This question befuddles the newspaper industry right now, and newspapers are folding up (or we are seeing paper cuts) everywhere — so what’s the solution? Here’s a line from a recent CNN article: Competition naturally breeds better journalism is the credo of many newspaper veterans. And better journalism means an engaged and informed public. I beg to differ in the emphasis. While one might call it “competition,” the issue now is not the quality of journalism but what comes up... Read more
How do humans accomplish God’s will? James tells us that human anger can never bring about God’s will, and he has to be speaking here into (at least) the zealot option of the 1st Century. The Zealots, if you remember, believed God’s will was so urgent that violence was necessary. Notice these words of James: 19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does... Read more
In the second chapter of his book Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives Peter Bouteneff discusses the uses of the creation narrative in the New Testament. The most important New Testament references are in the Pauline literature – which Bouteneff takes to include Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians. He considers the Pastoral epistles separately. Paul was an educated Jew of his day and he uses the scriptures in a method entirely consistent with Second Temple Judaism –... Read more
The most significant error among populist evangelical Christians, one heard in almost any adult SS class or Bible study, is docetism. Never put quite that way, belief by many is that Jesus’ humanity is not quite what it seems. In fact, in unguarded moments, many will say something like “Jesus only seemed to be human.” The next study in B. Quash and M. Ward, Heresies and How to Avoid Them: Why It Matters What Christians Believe is about Docetism, the... Read more
It seems every year someone brings up the Bible and alcohol (the drinking kind). My first response, kept to myself but now made public, is this “Yo, have you ever tasted Brunello or a South African wine or a good pint of Boddington’s?” But that doesn’t seem to be the approach needed here. What I find every year in this conversation is a serious, but repeated mistake. The tack is this: If I take a stand more “biblical than the... Read more
What are characteristics that form and sustain community? James, the brother of Jesus, has some powerful advice. Here are the words of James 1:19-21: 19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you,... Read more
This is a series about the spouses of pastors by a friend, who is a pastor’s wife. One of the things affected by the economy is church budgets. Have the realities of the world-wide economy reached your church budget? Now let’s look behind the scenes: How is your family handling the economic downturn? I’d like to hear some realities. Are shifts in the church budget something that is overtly discussed in the church? Or is it catching the pastor and... Read more
C.S. Lewis famously argued that morals need God, that one cannot have universal morals without a divine foundation for those morals. That is, apart from belief in God it is hard to maintain belief in morals. The question Lewis provokes for some is this: Are there cultures where folks are both demonstrably moral and irreligious. One of the more interesting books I’ve read of late is Phil Zuckerman’s new book, Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell... Read more
Can someone explain why CNN includes “NASCAR” on the Sports page? What is required to consider something a “sport”? Isn’t a ball needed? Read more
Who can name the players in the famous game between UCLA and the University of Houston? I’ll give you two: Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Elvin Hayes (Big E). Do you know who won? Read more
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