Religion & Public life • Former Board chair, @oneamericamvmt
Nashville, TN
Joined April 2009
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Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
MAGA Christianity will end. Historians, and God, will judge whether it had constructive accomplishments that compensate for the dangers to which it contributed. Evangelicals who supported it will decide what replaces it. If they are wise, they will side with historical patience, liberty for all, limited expectations of politics, providential hope, and Christian realism. How they choose will help decide the fate of the nation. @thedispatch
thedispatch.com/article/what…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
The church is not equipped for a political fight, and it was never meant to be. Its purpose is to share the gospel, and the gospel does divide — but it does not divide along party lines. It divides the world from the people of God. Christ did not come to sort Republicans from Democrats. He came to call a people out of the world and into His kingdom. A sinner in a red state and a sinner in a blue state stand on the same side of that line until grace moves them across it.
When the church aligns itself with a political party, it draws the wrong line. We are a 50/50 nation, and a church that marries itself to one party has told half the country that the door is closed before the gospel is ever preached. The offense of the cross is supposed to be the cross itself, which is not supposed to become a partisan yard sign. The church that trades the division Christ makes for the division Washington makes has abandoned the one fight it is equipped to win for one it is guaranteed to lose.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Tragic. They'll almost certainly be sent to their death. They came alongside us and helped us defeat the terrorists responsible for 9/11. We promised them safety, and now we are reneging on that promise. Not something a Christian nation should be doing.
The Trump administration is preparing to deport at least 150 Afghans over the next 48 hours, first to Pakistan and then to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Many of those facing deportation are relatives of those who worked alongside the United States. They could face severe retaliation from the Taliban upon their return.
@nickschifrin speaks to @shawnjvandiver for more.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Today is international day of the persecuted church. Let’s remember in prayer our persecuted brothers and sisters.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
I’m praying for a renewed CT that embodies the vision and spirit of its original editor in chief, Carl Henry, with application toward the 21st century’s unique challenges. It’s an important institution.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
There’s another version of lust that can be just as deadening to the senses and just as damaging to the soul, and it’s one that we often overlook, something we often justify for being “realistic.”
thegospelcoalition.org/blogs…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
As a former police officer and as a pastor, I understand both the purpose and the biblical foundation of capital punishment. It is not merely punishment for a crime; it is also intended to deter others from committing similar acts.
Scripture not only provides justification for capital punishment, but in cases of murder, explicitly calls for it. Genesis 9:6 declares, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.”
Capital punishment, properly administered, is not a rejection of the sanctity of human life. It is an affirmation of it.
But that does not mean executions should become public spectacles.
I oppose the proposed livestreaming of the execution of convicted Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan for two reasons.
First, when we separate capital punishment from its moral foundation, we risk turning an act of justice into what appears to be an act of vengeance. Rather than affirming the sanctity of human life, a public spectacle of death can communicate the opposite message—that human life has little value.
Second, as House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned, broadcasting Hasan’s execution could provide jihadist organizations with a powerful recruiting tool. Rather than deterring future terrorists, it could give them propaganda to inspire more violence.
Nidal Hasan should receive the punishment imposed for his horrific crimes. Justice should be carried out, but it should not become entertainment.
The purpose of capital punishment is to uphold the value of innocent human life, not to make a spectacle of taking the life of the guilty.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Great resource. Our churches could use this to help educate people on what it means to be Baptist
Over at the @obunews YouTube account, @M_Y_Emerson and I have begun a series with short explanations of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. More to come, but we hope this first set serves you and your church!
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
NEW from me: The National Association of Evangelicals (along with several other religious groups) are now joining the USCCB in condemning Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth’s plans to publicly execute Nidal Malik Hasan, also saying doing so promotes a “culture of death.”
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
When the US government carries out a just killing- and this is what it is- it should do it soberly and w/ a heaviness. I fear turning it into a spectacle will undermine support for just and careful capital punishment.
I hope this decision will be reversed.
BREAKING: The Pentagon says it will livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. apnews.com/article/fort-hood…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
I’m a university professor, student ministry volunteer, parent, former student pastor, and former young man (relatively speaking).
ISTM that the default mode for many young men—and this has been the case since young men have existed—is to respond to evils in the world and in their own hearts with aggression.
This aggression often takes two forms: zeal and belligerence.
Zeal is a righteous aggression, one that seeks to make wrongs right and fight against evil with the Lord’s goodness and justice as their aim.
Belligerence is a sinful aggression, one that seeks to tear down and destroy in order to bring about one’s own self-grafting views of goodness and justice.
Zeal comes with maturity, and young men are often simply not mature enough yet to grasp the difference. They many times look to older men for an example.
It’s always been particularly frustrating to me when older men stoke the fires of belligerence in younger men. But it’s incumbent upon older men to (albeit imperfectly) embody and teach young men zeal without belligerence.
This includes how we speak about the gospel, how we speak about others, how we handle difficult situations, how we respond to critique, and how we discuss complicated biblical and cultural issues.
May Paul’s exhortation be true of us:
“Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. … In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching.” (Titus 1:2, 6-7)
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
“The Right doesn’t need fewer principles. The Right doesn’t need to remake itself in the image of the moment. Instead, it needs an infusion of courage to stand by the principles we espouse.
“The answer to the failures of the Left can’t be embracing the very things we once condemned as morally bankrupt. And make no mistake: racism, antisemitism, and authoritarianism are always morally bankrupt.” A Must-Read Op-ed By Kimberly Ross in @dcexaminer👇🇺🇸 washingtonexaminer.com/resto…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Anthropic: Claude has a soul
Leo: nah
Anthropic: please say Claude has a soul
Leo: nah, here’s a book length explanation why that’s not true
Anthropic: we’re pretty sure Claude has a soul
Leo:
In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
🚨RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: WHY IT MATTERS🚨
Baptists have long been advocates for religious liberty. This originated because of persecution of Anabaptist and Baptist forefathers in both Europe and America. Baptists actually gave religious liberty to the US.
Why should you care?
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
I hope that @AndrewTWalker is right, and that the conversation about Christian Nationalism has run its course. It certainly has done enough damage.
wng.org/opinions/michael-sco…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Hypothesis: Christian Nationalism will never achieve a confessional state in USA. But it’s still destructive for leading Christians into futile cul-de-sacs, for fostering despair about & disdain for democracy & religious freedom, & for cultivating unhealthy attitudes about non-Christians.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Religion and human flourishing - Byron Johnson at @WNGdotorg wng.org/articles/religion-an…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Our enemy dons many masks and seeks to infiltrate through numerous doors. There is one historic gospel, one historic mission of the church. Counterfeits are endless.
Thank you, Erick, for this helpful piece.
A group of white guys have subtly inserted themselves into conservative institutions and church organizations. They all embrace racial grievances. To varying degrees, they embrace white nationalism, antisemitism, and even Nazi sympathies. They are getting added to conservative institutional boards, attempting to purge churches, and are desperate to indoctrinate young conservatives into fascist ideology. They even surround the Vice President of the United States. Some of them believe the United States is at a tipping point, and they want to push it over the edge and rebuild it in their image. You might think it does not affect you, but, in time, you will see their efforts in your church pews, in your kids’ brains, and in your politicians’ mouths. It begins with shampoo.
ewerickson.substack.com/p/th…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
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