 Truett Cathy built Chick fil-A into a $4 billion a year enterprise with over 1600 stores. At 91, he is still active in the company, but his son Dan runs it day to day as CEO.It's a great American story that is being smeared by vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left.

The Chick fil-A company refuses to open on Sundays so that their employees can go to church if they wish. Despite the pressure from malls, airports, and the business world to open on Sundays, they still don't. They treat customers and employees with respect and dignity.

I ask you to join me in speaking out on Wednesday, August 1 'Chick fil-A Appreciation Day.’ No one is being asked to make signs, speeches, or openly demonstrate. The goal is simple: Let's affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick fil-A on Wednesday, August 1. Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we're considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant. This effort is not being launched by the Chick fil-A company and no one from the company or family is involved in proposing or promoting it.

There's no need for anyone to be angry or engage in a verbal battle. Simply affirm appreciation for a company run by Christian principles by showing up on Wednesday, August 1 or by participating online – tweeting your support or sending a message on Facebook."

Is there any Biblical authority to clap hands while singing hymns?: "The clapping of hands while singing in worship is a troublesome issue in the church today. Certainly it is something other than singing itself, but so are standing, sitting, kneeling, and walking, all of which are done during worship in song. What, if anything can be done while singing other than singing itself? Where is the line, if any, to be drawn?

None of the activities mentioned above, including clapping, is a mechanical instrument of music. Some have argued that clapping is a percussion instrument. It is not, but even if it were it is not a mechanical instrument. It is the human being using the body that God created. Moreover, if clapping is a percussion instrument why are the vocal chords not a harp?

Some might argue that clapping is just the individual keeping the beat of the song while the leader keeps the beat with his hand. Just as a song cannot be sung without notes and pitch, it cannot be sung without a beat – it is part of the music. Many keep the beat by tapping their feet. Many years ago there was a brother who held singing school for congregations, and one of the points that he made was that it was a sin to tap the foot while singing. His argument was that dancing was defined as ‘the rhythmic movement of the feet to music’; the tapping of the foot was a ‘rhythmic movement’; therefore, tapping the foot was dancing. That argument seems to meet the definition of ‘silliness gone to seed.’

Some may argue that standing, sitting, or kneeling are all essential activities (one must be in some position while singing). However, walking is not a necessary activity during worship in song. In fact, it is distracting, but most seem to have no trouble with it. People meander in and out of worship in song and ushers roam the aisle. (This is not done during prayer for some reason, though both are to be done in the same manner – with the spirit and understanding. 1 Cor. 14:15. The only reason I can suggest is that people don’t like to walk with their eyes closed. Certainly one is not more sacred than the other. Roaming the aisles during prayer might be less distracting if all others eyes were closed except the meanderer’s.)

If clapping is to be prohibited, what scripture does it violate? If it violates no scripture should it be prohibited? Can it be prohibited?

Assuming that it violates no scripture, i.e., it is not prohibited by command, binding example, or necessary inference, it may still violate scripture. 1 Cor. 6:12; 10:23. Even if it is lawful it may not be expedient because, among other things, it does not edify. It may be unscriptural because it is not done decently and in order. 1 Cor. 14:40. Some of the practices in Corinth were not ‘unscriptural’ per se, but as practiced by the Corinthians they destroyed the decorum of the worship.

But can more be said about clapping during worship in song? In looking beyond expediency and the decorum that should characterize worship, is clapping consistent with the God-given purpose of worship. The word ‘worship’ comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word, ‘weorthscipe,’ which became ‘worthship’ and eventually ‘worship.’ The background of these English words suggests that it means ‘attributing worth’ to God. The Hebrew word for worship means ‘to bow down, to prostrate oneself.’ The most used Greek word for worship means ’to kiss toward,’ from the ancient custom of kissing the earth as a means of honoring deities. Worship should be one of the Christian’s foremost responses to God. When God revealed himself to Moses, Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshipped. Exodus 34:8. Ezekiel responded in a similar way when he had a vision of God, saying that when he saw it he fell face down. Ezekiel 1:28. Isaiah’s description of his reaction to his vision of God is graphic: ‘Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’ Isaiah 6:5. From these events we should learn that worship is not an event, it is a response; it is not just a feeling, it is a declaration.

In addition to looking upward to God, worship also has an earthly purpose – edifying the saints. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he emphasized that all things done in worship should edify. 1 Cor. 14:26. It is certainly clear that singing and praying with the spirit and understanding edifies. In singing we teach and admonish one another. In the study of the Word in preaching and reading we honor God as the One and only God who is worthy of our praise by accepting His Word to us as the guide for our lives. In the Lord’s Supper we are edified (built up) by celebrating the great gift of God’s love and thankfully remembering the shedding of blood and the bearing of our sins for our salvation. In our giving we acknowledge that all that we are and have is a gift from God and that God is worthy to receive our all.

Where does clapping fit into edification? Can it teach? Can it admonish? Is the best that we can do in offering our praise to God to give Him a big round of applause, as some television preachers request of their audiences? ‘Audience’ is used because much modern worship has become more of a show than anything else. Clapping is done when the choir has done a good job, when the soloist has performed admirably, when the orchestra has played dramatically, and the preacher has proclaimed the weekly self-help feel-good message. Sometimes clapping is done while the music is sung or played, much like the old ‘swing and sway with Sammy Kaye.’ It may excite the crowd, it may make the audience at the show ‘feel good,’ but what does it really have to do with the purpose of worship – to declare the worth of God and edify the church? If the answer is ‘nothing,’ and it is, then such practices are a corruption of worship and are not pleasing to God.

God is the object of worship. Nothing should be done in worship that is not God-ward. There is no reasonable argument to support the position that boisterous clapping in worship is song or in other acts of worship are God-ward. If clapping is acceptable in worship in song, why not in the Lord’s Supper? Wouldn’t that be an appropriate time to give God and His Son a big round of applause for the gift of salvation? Do we not have the cross in view when we sing ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ or ‘Kneel at the Cross’? Is clapping any more appropriate there than in the Lord’s Supper. You say those are not the types of songs in which people clap? What Biblical themes are ‘clappers’ and which are not? How do you decide? If you say that some are appropriate and some are inappropriate and you have no objective basis to determine the difference, then is not the decision subjective, i.e., you clap when it makes you feel good, thereby making yourself the object of worship and setting yourself upon the throne of God.

Such attitudes spring from the secularization of worship. Too many congregations have brought the world into the worship. Worship has been made into a show designed to attract the multitudes. No congregation of the Lord’s church can do as good a job at attracting the world as worldly churches unless the church itself becomes worldly. It will need a big productions as denominationalism – fifty piece orchestras, famous singers, $10,000,000.00 Christmas pageants just for starters. Then it will have to water down what it preaches and preachers will have to become cheerleaders exciting people, whipping up enthusiasm, and giving them a psychological boost. And don’t forget Christian rock – the latest in ‘Christian’ music. (By the way, ‘Christian rock’ is an oxymoron if ever there was one!) You say you haven’t gone that far by just a little clapping. Yes you have. You have already accepted the principle that you can do in worship that which pleases you, you are just more cheaply pleased than some of the big denominations. Once you accept the principle, there is no logical stopping place except your own dislikes. The concept of pleasing God in worship has already gone out the window."

UPDATE: Chick-fil-A Responds to Criticism Over Gay Marriage Opposition | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes: "‘The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena. ‘Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family. ‘Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."