Mentoring

Pastor Matt is picking the best books of the year…

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Here’s one from a recent blog post that I just bought for my good friend Dina, and she is really liking it.

Excerpt:

Dr. Qureshi’s book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity (Zondervan 2014) is a compelling and necessary read for every committed Christian.  Nabeel, a medical doctor with masters degrees in religion and apologetics, has penned an apologetic, spiritual autobiography that is as much an intellectual challenge as an emotional roller coaster, which is a rare feat.

Querishi was raised in a loving, muslim family with a father that served faithfully in the U.S. Navy.  His family sacrificed to send him to fine universities and challenged him to think critically.  He befriended a committed Christian who had a series of graceful evangelistic discussions over many years.  His friend eventually introduced him to scholars Mike Licona and Gary Habermas who helped plant intellectual seeds that would eventually sprout into a faith that is shaking pillars around the world.

Look at this endorsement:

My story, however, is nothing compared to the one presented in “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.” Dr. Qureshi’s life is so well told that I found myself sneaking pages at every opportunity whether it be standing in line at the grocery store or waiting on that mysterious person who inexplicably spends ten minutes pounding buttons at the ATM (are they trying to take out a second mortgage on their house?).  I have even bought copies to give away to friends, which is something I have only done with Grek Koukl’s Tactics, Lee Strobel’s Case for a Creator and Det. J. Warner Wallace’s Cold-Case Christianity.

Dr. Qureshi, who now works for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, has written the book that is easily the best of the year so far. It is also a fine example of the power of combining story (a potent tool with postmoderns) with strong arguments.  I highly recommend it.  Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy ASAP.

By the way, the woman I am currently mentoring in apologetics loves Nabeel’s book and she even went to see him lecture. I was able to find her a DVD of Nabeel lecturing at Georgia Tech – you can get it here. I was also able to find the same lecture at Georgia Tech, apparently, on YouTube.

I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews of Nabeel’s book from people who have read it. It’s especially good for people who like biographies.

News

IRS pays $50,000 for leaking names of pro-marriage donors to gay activist group

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From the Daily Signal.

Excerpt:

Two years after activists for same-sex marriage obtained the confidential tax return and donor list of a national group opposed to redefining marriage, the Internal Revenue Service has admitted wrongdoing and agreed to settle the resulting lawsuit.

The Daily Signal has learned that, under a consent judgment today, the IRS agreed to pay $50,000 in damages to the National Organization for Marriage as a result of the unlawful release of the confidential information to a gay rights group, the Human Rights Campaign, that is NOM’s chief political rival.

“Congress made the disclosure of confidential tax return information a serious matter for a reason,” NOM Chairman John D. Eastman told The Daily Signal. “We’re delighted that the IRS has now been held accountable for the illegal disclosure of our list of major donors from our tax return.”

The have the background to this story as well:

In February 2012, the Human Rights Campaign posted on its web site NOM’s 2008 tax return and the names and contact information of the marriage group’s major donors, including soon-to-be Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. That information then was published by the Huffington Post and other liberal-leaning news sites.

HRC’s president at the time, Joe Solmonese, was tapped that same month as a national co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.

[…]HRC is among organizations and activists advocating same-sex marriage that routinely describe NOM as a “hate group” or “anti-gay” for making the case for preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

The Human Rights Campaign is a group that had previously condemned the Family Research Council as a hate group. This is the same Family Research Council that was later attacked by a convicted domestic terrorist / gay activist. After the attack, the HRC continued to denounce the FRC as a hate group. This is the group that Obama hires out of.

Shouldn’t there be criminal charges for whoever leaked the donor names to the gay activists? There should be, but…:

Unauthorized disclosure of confidential tax information is a felony offense that can result in five years in prison, but the Department of Justice did not bring criminal charges.

The Department of Justice did not press charges because they are on the same team as the leakers.

Polemics

Kevin DeYoung: five questions for Christians who support same-sex marriage

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The five questions are in this TGC post.

The list:

  1. On what basis do you still insist that marriage must be monogamous?
  2. Will you maintain the same biblical sexual ethic in the church now that you think the church should solemnize gay marriages?
  3. Are you prepared to say moms and dads are interchangeable?
  4. What will you say about anal intercourse?
  5. How have all Christians at all times and in all places interpreted the Bible so wrongly for so long?

I want to focus on questions 3 and 4, because they show that the same-sex marriage side is not “nice”. They are not taking their position in order to promote goodness.

Take a look:

3. Are you prepared to say moms and dads are interchangeable?

It is a safe assumption that those in favor of gay marriage are likely to support gay and lesbian couples adopting children or giving birth to children through artificial insemination. What is sanctioned, therefore, is a family unit where children grow up de facto without one birth parent. This means not simply that some children, through the unfortunate circumstances of life, may grow up without a mom and dad, but that the church will positively bless and encourage the family type that will deprive children of either a mother or a father. So are mothers indispensable? Is another dad the same as a mom? No matter how many decent, capable homosexual couples we may know, are we confident that as a general rule there is nothing significant to be gained by growing up with a mother and a father?

4. What will you say about anal intercourse?

The answer is probably “nothing.” But if you feel strongly about the dangers of tobacco or fuss over the negative affects of carbs, cholesterol, gmo’s, sugar, gluten, trans fats, and hydrogenated soybean oil may have on your health, how can you not speak out about the serious risks associated with male-male intercourse. How is it loving to celebrate what we know to be a singularly unhealthy lifestyle? According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the risk of anal cancer increases 4000 percent among those who engage in anal intercourse. Anal sex increases the risk of a long list of health problems, including “rectal prolapse, perforation that can go septic, chlamydia, cyrptosporidosis, giardiasis, genital herpes, genital warts, isosporiasis, microsporidiosis, gonorrhea, viral hepatitis B and C, and syphilis” (quoted in Reilly, 55). And this is to say nothing of the higher rates of HIV and other health concerns with disproportionate affects on the homosexual community.

Read the whole thing.