Housekeeping

April 26, 2013 By 6 Comments

-Disqus is now fully functional. Thanks to BlogOps at Patheos for getting it up and running. All of your former comments should now be imported into the Disqus system, so please let us know if you see any glitches.

-Disqus allows for some things that I’ve wanted and some of you have asked for. It allows for deeper and more intuitive threads on conversations. And, best of all, it allows you to “like” a comment — comments (and threads) with the most likes get bumped to the top.

-I recommend that you get a Disqus account, or link it to your Facebook or Twitter. I think you’ll like the improvement.

-Patheos is currently working on some other back-end changes that will decrease load times, so thanks for your patience.

-Patheos is also moving to a new mobile platform. That means for the many of you who access this blog via iPhone and Android, the blog will show up in a much more readable format. Again, thanks for your patience during the transition.

-Yes, the pop-ups suck. I hate them. I’ve been assured that they will go away on the new mobile interface. I’ll keep fighting to get them to go away everywhere (at least on my blog).

-I’m getting on a plane to go to Lauren Winner’s wedding (yay!) — I’ll write my thoughts on God’s omniscience en route.

-I’m done quarreling with David Fitch (yay!) — it seems he’s incorrigible.

OK, open thread in the comments today. Do you have any thoughts on the points above, or is there anything you’d like to see addressed in the blog? (As always, shoot me links and questions through my website, Facebook, or Twitter.)

Filed Under: blogging Tagged With: 6 Comments

He Died for You

March 29, 2013 By 4 Comments

Many Christians struggle to understand this day, Good Friday. We’re told, “Jesus died for you,” and “Jesus died for your sins.” And that makes perfect sense for many years.

And then, at some point, most of us ask, But how does that work? By what cosmic calculus does the death of one man mean that I am not accountable for my sins any longer?

I’ve written extensively about this question, including an ebook: A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin. And now it seems that my next major, hardcover book with a publisher will also be on this topic (more on this soon).

We also collected some wonderful posts at this season’s #progGOD Challenge, “Why A Crucifixion?” For example,

Kimberly Knight: Washed in His Blood, My Ass:

We are not saved by the crucifixion, we are damned by it – or we could have been. Let us face that shameful dark day and accept our culpability – knowing that if Jesus returned today to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed His blood would likely run in rivulets once again.  And let us move through that desolate Saturday knowing what we have done.

Scott Paeth: The Cross and the Crucified:

Jesus dies, abandoned and alone, forsaken by all, even God, to die the death of a social outcast and a political pariah. But in his death, Jesus reveals that the Good News of the Gospel is precisely that God stands on the side of all of those who are abandoned, alone, and forsaken, that God is with them in their forsakenness, has shared their suffering in the person of Jesus Christ, and in the resurrection of Christ, has overcome and redeemed it.

Denika Anderson: Beautiful Terrible Reckless Love:

Tony asked why a crucifixion is necessary. Ontologically speaking, it isn’t. Even considering the pervasiveness of sin, it still isn’t necessary. But, presented with the choice between being crucified and saving himself, Jesus shows us why choosing the crucifixion is the only choice, and why the resurrection is the only possible outcome.

Greg Garrett: Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Jesus staked his life on the belief that God’s power is supreme — and his resurrection proves it. The power of the Empire to torture and kill, to impose its will, is nothing compared to the power of God, which will not let sin and death have the last word.

There are many more, and you should add your own. I recommend you spend part of your Good Friday perusing these wonderful meditations on the crucifixion.

Filed Under: christianity in america, church Tagged With: , , , , 4 Comments

Why Marriage Matters

March 26, 2013 By 64 Comments

Supporters of Same-Sex Marriage hold up signs to rally against protesters of marriage equality. Photo by @alucidon on AARP Instagram

As I sit down to write this, SCOTUSblog has just tweeted that they don’t expect Prop 8 to be overturned:

That’s too bad. Justice Kennedy may not be ready for it — if so, he’s in line with many in his generation (Kennedy is 76). But, as Rob Bell said last week, that ship has already sailed. Frank Bruni basically said the same thing this week in the NYTimes:

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Filed Under: christianity in america, glbt, same sex marriage Tagged With: , 64 Comments

Some Blog Housekeeping

February 18, 2013 By 8 Comments

Time to talk shop. 

Last August, my literary agent and I pitched a book proposal around and, though we got some interest and even a couple offers, we felt that the time wasn’t right. We pulled the proposal and I set about to write the book in full. I also set about to get my traffic up over 100K pageviews per month. I succeeded at the latter, but not the former. The book didn’t get done, and we’re currently shopping a new — but related — proposal around.

But the blog grew, and it continues to grow. Even lacking a breakaway post, Theoblogy is up every month over the previous month. And, even more gratifyingly, the commentary is voluminous, robust, and respectful.

Blogging is a grind. There’s no two ways about it. With the goal of posting 11 times per week, it never stops. It’s disputed about who first said it, but someone famous once said that the study of history is just “one damned thing after another.” Blogging can feel like that at times. That’s what it’s felt like this weekend, facing another new week with few new ideas.

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Filed Under: blogging Tagged With: 8 Comments

Frank Schaeffer Is Wrong about Progressive Christianity

February 14, 2013 By 34 Comments

I’m glad to call Frank Schaeffer a friend (and I’m glad that he’s toned down his blog headlines from the FOX News variety that he used to publish). I’m glad to have him on the Progressive Christian channel here at Patheos. But he recently wrote a post about what’s wrong with progressive Christianity, and he’s wrong.

Actually, I agree with Frank’s premise:

We can talk about inclusiveness, diversity and making ourselves vulnerable until the cows come home but that doesn’t make religion more interesting or Christianity stronger it simply changes the labels and the shorthand jargon we talk to ourselves in.

The problem with North American Christianity is not the window-dressing– it’s the whole package.

But I wholeheartedly disagree with what he states as the main problem:

The great weakness of Protestant American Christianity across the board is that by and large it dispensed with liturgy. Having dispensed with liturgy it dispensed with the signposts that point people toward an identity that binds communities together.

To that I say [cough] bullshit! [cough].

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Filed Under: christianity in america Tagged With: , , , 34 Comments

Why a Crucifixion? A #progGOD Challenge (with Prizes!!!)

February 13, 2013 By 36 Comments

I conceived of the #progGOD challenges at Patheos because 1) I think that progressives have a better version of the gospel than conservatives, and 2) I think progressives often struggle to speak forthrightly about God. We get caught up in prolegomena and methodology and qualifying every statement about God or Jesus or the Bible ten ways before we say anything. And by the time we say something, no one’s listening anymore.

Thus far, there have been two #progGOD Challenges:

Who Is God?

Why an Incarnation?

Those two generated dozens of thoughtful responses. And now it’s time for a third:

Why a Crucifixion?

This is a question that, literally, lies at the very center of Christianity. I’ve even written a short ebook about it (which is free today only), and I’m planning to blow that up into a full-length book. It’s a crucial question, and one that becomes more difficult when we move away from the penal substitutionary understanding of the atonement.

So, throughout Lent we’re going to be collecting responses to the question Why a Crucifixion? Share your answer by linking in the comment section below, tweet with the hashtag #progGOD, and email the link to progressivechristian@patheos.com.

As a bonus this time, I’m going to send a collection of 10 books to the post that gets the most shares and likes. So have at it, and be sure and share your post far and wide. I’ll be giving weekly updates with some of the best posts I read.

Filed Under: christianity in america Tagged With: , , 36 Comments

Am I a “Liberal Christian” (According to Roger Olson)?

February 11, 2013 By 38 Comments

Roger Olson

Roger Olson recently posted a piece on why he’s not a “liberal Christian.” He said that he came to this conclusion after reading a bunch of liberal/progressive Christian blogs. Roger’s a great blogger, but one of his failings is that he never provides hyperlinks. This post is no exception. He doesn’t name the blogs or tell us who is a liberal blogger, in his opinion, and who is just getting over their fundamentalism (like he is).

Probably some readers think I’m hanging out on the far left, but you only need to read the comments to find a bunch of liberals who think I’m a raving conservative (on some issues). That’s why I’ve fought repeatedly to be listed among both the progressive Christian bloggers and the evangelical bloggers here at Patheos.

(Excursus: It bugs me that in the Patheos channel listings, “Evangelical” is its own category, but “Progressive Christian” is the name of the other channel. Why not “Evangelical Christian” or “Progressive.” This isn’t just a grammatical plea for parallel construction — I think it says something.

A lot of us know that neither “progressive” nor “liberal” is quite right. That’s why I waged a campaign to be called “Incarnational Christians.” Let the conservatives have “evangelical,” but let’s use a similarly theological signifier for ourselves.)

Since Roger doesn’t tell us who is who in his list, I’m left to guess about myself. I was never a fundamentalist, and I was only vaguely evangelical — anyone who attended Fuller Seminary when I was a student will tell you that my relationship with evangelicalism was an uneasy one. So I’m left to go through Roger’s rubric to see if I am, indeed, a “liberal.” Here’s his list, and my responses:

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Filed Under: bible, christianity in america, theology Tagged With: , , , , , 38 Comments

Becoming an LGBT Ally

January 9, 2013 By 18 Comments

I’m guessing that most Theoblogy readers are supporters of GLBT persons in the church. But if you’re not, or if you’ve got friends who are on the fence on this issue, Kimberly Knight has 12 (beautiful, graceful, non-judgmental) steps to becoming an ally in 2013. Here are three of them:

Kimberly Knight

3. Invite -

Invite the Holy Spirit into your heart to do a new thing.

Invite new ideas to your table.

Invite a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender friend to lunch, dinner, out for drinks, or for a rousing round of mini-golf  and ask them about themselves.

Invite yourself to be fully present.

Invite your neighbor into your heart.

4. Listen -

Listen to the stories of their life.

Listen deeply for places where their story might sound a bit like yours.

Listen for places where your stories intersect.

Listen for how their story is interwoven with God’s.

Listen to your heart.

5. Ask -

Ask yourself if you are willing to hear honest answers.

Ask a LGBT person if you can ask them questions that seem weird or uncomfortable – not because you want them to feel weird or uncomfortable or because you are hoping to trip them up but because you need to learn a few things (yes, that means you have to acknowledge a little bit of ignorance and fear but that is actually wise and courageous).

Ask real questions, not veiled, loaded questions that are meant to corner, cajole or convert.

Ask yourself if you learned something new.

Read the rest: 12 steps to becoming an LGBT ally in 2013.

Filed Under: glbt Tagged With: 18 Comments

Andrew Sullivan and the Future of Blogging

January 7, 2013 By 25 Comments

Andrew Sullivan may change the face of blogging. Or maybe not.

Last night, Courtney and I watched Downton Abbey. I find it little more than a soap opera in tuxes, but I enjoy it. However, what we both commented on at the end was that, thanks to its airing on public television, we were able to watch a two-hour show, uninterrupted, with nary a commercial. Same goes for other great shows in recent memory, like The Wire and The Sopranos (both on HBO). Be it a donation or subscription, viewers are supporting the production of these shows by paying a monthly or annual fee.

Last week, premier blogger Andrew Sullivan announced that his online real estate, The Dish, would be moving away from ad-driven hosts (he’s been with TIME, The Atlantic, and, most recently, The Daily Beast/Newsweek). He’s asking for an annual contribution of $20, and in less than a week, he’s raised half of the $900,000 budget that he needs:

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Filed Under: blogging Tagged With: , , , 25 Comments

More Year-End Blog Fun

December 31, 2012 By 2 Comments

Theoblogibles: You, dear readers, had these characteristics in 2012:

Browsers
25% of you use Chrome (good choice!)
23% use Safari (yay Mac!)
20% use Firefox (meh)
13% use IE (hi Mom!)

Geography
81% of you are in the U.S. – the leading states are California, Texas, Minnesota (hi Mom!), Illinois, and New York.
Next on the list of countries are Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and South Africa.
We had one visitor from Turkmenistan

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Filed Under: blogging Tagged With: 2 Comments