Aug. 20, 2019: Women church leaders debate, Snopes vs. Babylon Bee, New Age and Marianne Williamson
Daily Radio Script - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Women as Church leaders: egalitarians, complementarians, Beth Moore, misogyny
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The Christian Post took a closer look at the debate over women as church leaders.
In part 1, CP interviewed female complementarians who spoke about the scriptural abuses and misogyny among fellow complementarians.
Aimee Byrd, a theologian and author with the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, said, "There is so much dispute over even what the word 'authority' means in 1 Timothy 2 because it is the only place in Scripture where that Greek word is used, and how it was used at the time ... So we need to ask the question: What is it that you are authorized for and what is that specific task? My pastor is authorized by God to preach the Word, to shepherd His people, to guard even. But he's not authorized to tell me what to wear today. He's not authorized to tell me what to listen to. He doesn't even have a blanket authority over his own parishioners' lives. It's a specific authority."
Journalist Julie Roys added, "When I see all this stuff happening with Beth Moore I can't help but ask the question: To what level is this misogyny and to what level is this doctrine and theology?"
In part 2, CP spoke with an egalitarian, Ben Witherington III, a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
"There is no evidence of a present-continual tense verb 'to permit' ever meaning 'I would never permit.' It doesn't ever mean that. It means 'right now I am not permitting this,'" Witherington said in reference to Paul's writings about women in leadership.
— Snopes defends fact-checking Babylon Bee, cites research on Christian satire site
Snopes has fired back at claims that fact-checking stories on Babylon Bee are unnecessary, posting an article from an academic research site which claims that many believe the popular Christian satire site’s posts.
According to the study, “stories published by The Bee were among the most shared factually inaccurate content in almost every survey we conducted.”
But Kyle Mann, editor-in-chief of the Babylon Bee, and others argue the study is flawed.
"That survey @snopes shared is horrible. Did they seriously paraphrase Bee stories and ask people if they thought they were true? That's an awful way to figure out what percentage of people will believe satire," tweeted Mann.
— Former New Age writer on what Democrat presidential candidate Marianne Williamson thinks about Christ
A Christian apologist who once believed in New Age spirituality criticized Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson's teachings about Jesus Christ.
In a 2016 interview with BeliefNet, Williamson said Jesus was a human who "completely self-actualized and fulfilled in all ways the potential glory that lies within us all."
"Jesus actualized the Christ mind, and was then given the power to help the rest of us reach that place within ourselves. He was sent down by God — as we all are," she added.
Steven Bancarz, who promoted New Age beliefs before becoming a Christian, concluded: "Jesus alone is God in the flesh. Jesus alone is Christ. And as Christians, I don't believe we should be voting for people who are competing with Him for that title."
— Two former pastors caught in scandals eyeing return to ministry.
Former Harvest Bible Chapel pastor James MacDonald, the longtime pastor of the Chicago-area megachurch who was ousted earlier this year after derogatory comments he made were played on the air of a local radio program, and following months of controversy over alleged financial malfeasance and an abusive church culture, posted a message Thursday in a Facebook group for supporters.
"Our broadcast partners are our family now and we will be back soon w[ith] fresh messages from God’s Word. All free — all digital — all the time, as promised," he wrote.
Similarly, Tullian Tchividjian, Billy Graham’s grandson, launched his unaffiliated The Sanctuary church in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Tchividjian was stripped of his preaching credentials in 2015 due to extramarital relationships with former congregants. He told the Palm Beach Post those relationships were all “consensual” and not an abuse of power.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/james-macdonald-hints-at-return-to-ministry-to-followers.html
To read more stories from a Christian perspective, visit christianpost.com.
