Flotsam and jetsam (1/12)

• Thomas Kid discusses How Evangelicals Lost Their Way on Alcohol.

The temperance movement reacted to a real social and medical problem. We should not dismiss it as a product of Victorian prudishness. But then a focus on reducing alcohol abuse morphed into the conviction that it was a sin for any person to take a drink, period. This was a simpler approach, but it is not biblical.

• Dan Haseltine asks if Christian art needs to be more offensive. (HT)

Can a well-placed expletive positively stir the soul? If something is deemed inappropriate for children, should it not be sold through “Christian” distribution channels? Can Christian art impact us positively through things that offend us? Is the act of “offending” a counter-Gospel act?

• C. Michael Patton calls on people to stop saying that “the Holy Spirit changed my lesson at the last minute.“

My basic thesis is this: The assumptions required for such homiletic detours are irresponsible both to yourself and to your audience, and they misunderstand the way in which God works in the life of the church.

• Robert Miller sparked a lively discussion with his argument that human dignity should not be the ground of Christian ethics (see also here and here). I found the discussion particularly interesting for Miller’s argument that main competing ethical systems (utilitarian, deontological, virtue) are incommensurable and that theologians cannot pick-and-choose aspects of each without lapsing into incoherence.

• Michael Hyatt offers Six e-Book Trends to Watch in 2011.

• Thanks to Jonathan for pointing out that Queensland Theological College has a nice collection of lectures and sermons from people like Bruce Winter, Ben Witherington, and Mark Dever.

• And, here’s a list of 10 Book to Kick of the New Year.

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Acton roundup

Here are all of the posts from my recent trip to the Acton conference:

• In the beginning there was work. And it was good?
• Thoughts on human dignity
• Shouldn’t a Christian anthropology be noticeably Christian?
• The inadequacy of a “Christian” anthropology (Acton 1)
• What makes a view of government/law Christian (Acton 2)
• Questions for a “Christian” view of economics (Acton 3)
• Thoughts from Acton
• Free market economics through the lens of sin, power, and human flourishing (Acton 4)
• Creation theology and human flourishing (Acton 5)
• Sustainable stewardship (Acton 6)
• Concluding reflections (Acton 7)