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First Light Blog
When Pastors Are Jailed Part Two: Christians and Government — Lauren Rice
“Government, like dress, is a badge of lost innocence; palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would no longer need a lawgiver; but that not being the case, he...
When Pastors Are Jailed Part One: What is Church?—Lauren Rice
Canadian Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Alberta has made headlines after his arrest for holding in-person church services. At the beginning of the lockdowns last year, GraceLife Church had complied with COVID-19 restrictions. However, this year, GraceLife...
To Judge or Not to Judge?—Lauren Rice
We live in a very judgmentally anti-judgment culture. The greatest sin one could commit in our post-modern culture is to judge something to be wrong. Tolerance, on the other hand, is considered to be the ultimate virtue. Ironically, the hypocrisy of our current...
Should Christians Embrace Critical Race Theory? —Lauren Rice
To answer that question, we must first know what Critical Race Theory (CRT) is. Put simply, CRT is an academic theory about race and racism which stems from a broader theory called Critical Theory. Critical Theory was born out of the Frankfurt School, which was...
If Love is Love, Then What Is Love —Lauren Rice
It’s that time of year when the aisles overflow with oversized stuffed animals, assorted chocolates in heart-shaped boxes, and fancy flower arrangements. St. Valentine’s Day is on its way and it’s supposed to be a day that we celebrate something we call love. But it...
Why the Gospel is Enough for Racial Reconciliation in the Church—Lauren Rice
The short answer? The gospel was enough for racial reconciliation in the Early Church. Lest we assume that it’s just “so different” now than it was then or that the Early Church needed racial reconciliation any less than we do now, God gave us a beautiful story in...
The 2021 Church—Lauren Rice
The 2021 Inauguration Day was unique in several ways. The lights lining the Reflection Pool reminded us of the lives lost to COVID-19 over the past year. They also reminded us why the Inauguration was not attended like it has been in the past year. Strangely, the...
Let’s Get Busy!—Lauren Rice
Our nation is on a precipice. Either it will continue toward the edge until it plummets into the canyon of secularism and socialism, or it will inch back toward the solid ground of biblical principles and republicanism. As Christians, we play an important role in...