Volf, Islam, and a Jesus-Centered Take on Wheaton Professor Hawkins

December 18, 2015 By Zach Hoag

Yesterday, Yale theologian (and one of my theological leading lights) Miroslav Volf responded to the recent suspension of Professor Larycia Hawkins by Wheaton College. Hawkins wore a hijab to stand in solidarity with innocent Muslims who are increasingly targeted by harsh rhetoric and even violence because of jihadist terrorism. But that’s not why Hawkins was suspended. She was suspended for saying that she, an evangelical Christian, and Muslims “worship the same God.” Volf has, of course, written the book on the... Read more

Best Reads of 2015: Redeeming Sex…From Harmful Evangelical Categories

December 15, 2015 By Zach Hoag

One of the best books I read this year was Redeeming Sex by my friend Debra Hirsch – which may as well have added the subtitle From Harmful Evangelical Categories, because that’s exactly what the book accomplishes. It’s important to note from the outset that Deb’s book is written from within and, to some degree, to the evangelical community. In other words, there are biblical and theological assumptions and commitments that Deb brings to this work that other writers and... Read more

Introducing Faithfindings

December 13, 2015 By Zach Hoag

During 2015, I didn’t do very much blogging here at Patheos. In fact, I quit for a little while, and then came back with an attempt at a new direction that just didn’t take. It was a bit of a disorienting year, and the last couple months were especially disorienting. But disorientation can be good. Because it is often precisely the thing that clears out old perspectives to make way for fresh vision. And that fresh vision is coming, slow... Read more

What I Mean By “New Charismatics”

December 12, 2015 By Zach Hoag

As I relaunch this blog as Faithfindings, I want to designate a space here for posts by and about the New Charismatics. But who are the New Charismatics, you ask? I wrote this piece for Onfaith a few months ago that gives at least a summary glance at what I mean by the term. It’s not a formal category (you know, like Southern Baptist or Episcopalian), but it is descriptive of a stream, a movement of sorts, that a growing... Read more

Some Jesus-Centered Voices on Paris: Bruxy, Volf, Merritt, Smith

November 17, 2015 By Zach Hoag

I've heard a few voices (amidst the online din) that have stood out for their clarity and Jesus-centeredness, and I wanted to share them here. Read more

Goldilocks Theology and God’s Power – Thomas Oord

November 12, 2015 By Guest Contributor

The story of Goldilocks and the three bears can help us think well about God’s power. Some theologians in Christian history have thought divine power means that God controls everything. They like to use the phrase, “God is sovereign.” Paul Kjoss Helseth, a contemporary advocate of the view, calls the view “divine omnicausality,” because God alone causes, preserves, and governs all things A God who controls everything, however, is morally accountable for everything that happens. The holocaust? God’s fault. Every... Read more

Some More On Progressive Evangelicals

November 12, 2015 By Zach Hoag

Yesterday I shared Doug Pagitt’s list about progressive evangelicals at Onfaith. My comments may have been interpreted as critique, but that’s actually not how I intended them. The fact is, perhaps for the first time ever, I find myself making peace with the idea of being a “progressive evangelical.” I’ve resisted it in the past because of the politicization of the word “progressive” – which, by the way, Doug does a perfect job of expressing in his piece. “Progressive” can be... Read more

Josh Feuerstein (Starbucks Red Cup Watchdog) Appears on CNN and It’s Hilarious

November 11, 2015 By Zach Hoag

Some American cultural moments are just too good not to share. By now we all know the whole Starbucks red cup fiasco is an insane Internet meme fueled by fear-mongering fundamentalists, but seeing Josh Feuerstein, the guy who made the video that has gone multi-viral, on CNN somehow makes it all worthwhile. It’s hilarious, especially the big Obama-bashing finish. Unbelievable: Read more

Doug Pagitt On Progressive Evangelicals – Is There Room For Orthodoxy?

November 11, 2015 By Zach Hoag

I really appreciated Doug Pagitt’s recent list at Onfaith about progressive evangelicals. And I agree with him that this group – made up of those who identify as evangelicals (not denominational mainliners) but who are progressive in various ways – is growing. In fact, I’d likely number myself among them, even though I have spent time in a denominational (United Methodist) context for the last few years. As this category begins to define itself out of the missional/emerging/emergent dust-up of the last... Read more

I Just Want to Belong

November 10, 2015 By Zach Hoag

So far in my life, I've moved 16 times. I've lived in 6 different states. And I just want to belong. Read more