I’m not a Catholic in the sense of what most mean by that descriptor, but I am a Christian (albeit, a very poor one). I was raised in the Protestant tradition but am much closer to Eastern Orthodoxy at this point of the journey. I do, however, believe in, “one holy catholic and apostolic church.” I’m certainly catholic in that sense. I point this out only to say I can’t comment much on the inner or institutional life of the... Read more
The Maginot Line was a series of fortifications built by the French after World War I. Its purpose was to prevent or slow down another attack and invasion by Germany. We all know how that turned out. Rather than come directly at these fortifications, which probably were impregnable and almost indestructible, the Germans simply went around them. The Maginot Line was constructed to fight the last war, to address past strategies and threats. I think the belief in an inerrant... Read more
Growing up in the evangelical tradition, Os Guinness was one of my favorite writers, intellectuals, and voices. While claiming America and evangelicals as his own, he was never afraid to call out their shortcomings and flaws. While no longer claiming the evangelical label myself, I still respect much of his work and his intellectual gifts to that tradition and the Christian faith in general. Guinness, in my view, was always prescient. He anticipated the consequences of movements, teachings, and methods... Read more
Something many Christians are taught, but especially evangelicals/fundamentalists, is the idea that “scripture interprets scripture.” I remember hearing this often while growing up in the evangelical tradition—specifically whenever the topic of hermeneutics came up. To the question, “But how should we interpret this verse or passage of the Bible?” -I often heard, “Well, we should let scripture interpret scripture.” What we needed in that moment, we were told, was a good concordance or even the word index in our Bibles,... Read more
This sentiment, whether the exact words or not, was reportedly conveyed to journalist Peter Arnett by an Army officer after the now infamous bombing of a city during the Vietnam War. They decided to bomb, “…the town regardless of civilian casualties, to rout the Vietcong.” Perhaps many readers are too young to remember, but the quote has for many years now stood as a reminder of this sentiment: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This sentiment, that... Read more
We celebrated our independence. Well, that was the idea anyway. I think most of us celebrated a day off, fireworks, watermelon, hamburgers, ice cream, soothing adult beverages, and the gathering of families and friends. Whether or not most connected their revelries with our revolution against England and declaration of independence, is another matter. This celebration and other instances of national ritual, habit, or liturgy if you will, brings to mind the founding myths of this republic. One of those myths... Read more
In 1 John 4 we are told God is love. Not that God is loving, or loves to love, or is nice, caring and so on, but that God is love. Love is not so much a characteristic, quality, or aspect of God, as it is God’s ontological nature—the very core of God’s being/existence. We are also told in chapter 4 that “those who say, ‘I love God’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars.” And there are many... Read more
We have cakes. Evangelical Christians have been wringing their hands about whether or not they might have to bake cakes for the weddings of gay couples. Even after the recent SCOTUS decision, they are still wringing their hands thinking the decision didn’t go far enough or settle the matter for good. And they’ve been wringing their hands about laws making conversion “therapies” illegal—these are attempts to get a gay person to “convert” back to (or for the first time—have) opposite... Read more
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) just held their annual meeting, and many see it as a Rubicon of sorts or watershed moment. As has been written about extensively, the “MeToo” moment has come to the country’s largest Protestant denomination. The reason many think it a watershed moment is because a younger person was elected president, Paige Patterson was fired, resolutions supporting women were passed, and many moderate voices have risen in support of all these events. While I’m generally supportive... Read more
When this post was published on Patheos last June, it clearly hit some nerves. The reason I wrote that post was because I wondered if what upsets us, makes us angry, was possibly a truer and more accurate gauge of who we are, than what we might formally articulate if asked. We don’t all laugh at the same things or find the same things funny and it is the same with things that upset or make us angry. Is this... Read more
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