Alternative Scriptures: Beyond the New Testament

Last updated on: June 15, 2017 at 2:36 pm By Philip Jenkins

Many believe that only in recent times have we rediscovered the extraordinary breadth and complexity of early Christianity, with all the alternative gospels and apocalypses, all the heretical movements that vanished before the rise of the Great Church. As I have tried to show, that perception is just not correct. In fact, the great age of textual discovery was over a century ago, between about 1870 and 1930. And thinkers at the time definitely explored the implications of that polyphonic... Read more

John Donne, Redone

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 11:52 pm By johnturner

“John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone.” According to one later account, so the Elizabethan and early Stuart poet chalked on the backside of his kitchen door the day of his secret marriage to Ann More. Indeed, by marrying a woman without her well-connected father’s permission, Donne scuttled his career and income. The scandal of his marriage and that of his salacious early poetry thwarted his persistent efforts to gain an appointment from King James, who eventually persuaded Donne to become a Church... Read more

“Peace I leave with you”: Christianity, History, and Nuer Culture in South Sudan

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 10:56 am By Chris Gehrz

Guest blogger Noel Stringham reflects on what he has learned about Scripture, history, and peace from the Nuer people of South Sudan. Read more

Are There Good Religious History Books for Children?

Last updated on: May 22, 2017 at 11:34 pm By Chris Gehrz

The children's religious book market is booming... so why are there so few good church histories and Christian biographies for those readers? Read more

Evangelicals and Christian Unity

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 12:57 pm By Thomas Albert Howard

[Recently, I gave a talk at Gordon College (where I formerly taught) on commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The title of the talk was “500 Years of Protestantism. What Now?” I concluded with the material below on the challenge that this anniversary presents to evangelicals concerning the task of Christian unity–or ecumenism.] In a recent co-edited book, Protestantism after 500 Years, Mark Noll and I argued that, in light of the quincentennial of the Reformation, a phrase of... Read more

Dr. Who and the Vatican

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 9:59 pm By Philip Jenkins

Last night’s Dr. Who episode, “Extremis,” presented some vicious media stereotypes of Catholicism… well, no, not really. In one scene, the Dr.’s companion Bill (female) is attempting to seduce Penny, a girl she has just met. She tries to explain that there is no reason for her friend to feel guilty about such sexual matters, or have issues with conscience, and is clearly making some impact. Unfortunately, the Doctor himself is in the middle of some transactions with the Pope,... Read more

Alternative Scriptures: Which Old Testament?

Last updated on: May 19, 2017 at 6:41 am By Philip Jenkins

In 1915, the Kansas City Star published a short religion column on the theme of “How the Idea of Immortality Developed” (January 17, 1915). The story was clearly aimed at a general audience, and made no pretensions to academic depth, yet ithe author’s main point was that “The whole doctrine of the future life as it is worked out in the New Testament is based on the religious teachings and insights of the writers of the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha... Read more

10 Things Christians Get Wrong About Feminism

Last updated on: May 18, 2017 at 10:00 pm By Kristin Du Mez

“Christian feminism” is an oxymoron. …and “secular feminism” is a tautology. Yes, there are certainly “secular feminists,” and there are some who are downright hostile to Christianity. But to consider Christianity and feminism as mutually exclusive obscures a long and vibrant history of Christian feminism. There are countless examples of Christian teachings and practices that have oppressed and marginalized women. But you can also find remarkable examples of women and men inspired by their Christian faith to counter oppressive assumptions... Read more

The Bible in Medieval Sermons: Part I for Understanding the Top Ten Bible Verses in Medieval England

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 12:17 am By Beth Allison Barr

My husband recently noted in his facebook series on local church highlights in Waco, TX, (yes, we live–literally–in the middle of the Fixer Upper world) how modern protestants characterize the medieval church as keeping people from the Bible. I have talked about medieval views of the Bible on this blog several times, including Banning the Bible: Did it Really Happen in the Medieval Church? , The English Bible before the Reformation, and my last post The Top Ten Bible Verses in Medieval England. Just to... Read more

What’s the Future of the Evangelical Past?

Last updated on: May 15, 2017 at 4:49 pm By Chris Gehrz

Are we at the end of one era in the history of evangelicalism and the beginning of another? Where is the field headed? Read more