“You shall not commit adultery.” For a single Christian, marriage is often sold like 21st-century snake oil: “Having trouble with lust? Feel assaulted by a hyper-sexualized world? Do you sometimes struggle to find purpose? Do you ever feel distance between…
I recently published an article of Ref21 where I challenged Dr. Owen Strachan’s views on EFS/ERAS and especially his use of 1 Corinthians 15:28 in defense of his position. I knew that writing such an article would evoke various responses…
Galatians. Commentaries for Christian Formation. N. T. Wright. Eerdmans, 2021. 439 pp. Hardcover. $39.99 Many Ref. 21 readers will recognize N. T. Wright as one of the biggest (and one of the most controversial) names in Pauline studies. He has…
Of nature’s elaborate courtship displays, none is more elegant than that of the western grebe, a swanlike bird with ruby eyes. Each spring the grebes congregate on the lakes of Oregon to find a lifelong mate. Two by two, the…
Tourists travel from all over the world to experience the expansive deserts, remote wildernesses, peoples, foods, and sites of north Africa and the Middle East. Many of these (occasionally naïve) travelers have been drawn to the region by the adventures…
Note: This article is part of a series on terminology related to homosexuality. The term “sex-positive” describes an open and approving attitude toward various sexual identities and behaviors. It is meant as a contrast with the traditional view that sex…
“You shall not murder.” Death. It happens every day, everywhere across the world, and yet there is something about death that sets it apart from other common events in the world. We approach it with a mixture of contradictory feelings,…
How I wish seminaries described themselves in press releases (let the reader understand): Our approach to pastoral preparation is time-tested, rich, and rigorous. The university has been the handmaiden of the church for over a thousand years. The model of…
Note: This article is part of a series on terminology related to homosexuality. “Sex reassignment” refers to a surgery (or series of surgeries) to alter a person’s visible sex characteristics to conform to his or her gender identity. More colloquially,…
When I was a boy, my parents gave my siblings and me a big, round trampoline. That gift brought us and countless hours of fun, laughter, and exercise. So, when our children were old enough, Jordan and I decided to…
