Beautiful Orthodoxy p. 34
Amazing cover art by @iamfujimura on the latest @CTmagazine. Thankful for this vision of beautiful orthodoxy!
@chrismschutte
Mark Galli’s wonderful cover story for Christianity Today, “Beautiful Orthodoxy,” offers a definition of orthodoxy that, when lived out, is remarkably similar to the experience of law and gospel—always falling back into God’s mercy.
C. J. Green Mockingbird magazine
Inspired by @CTmagazine piece “Beautiful Orthodoxy.” Indeed, it’s what the world and the church need today.
@TomLinNow
This was one of the more well-written articles I have read in CT to date. I too am wrestling with law versus grace issues, and Galli did a good job of explaining the friction that exists in our lives.
We generally “lean” one way or the other, and I have to admit I generally lean in a law direction. Having said that, I found it interesting that in his example of the woman caught in adultery, he chose to end his example with Jesus’ words “then neither do I condemn you,” showing the wonderful grace of Jesus. But there were additional words that Jesus said that Galli chose not to include: “Go and leave your life of sin.”
That seems to be the issue for us Christians. Do we finish with “I do not condemn” or with “leave your life of sin”?
Charles Wetesnik San Antonio, TX
Editor’s Note:
Good catch. Actually, in the book-length version, this phrase is given its proper due!
—Mark Galli
Awareness Is Good. Attention Is Better. p. 31
I don’t see Matthew Loftus get as much praise as he should. His columns are consistently engaging and insightful, elaborating on a too-often neglected combination of topics: spirituality and the social determinants of health. As a sociologist of religion and health, I applaud him.
Blake V. Kent Waco, TX
No Clear Choice p. 52
Buying several subscriptions to @ CTmagazine out of gratefulness and appreciation for that publication’s brave election coverage.
@whatkathyrnsaid
There are paragraphs in this piece by Sho Baraka that make my heart sing.
@JohnPiper
If I say that one of the candidates is a fascist, I expose myself to the charge of being a hyperbolic partisan. If, on the other hand, I document that that candidate’s core narrative refers to the nation as besieged by disastrous crisis that only a strong leader can rectify (“Make America Great Again”; “I alone can fix it”), then I am being empirically accurate. If I also document that candidate’s authoritarian rhetoric of racism, xenophobia, misogyny, scapegoating, conspiratorial thinking, celebration of violence/torture, and demagogic appeal to base emotions, then I am again being empirically accurate. I am also providing a concise, empirically accurate definition of fascism. So there is a “clear choice”: for or against fascism.
I respect the legal constraints on endorsements raised by your not-for-profit status. I also recognize that the moral challenge facing you, as it faces all voices of Christian opinion, is much greater.
Rev. Dr. Gordon G. Scoville Broadus, MT
Trump is the only choice for thinking Christians. How could I support a candidate like Hillary, who is pro-abortion, and represents so many values opposite to my faith?
Dean Haas Jr.
It has not escaped my notice that the evangelical leaders who support Trump are known mostly through popular media. They rely on marketing. They have brands. They are brands. Trump himself is a brand and has made most of his money in recent decades from simply selling his name and appearing on TV. Call me old-school, but I am not a fan of branded, consumer Christianity.
Pat Hunt Staunton, VA
Thank you, CT, for being balanced. I will not be voting Trump, but I appreciate that you are sharing ideas from both sides of the aisle.
Danny Palmquist
I can’t speak to the moral adequacy or, let’s be frank, the moral inadequacy of this election cycle’s candidates. But thank you, Christianity Today, for showing all three sides to this and having a well-written article for each.
Mitch Tate
You Are the Manure of the Earth p. 72
I got such a kick out of your article “You Are the Manure of the Earth,” which reflects on Jesus’ words that we are “the salt of the earth.” I am an engineer at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and my work involves the use of underground salt formations to store things such as oil, natural gas, and radioactive waste. My work has concentrated primarily on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and on research into using salt for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste. It is fair to say I am one of the world’s most knowledgeable people on the mechanical behavior of salt.
Thank you for using your science background for insight into understanding Scripture. A ridiculous myth has developed in recent years that science and faith are mutually exclusive; I believe this sentiment is absolutely false, and I think there are hundreds of years of history to prove that. Therefore, I try to use scientific analogies and subjects whenever I can when I talk about my faith with someone, in an effort to tear down that wall. I encourage you to do the same whenever possible. Thank you again for an educational and entertaining article!
Steve Sobolik Albuquerque, NM
