Tomorrow is of course, Valentines Day. While it’s yet another commercial holiday, the meaning and purpose of the day is beautiful: to recognize and celebrate the special “someone” in your life and to express your love for them. People obviously celebrate in a variety of ways, and some (in objection to overpriced flowers) don’t celebrate at all. However, the message of the day remains the same: do something nice for the person who loves you most. Hardly a general concept... Read more
If you could meet one of the first Christians would you like them? I’m convinced that many American Christians would not. In the course of 2000 years, Christianity- while maintaining the basic tenets, has morphed and shifted from the way it was originally designed and lived out. Since we tend to live in a culture that is rather self-centered, we have a tendency to assume we “have it right” while completely overlooking the fact that our version of Christianity might appear quite... Read more
Does progressivism have its own form of fundamentalism? That’s the question BLC and MPT are wrestling with in this week’s episode of That God Show. In this episode, you’re invited to take some time of introspection to discover those “carryovers” that tend to follow us even after we leave fundamentalism– behaviors that can crop up in progressivism. These carryovers tend to lead us to play the same game as before, by the same rules and tactics as before, but for... Read more
Lately I’ve been lamenting at what a toxic place the internet can be, but instead of lament would like to contribute something more helpful to make dialoging with people on the internet a little less toxic, and a little more right. Here’s 10 things we can do to make the internet a better place for everyone: 1. Remember that avatars aren’t just avatars- but are real people with a real story. It’s easy to lose sight of an individual’s humanity... Read more
In a follow up to our recent episode of That God Show, folks have asked for a comprehensive list of Scriptures that refute the traditional teaching of hell. While this might not be exhaustive, I’ve put together 25 verses that strongly illustrate what the Bible teaches on the issue. As one will see, to believe in the traditional hell, one will have to directly argue against the language the Bible uses in these 25 passages which unanimously describe the fate... Read more
Most of us grow up being taught that all those who die without accepting Christ will burn for all eternity in hell. While in this hell, they’ll be consciously tortured, day and night– forever. But is this even biblical? If you read your Bible without having any prior knowledge of this “hell” would you walk away believing in it as a result? Probably not- because it’s not biblical. It wasn’t biblical in the time of Jesus (hell wasn’t in his... Read more
The command Jesus issued those who would follow him that they must “love their enemies” as a condition of becoming a child of God (Matthew 5:45) isn’t a popular one, especially among Americanized Christians. Whenever the discussion comes up, there’s always heated debate surrounding the issue. The reason for the debate is this: enemy love is simply too costly and is something that may involve the ultimate sacrifice to live out– one’s life. To avoid having to truly forsake all,... Read more
With all the chatter surrounding the new film, American Sniper: The Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. History, you might encounter a few Christian friends who are not fawning over Chris Kyle’s legacy of killing. I don’t know where you’d see this, or why you’d see this criticism, but I’m just saying, you might. When you encounter this online, you’re going to need some handy tools to try to shut these ignorant “Christians” down since criticizing military conquests is something a Christian should never do. But,... Read more
The reaction of many American Christians to the movie of the late Chris Kyle, American Sniper: The Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. History, has been one that should be a major red flag waiving on the Christian landscape in America. While I’ve been talking about the rampant idolatry that has overcome so much of American Christianity, the fact that so many Christians are blindly worshipping at the altar of Chris Kyle should be something that has us jumping up and down... Read more
Justice is a pretty hip word now in much of Christianity, whether it’s evangelicalism or progressivism– and that’s a really good thing. It’s been beautiful these past few years to watch a justice movement explode, see the success of things like the Justice Conference (which you should really attend if you get the chance), and overall see the role of justice seeking become something that people take seriously. Yet, I think without some guiding principles, any of us who enjoy... Read more
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