The Gospel Coalition and the Persistent Problem of Theological Colonialism

Last updated on: September 13, 2013 at 11:02 am By Kyle Roberts

Vinoth Ramachandra draws our attention to a striking example of the persistent problem of theological colonialism. The Gospel Coalition’s International Outreach has announced astrategic effort to export their theological perspective globally, so that pastors in theologically famished (yes, that’s the term they use) areas of the globe can utilize the resources of the educated West, Reformed theological world to strengthen their congregations. Here’s the actual description of the project from the Gospel Coalition website: Imagine being a pastor of a local church... Read more

Politics and Evangelical Theology

Last updated on: September 12, 2013 at 4:27 pm By Kyle Roberts

The discussion on the “Future of Evangelicalism” continues over at respectfulconversation.net . This might be one of the best-kept secrets in online theological discussion these days. And I think this month’s set of contributions, on “evangelicals and politics,” with contributions from Amos Yong, Randall Balmer, Amy Black, Jeannine Brown, and others, is one of the best so far. I added my response post today, called “Too Narrowly Political, and Not Political Enough,” which you can read here. The question of the... Read more

The Middle of the Earth

Last updated on: September 10, 2013 at 2:36 pm By Daniel Harrell

A few weeks back I ran across a lovely list of ten lessons essential for every high school graduate preparing to venture out into the “real world.” While Elaine Bransford, the AP literature teacher who composed them did so for students, they carry applicability for us all. Here’s the first: “You should know that the world is wide, and while you are an important part of it, you are not the center of it.” This lesson comes to us from... Read more

I Forgot My Phone

Last updated on: September 3, 2013 at 1:40 pm By Daniel Harrell

Now that summer is over and a new academic season commences, it seemed to me a good time to set about weekly blogging again. I do so amidst much that fills our culture, from the rattling of sabers in Syria to the worries of climate change and Obamacare. Somewhere in all of this the spirit of the Lord speaks, but whether we hear is the perennial question. Traditionally we teach that God speaks through his word inspired (spirit) and inscripted... Read more

What’s Your “Madonna Moment?”

Last updated on: August 13, 2013 at 4:00 pm By Kyle Roberts

Paul Tillich, one of the most significant theologians of culture, tells of a moment in which he profoundly experienced the divine through gazing at a painting. Tillich had been a Lutheran pastor and served as a German Army chaplain in WWI. During his service in the war, he discovered that looking at books of art helped to distract him from the horrors of war. Kelton Cobb, in his generously informative Blackwell Guide to Theology and Popular Culture, describes Tillich’s story this... Read more

Cognitive Psychology, Evangelicals, and Biblical Morality

Last updated on: August 1, 2013 at 3:36 pm By Kyle Roberts

The “respectful conversations” (a project hosted by Harold Heie) continue. This month the topic is “evangelicals and morality.” I’ve just posted my contribution: a discussion of the relation between cognitive psychology, biblical morality, and narrative ethics (drawing from the fantastic work of James McClendon). Other posts are up by Wyndy Corbin Reuschling (evangelical ethicist par excellence), Amos Yong, Karl Giberson, Justin Barnarad, and John Hawthorne. Please join in the conversation. Read more

Relax: Neuroscience is not Going to Destroy Your Faith

Last updated on: July 31, 2013 at 10:44 pm By Kyle Roberts

I’ve been doing some reading on cognitive psychology of religion (in part because I’m involved in a Biologos grant project with some colleagues here at Bethel University on the intersection of psychology and theology regarding human origins beliefs). I came across an essay by Justin Barrett in which he interacts with a prevalent assumption that has two parts: (1) cognitive psychology of religion successfully describes the architecture of human religious belief and successfully explains the prevalence of religious belief, thus... Read more

Reza Aslan, Jesus, and the (False) Presumption of Objectivity

Last updated on: July 29, 2013 at 4:16 pm By Kyle Roberts

When I watched the clip of Fox News anchor Lauren Green interviewing professor Reza Aslan about his recent book, Zealot: the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, my initial reactions were nearly as confused as the interview was chaotic. The interview illustrates the state of contemporary religious lack of discourse: everybody is scrambling to find a place to stand from which they can struggle to express the inexpressible with more volume and heft than the other guy or gal. The market feels... Read more

Redeeming Doubt (The Other Side of Faith)

Last updated on: July 5, 2013 at 10:55 am By Kyle Roberts

Thanks to Tony Jones for posting an excerpt from Emerging Prophet on his blog today (and tomorrow). The post today is from my reflections on epistemology, Against Certainty, in which I argue that doubt is not an enemy of real, authentic faith; rather, it represents the “other side” of faith. Both Kierkegaard and the emergent church (in particular, leading emergent leaders/thinkers (McLaren, Peter Rollins, Tony Jones, etc.) and contemporary thinkers who influenced them (Caputo, Westphall, Richard Beck, etc.). I encourage you to head... Read more

“Mind Your Own Business!” (Some Advice from St. Paul)

Last updated on: July 2, 2013 at 10:47 pm By Kyle Roberts

I recently came across some surprising advice to Christians from Paul. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life; you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you. (1 Thessalonians 4:11). A quiet life? Mind your own business? Is this the same Paul speaking? The Paul whose preaching in Thessalonica had incited a riot among some jealous–and nervous–Jews? (See Acts 17:6-7). But in his advice to this young church, he understood that a church in... Read more