Rick Waters

USC DC Gary Patterson took a facemask to his face and got right back up 😳

I was in my late teens when I first visited a church that confessed the Apostles' Creed. There we stood, speaking the words in unison. I was nodding in agreement. That is, until we came to this line: "He descended into hell." He what? Never in my eighteen years of church-going had a preacher ever talked about that. Was this actually in the Bible? I had no clue. So I began digging. And I found it. There it was in 1 Peter 3, which we read today in Bible in One Year. Peter wrote, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison..." (3:18-19). These imprisoned spirits are further described as those who did not obey in the days of Noah (v. 20). Now, I am neither arrogant nor naïve enough to think I can solve all the mysteries of this section of 1 Peter. But I can briefly explain it and why it brings such comfort. First, the sequence. Jesus was "put to death," "made alive," and then proclaimed. So this proclamation took place after his resurrection, though exactly when and how, we are not told. Second, where did this happen? Peter says it was "in prison," using the same Greek word (φυλακή) that John uses in Revelation for the place where Satan is imprisoned (Rev. 20:7). I do not take this to mean simply "the place of the dead," but rather hell itself (compare 2 Pet. 2:4). Third, what did Jesus do? He proclaimed (κηρύσσω in Greek). Fourth, what did he proclaim? Peter doesn't tell us explicitly. But allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, I understand Jesus to be proclaiming his resurrection victory to the rebellious demonic spirits, like a conquering king marching through the streets of a defeated enemy. This is the victorious Christ who has "bound the strong man" (Matt. 12:29). “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15). Today, when I confess that Christ "descended into hell," I no longer ask, "He what?" Instead, I smile, knowing that Jesus has conquered every foe, proclaimed their defeat to their face, and filled us with the comfort that his victory is also ours.

Watched the French-Stuckey debate. My main takeaway: The whole debate centered upon a truth-emotion continuum. I think Allie Beth came out ahead for one main reason that colors every issue debated: She indexes her understanding of emotion and empathy on a biblical axis, whereas French elevates emotion and empathy to a disproportionate degree. The consequence is to unmoor emotion from truth. There's simply a difference in rhetorical strategy: Stuckey focuses more on logos; French on pathos. Along those lines, another reason I think Allie Beth had the stronger hand is that she refuses to play the game of pitting love against truth (1 Cor. 13:6; Eph. 4:15). She's no less interested in kindness or empathy, but properly indexed by Scripture. French's focus on catering to emotional equilibrium (and thus hewing to progressive niceties) requires him to blur biblical categories. Biblical ethics requires both logos and pathos, but our loves must be ordered and governed with a proper foundation. And notably, French's empathy tends in one direction, toward those to his left. In short, Allie Beth focused on objectivity, reason, and right and wrong as the grounds of what constitutes love and kindness, whereas French's instinct is to defer to emotion and aesthetics.

Christians schools in the NCAA Tournament

I want the awful images of the terrorized congregants in MN to serve as a wake-up call for the Christians who have deluded themselves thus far into thinking that progressivism is an acceptable worldview, who have fallen for the lie that these people really do care for the “least of these” and the marginalized. Let me disabuse you of that notion. Progressivism is inherently anti-Christ and pro-chaos. Always and in every way. That stunt was not about the immigrant community. These activists look for any trigger incident to justify terrorizing Christians. In 2020 it was George Floyd, this time it’s Renee Good. Progressives see this as a battle against Western civilization, the American system, and the institutions that have contributed to the “oppression” of victim groups. They know that the church stands in the way of their desire for destruction. If they can make you scared and silent, if they can morally extort you into taking their position, then they've won. We as Christians have to be so clear on 2 things: 1) We serve a God of love and mercy, which have manifested themselves in our lives through Jesus Christ and in our treatment of others. For 2,000 years we have upheld the dignity of vulnerable people and we will continue to. 2) We serve a God of justice and order, who created borders, laws, governments, and nations for our good and His glory. As Christians, we are to be agents of order, not chaos. We've got to be resolute on what we know to be true, and we cannot be bullied by progressive terrorists. In the end, the gates of hell will not prevail against us

NEWS: TCU quarterback Josh Hoover intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he tells ESPN. He projects to have the most passing yards 9,629 and touchdown passes 71 of any quarterback in the sport expected to return in 2026.

A new NBC News poll gave Gen Z a list of choices of how to define personal success: Men who backed Donald Trump in 2024 rated having children at the top. Women who backed Kamala Harris rated it second to last. nbcnews.app.link/8H3vnFiVuWb