Christians are often thought of as defending only their own religious interests in the public square. They are viewed as worrying exclusively about the erosion of their freedom to assemble and to follow their convictions, while not seeming as concerned about publicly defending the rights of Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and atheists to do the same.
Andrew T. Walker, an emerging Southern Baptist public theologian, argues for a robust Christian ethic of religious liberty that helps the church defend religious freedom for everyone in a pluralistic society. Whether explicitly religious or not, says Walker, every person is striving to make sense of his or her life. The Christian foundations of religious freedom provide a framework for how Christians can navigate deep religious difference in a secular age. As we practice religious liberty for our neighbors, we can find civility and commonality amid disagreement, further the church's engagement in the public square, and become the strongest defenders of religious liberty for all. Foreword by noted Princeton scholar Robert P. George.
What is transgender and gender fluidity? What does God's Word actually say about these issues? How can the gospel be good news for someone experiencing gender dysphoria? How should churches respond?
This warm, faithful and careful book helps Christians understand what the Bible says about gender identity. It will help us to engage lovingly, thoughtfully and faithfully with one of the most explosive cultural discussions of our day.
If you want to learn more and love better, and are open to considering what God has to say about sex and gender, this hope-filled book is for you.
Includes a section looking at practical questions including:
- Can someone be transgender and Christian?
- Should I mind if people who are biologically the other sex are in my restroom?
- What should church leaders do if a congregation member asks for their child to be identified as the opposite gender?
- Is it true that Christian teaching is harmful and can lead to depression and higher suicide rates?
- What about people who are born intersex?
The problem isn't sex. God designed sex; and sex is good. Sex is a powerful union that brings men and women together. But when sex is distorted by sin, the misuse of our sexuality can alienate us from one another, causing immense harm and pain. Enter pornography, the most prevalent distortion of sexual sin in America. Pornography is not only a problem in terms of personal morality, but a social epidemic that is making the possibility of sexually-fulfilled marriages harder to achieve. It is rewiring our brains to think about sexuality in destructive ways. We have a very serious problem, and it's not isolated to any one segment of culture. So, what now? Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issue with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
We live in a society of broken homes. Having parents in the home doesn't mean that parenting is actually happening. Parenting is a God-given task that ensures young children are protected and nurtured into maturity in the fear and admonition of the Lord. But America and the church faces a crisis of parenting: detached or absentee fathers, single mothers, and grandparents raising the next generation. What's more, how should parents actually parent? And what does the gospel have to say to the epidemic of family breakdown, and the difficult task of raising children well? So, what now? Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issue with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
You are not what you do. So often, in America, we define who we are by what we do. We introduce ourselves by our job titles. We ask, What do you do? to be polite in small talk. We define others by their occupation. But there are good reasons to connect what you do with your time, whether that is 9-to-5 work, or managing a household full of children. God created us to work, not as judgment, but in cooperation with a mandate given to humanity long before the fall. Your work isn't who you are, but it is central to why you are here. When we get that confused, our work can be the most frustrating aspect of our lives. So, what now? Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issue with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
If marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church, our homes should look like the gospel. While the culture has never been more confused about the definition of what marriage is, those who are married have never been more hopeless about how marriage should be lived. The times have never been more crucial for digging deeper, past the definition of marriage to the structure of marriage, the blessings of marriage, and the opportunity for living out the image of the gospel that's embodied within marriage.So, what now? Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
Every Christian isn't called to adopt, but everyone is called to care for orphans. The evangelical adoption movement is but one strand in a long cord of Christian care for orphans. While adoption trends have fluctuated over time in different contexts, the Bible has not changed its position. The gospel is decidedly pro-adoption and on the side of the orphan. Yet many obstacles stand in the way of the Christian's mission to provide care to the least of these. So, what now? Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
The pro-life moment didn't begin in the 1960s, but in the Garden. Abortion has been a divisive issue in American culture since the sexual revolution. Yet the Bible is an unapologetic defender of human dignity. Moreover, Christians have always cared for the unborn, the orphan, and the least among us. The time is now for this generation to reaffirm what believers have always believed: everybody is created in the image of God. So, what now? Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
In the kingdom of God, it is not us against them.
The problem of racism stretches back as far humanity's origin in the book of Genesis. Brother pitted against brother, tribe against tribe--people have warred against one another, fueled by contempt for racial differences. Yet the gospel is a message of reconciliation.
The kingdom of God is us reconciled to one another.
Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Lifeseries gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
One nation, under God.
Religious liberty isn't a principle for Americans alone, though it certainly has played an important role in the history of the United States. Religious liberty is a matter of authority and allegiance for people of every land. To whom one owes ultimate allegiance is a matter of the conscience, and one that should be protected in every nation.
But what if religious liberty gives way, and church's are faced with the difficult decision between allegiance to their country and allegiance to their conscience?
Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Lifeseries gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
Christian's should be known by what they are for, not simply what they are against.
The Bible is unambiguously clear about marriage's definition and purpose. So, Christians are for marriage. The Bible's witness on marriage doesn't allow for same-sex marriage, not because the Bible gives attention to same-sex marriage, but because the biblical narrative on marriage doesn't conceive of same-sex marriage as within the realm of possibility. Yet, many Christians live among neighbors and under law-makers who disagree.
So, what now?
Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
