Greg Gilbert says the there is a “fog” in our understanding of the gospel; Darrell Bock says our understanding of the gospel is “cloudy.” We’re talking here about the core of cores, the heart of hearts, the center of all centers; we’re talking here about the gospel of all things. And both of these writers, in two books I’ve recently read, think we’re confused. I agree. What’s odd, though, is that it’s like I just read two completely different books... Read more
Some of you may not know this, but there is a very large group of Christians in the USA (and the world) who don’t believe in the use of musical instruments in church. They are called the Churches of Christ, and I consider many of their pastors my friends. Well, I’ve not had anything but light-hearted discussions about this issue with them, but I got a letter from a concerned youth pastor who wonders how to deal with this. I... Read more
Peter Leithart’s book on Constantine (Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom) makes me a bit nervous at times. He seems to be suggesting that Constantine’s form of tolerance, which is a form of concord in that he gave folks freedom to believe what they wanted but put pressure in the direction of conversion to the Christian faith (which Constantine distorted to one degree or another), maps a good future or pattern for modern democracies... Read more
I don’t know the percentages, but my own suspicion is that no more than 25% of church attenders/members have read the Bible from cover to cover. Not just the good bits, like Matthew and John and Acts and Romans and Hebrews and Revelation, but also Leviticus and Numbers and Chronicles and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The whole thing. So the Bible sits there and gathers dust. Exhortations to read the Bible often don’t work, so other methods need to be found.... Read more
Today marks the day of remembering the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the death of 29 crew members. Read more
James Emery White, at his blog, on how purchasing from Amazon is killing local bookstores, and here are our questions: What to do? Are more people employed/employable if we purchase from local bookstores? What does this mean in other areas — like grocery stores? appliance shops? garage builders? One of my favorite movies is “You’ve Got Mail,” an overlooked Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie, but by far my favorite. The story is the quintessential modern romance, but it is set against... Read more
Here’s the situation as I can discern it: a vocal segment of scholarship believes Constantine more or less ruined the church. By combining political power, sometimes described as persecution of those with anything other than Christian faith and the use of coercion to create theological uniformity, with the church, Constantine created “Constantinianism.” Peter Leithart is out to reclaim the real Constantine and suggest that much of the Constantine of the above sketch is an unhistorical bogeyman. What would western democracies... Read more
I have said here before that universalism is one of the most pressing issues in American, Western Christianity. Here are some “facts,” or at least some results from Robert Putnam and David Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. Americans overwhelmingly (89%) believe people of other religions can go to heaven, and say a good person who is not of their faith can go to heaven at the following percentages: Mormons: 98% believe this. Mainliners: 96% Jewish: 95%... Read more
From today’s post at Sojo.net, and I like the focus here on faith communities and on the recognition that access to power is intoxicating: In Washington, D.C., access quickly becomes an end in itself, with elites simply changing places after elections. Getting your calls returned or being able to get the meetings you want about your concerns can be very seductive. But access without results doesn’t ultimately mean very much. Dr. King learned to navigate the corridors of power in Congress... Read more
Jim Wallis, getting closer to making an appeal for local manifestations of the movement … and he won’t go far enough for me until he pleads with Christians to raise up the banner of justice in the context of the local church, but I see here a move away from advocating through the halls of power and turning back to the people. What do you see? Be civil. It’s time for this president to find the political equivalent of the... Read more
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