theology

Evil Is (Not) [Questions That Haunt]

January 8, 2013 By Tony Jones 27 Comments

I posted Tanya’s Question That Haunts a week ago. It’s taken me too long to get to it, but that’s fine because it gave all of you more time to post amazingly smart comments.

I have a question about evil. Basically, what is it? When people say “evil” do they just mean really, really bad? The shootings in Sandy Hook are “evil,” passing a bad check is just bad. No? How does this work? Is this something where knowing the Greek or Hebrew words for “evil” will let you in on something?

The timing of this question is poignant because, as several commenters noted, coming off of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, we may be more keenly aware of evil in our world than other times. That is, a mass shooting of 6-year-olds seems to us even more “evil” than bombs dropping in Palestinian neighborhoods or the gunning down of a dozen adults in a movie theater.

But why is that?

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What Is “Evil”? [Questions That Haunt]

January 1, 2013 By Tony Jones 95 Comments

This week’s Question That Haunts comes from Tanya:

I have a question about evil. Basically, what is it? When people say “evil” do they just mean really, really bad? The shootings in Sandy Hook are “evil,” passing a bad check is just bad. No? How does this work? Is this something where knowing the Greek or Hebrew words for “evil” will let you in on something?

Leave your answer below and I’ll proffer an answer on Friday.

Filed Under: Questions That Haunt, theology Tagged With: questions that haunt 95 Comments

God Must Have Preferred the Roman Empire [Questions That Haunt]

December 21, 2012 By Tony Jones 18 Comments

This week’s Question That Haunts comes from Judy:

I grew up in the church, though I don’t go any more. I’ve always wondered, of all times and all places, why Jesus? Why first century Palestine? I mean, if God was going to incarnate himself in just one human beings of all the billions of human beings who’ve lived, why a first century peasant carpenter. I remember Sunday school teachers giving us some answers for this when I was a kid, but I always found them unsatisfying. Do Christians believe there was something uniquely special about that time and place?

Thanks, Judy, for this question, just in time for Christmas.

It’s interesting that the comments from the original post immediately went to the question of incarnation. But that’s not really Judy’s question. (It is, however, the question of the latest #progGOD Challenge, Why an Incarnation?) Judy’s question is theological, but it’s not a question about why there’s an incarnation, it’s a question of why God preferred that time and place for the all-important incarnation of himself. Here’s my take.

Of All Times and Places, Why Did God Come in 1st Century Palestine? [Questions That Haunt]

December 18, 2012 By Tony Jones 31 Comments

There are some really great, beuatiful submissions to the #progGOD Challenge, Why an Incarnation? This week’s Question That Haunts comes from Judy, and it’s also got a Christmasy theme. It comes at the Why? question from a different angle:

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Filed Under: Questions That Haunt, theology Tagged With: christmas, questions that haunt 31 Comments

There’s No Good Reason that God Preferred Abel to Cain [Questions That Haunt]

December 15, 2012 By Tony Jones 24 Comments

David tweeted a question into the series asking a question about one of the most troubling passages of the Bible, and many of you answered him:

@jonestony speaking of god’s preferences, why did god prefer abel to cain? my baptist buddies say it was the blood, but i’m not so sure.

— David Wierzbicki (@wierz) December 3, 2012

It’s a great question, and one that I must say is all the more poignant because of the blood shed yesterday. For someone who is drawn to René Girard’s scapegoat theory of the atonement, as I am, then Cain’s murder of Abel is telling: the human cycle of mimetic desire and bloodshed is primitive in its genesis, and it afflicts us still.

But that wasn’t your question, David. Your question has to do with God’s preference of one brother and his offering over the other’s; you asked about the rejection that led to the murder. So yesterday morning, before we’d heard about the Sandy Hook school shooting, I went over to my rabbi’s house for a cup of coffee and a chat. I asked Rabbi Joseph Edelheit your question, and I recorded his answer. I didn’t give him any warning, or even a hint as to what it was about. I simply told him that I had a question for him and turned on the recorder. Here’s what he said: [Read more...]

Filed Under: bible, Questions That Haunt, theology Tagged With: joseph edelheit, questions that haunt 24 Comments

#progGOD Is Live!!!

December 11, 2012 By Tony Jones 1 Comment

Deb has posted the page for the second #progGOD Challenge. Check there for your post, and for instructions on submitting one:

Why an Incarnation?

In the second conversation of our #progGOD series, we invited bloggers to consider: What does the Incarnation tells us about God, human beings, creation, the Cosmos, the End Times, Heaven, Hell, salvation, or anything else…from a Progressive Christian perspective? Read their reflections and then add your own in the Comments Box below. (And stay tuned for future #progGOD conversations!)

via #progGOD – Why an Incarnation? | Patheos Progressive Christianity.

Filed Under: theology Tagged With: #progGOD 1 Comment

Is Rob a Christian? [Questions That Haunt]

December 10, 2012 By Tony Jones 86 Comments

Rob gave us a great Question that Haunts Christianity that has generated hundreds of comments:

Hey Tony. I will try to make this short… I was raised in the church, became a youth leader in my early 20s, then a worship pastor/elder, then a staff deacon at a large church. Almost three years ago, my family and I walked away, with no plans on returning to “the church.” I don’t intellectually assent to any of the things that orthodox Christians are supposed to (i.e. the Trinity, the physical resurrection of Jesus, etc.). I don’t read my Bible very often. I never pray. But, I cannot escape the cultural influence that Christianity has had upon me, and it’s very difficult for me to think outside of that framework. I also try to embody the trajectory of Jesus’ life (the way of love) in my life every day. And, I think that his way is – universally – the best way to live. Do I still have “the right” to call myself a Christian?

Rob, I appreciate your participation in the comments of the original post, and even that you let me off the hook on your own blog. Your question is the most personal one that I’ve tackled thus far, and here’s why:

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Filed Under: bible, church history, Questions That Haunt, theology Tagged With: questions that haunt 86 Comments

Who Is a “Christian”? [Questions That Haunt]

December 4, 2012 By Tony Jones 227 Comments

Here’s an interesting Question that Haunts Christianity from loyal reader Rob:

Hey Tony. I will try to make this short… I was raised in the church, became a youth leader in my early 20s, then a worship pastor/elder, then a staff deacon at a large church. Almost three years ago, my family and I walked away, with no plans on returning to “the church.” I don’t intellectually assent to any of the things that orthodox Christians are supposed to (i.e. the Trinity, the physical resurrection of Jesus, etc.). I don’t read my Bible very often. I never pray. But, I cannot escape the cultural influence that Christianity has had upon me, and it’s very difficult for me to think outside of that framework. I also try to embody the trajectory of Jesus’ life (the way of love) in my life every day. And, I think that his way is – universally – the best way to live. Do I still have “the right” to call myself a Christian?

You answer here, I answer Friday. Let’s hear if Rob’s a Christian or not!

Filed Under: Questions That Haunt, theology Tagged With: questions that haunt 227 Comments

Benefit of the Doubt: A Christian Virtue

December 3, 2012 By Tony Jones 120 Comments

I’m not going to blog any more about what happened around here last week, at least not for a while. But this thought did occur to me over the weekend:

I nominate benefit of the doubt as a Christian virtue.

In this era in which the communication between those of us who’ve never personally met is increasing exponentially every year, we are more than ever confronted with the ideas and opinions of others. I submit the the Christian posture toward the other should always be the benefit of the doubt that the other has beneficent ends.

Whaddya say, can we commit to giving one another the benefit of the doubt?

Filed Under: spirituality, theology 120 Comments

Baptism Is Important, But It’s Not Magic [Questions That Haunt]

December 1, 2012 By Tony Jones 52 Comments

This week’s Questions That Haunt Christianity comes from a young pastor. Sam asks:

I am a young pastor in Chicago with the Evangelical Covenant. I just read your book A Better Atonement and I enjoyed it a lot. I’ve struggled with the doctrine of Original Sin for a long while, but I’ve been thinking about how this, if at all, changes my view of baptism. I don’t believe that original sin is necessary for baptism but as I try to formulate my sacramentology I thought I’d ask if you had any thoughts.

Sam, it’s no surprise that this question comes from a working pastor. Unlike so many of the questions we’ve tackled in this series, this is not a theoretical question of systematic theology, but a practical question of pastoral theology. Like you, I watched many families who were negligibly connected to the congregation show up with their six-week old infant, sit through a baptism class, and proceed to the front of the sanctuary on Sunday. There they sat, awkward as can be in the front row. Meanwhile, the congregation dutifully smiled and laughed when the baby cried because the deacons forgot to warm up the water. I watched all this as a pastor, knowing full well that we’d never see that family again. They were getting their kid baptized because that’s what grandpa and grandma wanted.

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