Month: May 2018

What is California Assembly Bill 2943 (AB 2943)?

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Update 8/18/18: The Bill has changed and been amended several times. Some of the analysis below may no longer apply. For the latest version of the bill, click here. Update 08/31/18: AB 2943 has been withdrawn. By now, if you live in California, you have probably heard about AB 2943, a bill that is meant to declare conversion and reparative therapy to be fraudulent business practices. According to its author, Evan Low, this is what it does and does not do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imbJxrlNZio& According to him, this bill: Prohibits the practice of conversion therapy in exchange for money Allows affected customers to recover damages Protects the LGBT community According to him, it does not: Ban the sale of Bibles Ban free speech Prevent anyone from speaking or [Read more...]

What Does the Bible Say About Singleness and Celibacy?

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During the Protestant Reformation, the great thinkers of that era like Luther and Calvin harshly criticized the mandated celibacy that was imposed on priests in the Catholic church while extolling the goods of marriage. Perhaps an unintentional consequence of this critique is that within the Protestant tradition, singleness and celibacy have often been denigrated or viewed as being lesser than marriage. In my own experience of growing up in the church, I can recall dozens of sermons being preached on marriage but never once do I remember hearing a sermon on what it means to be single, how to serve the Lord in your singleness, or to have celibacy elevated as a legitimate calling or vocation in life. No doubt this is in part due to Paul's advice in 1 Corinthians 7:2, which says, "But [Read more...]

California 2018 Primary Election Guide

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It's that time again! The California Primary Elections are being held on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Primaries as very important as they determine who we get to vote for in the general election in November. California has what's called an "Open Primary," meaning that Republicans and Democrats don't have separate ballots (except in Presidential primaries). In our system, the two candidates who get the most votes go on to the general election where they will face off against each other. The general election is what actually determines who will occupy the office. These are going to be my choices for the state-wide elections and offices: Propositions Prop 68: NO! Essentially this bill is borrowing $4 billion to spend it on "parks, natural resources protection, climate adaptation, water [Read more...]

Did Jesus Experience Temptation Like We Do?

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Did Jesus struggle with the same day to day temptation that we, as Christians, face on a daily basis? If so, in what ways was his experience similar or different? Exploring such a question can be difficult to navigate. As Christians who affirm the Chalcedonian creed (A.D. 451), we believe that Jesus is both truly God and truly man, bound together in the hypostatic union of his person. Scripture also affirms the paradoxical claim that Jesus was "both impeccable and temptable."[1] These truths create a number of tensions. On one hand, Jesus is truly God, and thus could not be tempted (James 1:13). On the other hand, Jesus is truly human and so could (and did) suffer temptation (Matthew 4:1-11). How could Jesus, as the God-man, both be immune to temptation but yet have clear evidence that [Read more...]