I recently said here, as I have often said to people, that I do not have a “mystical bone in my body.” That is simply my way of saying I’m not attracted to mysticism. But that always raises some questions because the word “mysticism” has so many meaning, especially in popular language. What do I mean by it? First, it’s important for me to say that I am a religion scholar; I hold a Ph.D in religious studies from a... Read more
This constitutes the final entry to our discussion of Rodney Clapp’s book Living Out of Control: Political and Personal Faith in Waning Christendom. Here I discuss Chapter Nine: Resonance. If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment. Otherwise, feel free to ask a question. Please remember our next book discussion which will be of Gregory A. Boyd’s book A God Who Looks Like Jesus (Herald Press). It’s brief, easy to read, and inexpensive. Please order it and read... Read more
Why “Make America Great Again?” Don’t get my question wrong. I put “MAGA” and “Make America Great Again” in quotation marks because by them I refer to the movement, not the general hope of most Americans. Why the specific contemporary movement with Donald Trump at is head? Why are so many Americans passionate about it and so invested in it? I have read and watched/listened to many attempted explanations. Most of them have part of the truth. Few capture all... Read more
After Living Out of Control, the current book under discussion here, I will take on God Looks Like Jesus: A Renewed Approach to Understanding God by Gregory A. Boyd and M. Scott Boren (Herald Press, 2025). To those who may balk at buying another book I quote Petrarch: Wear the old coat; buy the new book. This is one that should stimulate theological thought and discussion. It’s not academic or scholarly, but, of course, the authors are scholars. Jonathan Merritt... Read more
Here I continue my discussion of Rodney Clapp’s book Living Out of Control: Political and Personal Faith in Waning Christendom. This week’s chapter is Eight: Friendship. If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment. If not, feel free to ask a question. As often, Rodney gives us the “gist” of the chapter in the penultimate paragraph—with a sentence after that. Here is the gist: “I thank God for friends inside and outside the church who largely agree with... Read more
Not only the reality, but also the terminology of anti-Semitism has become controversial in recent years, especially since Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. People who criticize Israel are often labeled anti-Semitic. But are they? Does criticizing the State of Israel make one anti-Semitic? Anti-Semitism is any attitude of prejudice against Jews just because they are Jews. (Yes, I know “Semite” can also refer to Arabs, but that is irrelevant here.) To be sure, it also includes actions that are... Read more
R.I.P. Jimmy Swaggart I grew up in “the thick” of American Pentecostalism in the 1950s to the mid-1970s. And I have kept up with American Pentecostalism and consider myself something of an expert or scholar of the movement. I love to study the lives and ministries of the great Pentecostal evangelists such as Aimee Semple McPherson, Oral Roberts (for whom I worked for two years), A. A. Allen, Jimmy Swaggart, and a host of others. Swaggart died July 1, 2025–two... Read more
Of Disdain if not Hatred According to recent news reports, the US administration is establishing a “detention center” for undocumented persons (aka “illegal immigrants”) in the Florida Everglades. It is being called “Alligator Alcatraz.” President Trump has been recorded and shown on TV saying that the detainees must learn to run zig-zag rather than straight (if they want to escape), otherwise the alligators will get them. His attitude toward the detainees is one of disdain if not hatred. Obviously neither... Read more
According to today’s edition of Time.com (July 1, 2025), the shuttering of USAID will lead to millions of deaths around the world. That claim is based on a new study published in the respected medical journal The Lancet (June 30) showing that the defunding of USAID (The United States Agency for International Development) by Trump (at the behest of Musk) will lead to the deaths of 14 million people by 2030 of whom 4.5 million will be children and babies... Read more
Here I continue discussing Rodney Clapp’s excellent book Living Out of Control: Political and Personal Faith in Waning Christendom. Here I take up Chapter Seven: The Political Centrality of the Gospel. If you have read this chapter, feel free to discuss it. If you have not, feel free to ask a question. I think the chapter title could be misunderstood. It’s not saying that politics is central to the gospel but that the gospel is central to politics—for the... Read more
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