As the Supreme Court hears arguments on abortion law, bad rulings should get tossed out for good. So should the “surviveability” standard.
This week, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments about the state of Mississippi’s abortion law. Yet both sides know what’s really at stake: At question is not only whether the Constitution guarantees a right to abortion but also whether the state’s interest in protecting fetal life is determined by the child’s ability to live outside the womb.
This is the moment not just for the Court but for all of us to see that viability is no way to judge the worth of a human life.
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Court kept the core of Roe v. Wade. However, to determine the state’s interest in protecting fetal life, the Court replaced the arbitrary measure of trimesters with a “viability” standard—a scientifically determined idea of whether a child could survive outside the womb.
This idea has led to decades of political and legal debate, but it’s also a cultural issue. Is it right to determine rights and personhood based on such a standard? And how does that affect the way we view human life inside and outside the womb?
In defense of the pro-life position, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat summarizes a key pro-choice assumption enshrined in our law for almost 50 years: that “personhood is often associated with some property that’s acquired well after conception: cognition, reason, self-awareness, the capacity to survive outside the womb.” But this logic cannot be sustained with consistency.
“If full personhood is somehow rooted in reasoning capacity or self-consciousness, then all manner of adult human beings lack it or lose it at some point or another in their lives,” says Douthat. “If the capacity for ...
But those who waited longer to resume in-person worship, such as in mainline and African American traditions, still see severe declines in the offering plate.
Heading into Giving Tuesday and the year-end giving season, most churches don’t seem to be underwater financially, but many are treading water.
Around half of US Protestant pastors say the current economy isn’t really having an impact on their congregation, according to a Lifeway Research study. The 49 percent who say the economy is having no impact on their church marks the highest percentage since Lifeway Research began surveying pastors on this issue in 2009.
Almost 2 in 5 pastors (37%) say the economy is negatively impacting their congregation, while 12 percent say the economy is having a positive impact. Both positive and negative numbers are down from September 2020, when 48 percent said the economy was hurting their congregation and 15 percent said it was helping. The last time fewer pastors than this year said the economy is playing a positive role for their church was May 2012.
The two years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2018 and 2019, mark the only two times in the survey’s more than 12-year history that more pastors said the economy was having a positive impact than a negative one.
“Most churches are taking a deep breath financially following the uncertainty of the height of the pandemic,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “While the official recession ended quickly in April 2020, economic growth has been uneven, and few churches are feeling actual positive impacts from the economy at this point.”
在制作CT的播客《马尔斯山教会的兴衰》（The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill）时，我经常想到这一点。这是一个关于西雅图那间大型教会的故事，该教会在21世纪初崭露头角，在15个地方吸引了15000人，但是在创始人马克·德雷斯科(Mark Driscoll)于2014年辞职后关了门。在许多方面，马尔斯山教会是一个异类。在许多重要方面，它不是。
在製作CT的播客《馬爾斯山教會的興衰》（The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill）時，我經常想到這一點。這是一個關於西雅圖那間大型教會的故事，該教會在21世紀初嶄露頭角，在15個地方吸引了15000人，但是在創始人馬克·德雷斯科(Mark Driscoll)於2014年辭職后關了門。在許多方面，馬爾斯山教會是一個異類。在許多重要方面，它不是。
Daily devotional readings from Christianity Today.
“I bring you good news ...” (Luke 2:10). With these words, the angel began a stunning gospel proclamation: The Savior, the promised Messiah, the Lord, had been born! When we think of the gospel—of the Good News—we rightly think of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We think of our sin, of Jesus’ sacrifice, of the salvation and eternal life Christ offers. In this sense, it’s only natural to think of Easter as the “gospel” holiday—it marks the central events that make our redemption possible.
But in this online devotional resource, we invite you to consider what the season of Advent can teach us about the Good News. Many core tenets of the gospel reverberate powerfully throughout Advent’s traditional readings and themes. In Advent, we reflect on the mystery of the Incarnation, on Christ’s purpose as the long awaited Messiah, on our sin and need for repentance, on God’s promises of salvation and justice, and on our firm hope in Christ’s return and everlasting kingdom. We prepare to celebrate the “newborn King” who was “born that man no more may die,” as Charles Wesley’s beloved carol declares. And we’re reminded again and again throughout Advent that the gospel is not just for us, but it is a message of “great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10)—it’s good news that’s meant to be shared.
As you read and reflect on God’s Word each day during these four weeks of Advent, our hope is that you engage with core truths of the gospel afresh and that, like the shepherds who encountered the Christ child, you glorify and praise God for all the things you hear and see (v. 20).
In Matthew 24–25, Jesus teaches about his return and uses several parables to describe what “the kingdom of heaven will be like” (25:1). Perhaps the most unsettling element of Jesus’ teaching in 25:31–46 is the surprise of both groups who are being judged. They don’t protest about being judged per se; after all, the Son of Man has come in glory, attended by an immense gathering of heavenly beings, and even his throne is glorious. This entrance confirms and conveys his authority to judge. He has the right to call every nation before him, and come they must.
The surprise is not about the fact of judgment nor the rights of the judge. Instead, both those on the right and on the left are confused about the evidence. The sheep are looking at this King of glory and thinking, Surely we would have known if we had served him. He is unmistakable. The goats were thinking the same, but in reverse. When would they ever have refused such a one? They couldn’t think of an instance.
In response, the glorious Christ reveals the key: He has always been identified, unified, with his brothers and sisters. This is more than mere affiliation; it is true identification. Who are his brothers and sisters? Jesus taught plainly, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matt. 12:50). No matter a person’s station, ethnicity, gender, or nationality, if they are united with Christ, then caring for them is caring for Jesus himself.
This is not works-righteousness, where each person gets a reward or punishment based on his or her deeds. This is a revealing of allegiance to or rebellion against King Jesus—which is why there ...
As we await full justice with Christ’s return, a guilty verdict only partly satisfies.
As we prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ this Advent, many of us have also been preparing our hearts for another story: the trial of the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery. On November 24, a court in Brunswick, Georgia, delivered a verdict convicting them of murder.
“I never thought this day would come,” said Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, outside the courthouse. “Thank you for those who marched, those who prayed.”
Over the past week, as I prepared to move to a new state, I found myself relying heavily on the power of distraction to avoid being anxious about the outcome of the trial. At times, worrying thoughts would creep into my mind, telling me I should prepare myself to hear a “not guilty” verdict. So when I heard the news of a “guilty” verdict, I breathed a sigh of relief, although the court’s decision will not bring Arbery back to life. Even after the good news, I still felt pent up tension and the lament of a life lost.
Arbery was killed on February 23, which happens to be my birthday. So when news of his murder finally became public knowledge, months after his death, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing.
The 25-year-old was chased down and murdered while jogging. I’ve been a runner since middle school—and while I always knew to be vigilant about running alone, I never imagined that “running while Black” would be yet another reason for a Black life to be lost.
Advent reminds us to contemplate the many losses we experience as part of the human condition. The season is defined by the anticipation of Christ’s first coming and also his second. As we wait and draw near to Jesus, we repent ...
After a difficult year, CT family and friends take time to reflect on what they're grateful for.
In a year marked by COVID-19 and other worldwide struggles, we asked several staff members and regular contributors of Christianity Today to share a few things they are thankful for in 2021.
Kara Bettis, CT associate features editor
The verse that has been swirling in my head over the second half of 2021 is Proverbs 16:9: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” I am grateful for the ways that I have witnessed God’s sovereignty in my life this year.
We did not plan for a lockdown, for sickness and death, or for churches and workplaces to halt in-person gatherings. But he knew. I did not plan for the upheavals—both joyous and painful, personal and communal—that I’ve experienced in 2021. But he knew.
My past year was marked by milestones: entering a new decade and graduating with a master’s degree in theology. But among those landmark events, I’m thankful for the divine in-between moments: snowy hikes, a half-dozen weddings, watching my best friend’s baby grow, gospel conversations, baptisms. Life goes on; we can only sit in the paradoxical beauty and discomfort of the already and not yet.
Matt Reynolds, CT’s books editor
In the past, when I’ve pondered the “What are you most grateful for?” question around the Thanksgiving table, I’ve sometimes found myself stumped, either because my brain freezes in the moment or because it’s tough to pick just one blessing among many. No such trouble this year. When you welcome your first child into the world, your contribution to any gratitude exercise comes pretty neatly gift-wrapped.
There’s just so much to praise God for as baby Ezra rounds the three-month ...
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