By Mike Glenn One of the disappointing moments in a new Christian’s life happens when they realize following Christ isn’t going to make their life easier but harder. In fact, things aren’t just going to get harder, they’re going to get more complicated. Take the question of evil. If you’re not a Christ follower, the question of evil is nothing more than a frustrating parlor game. After all, if you don’t have a theology to confuse, why struggle to find... Read more

Consider Genesis 1. In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the spirit of God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there... Read more

David Cramer, at Anabaptist Revisions, is not only a pastor and professor but a careful historian of all things Anabaptist. His new post on what distinguishes an Anabaptist from a Neo-Anabaptist is worth careful reading. Anabaptist Revisions is the official blog of David C. Cramer. David is managing editor at the Institute of Mennonite Studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, where he also lectures on Christian theology and ethics. In addition, he is teaching pastor at Keller Park Church, a small, urban,... Read more

WWJD – What would Jesus do? Most people are familiar with the popular Evangelical movement that sprang up in the ‘90s, inviting people to ask this question about daily life decisions. Many people are aware that this movement was rooted in Charles Sheldon’s best-selling novel, “In His Steps,” written in 1896, featuring a minster who encourages parishioners to ask this question throughout their daily lives for a year. What many may not be aware of is the event that transformed... Read more

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From NYTimes: In the name of this not-obviously-enlightened alternative, Catholicism is constantly asked to “reform” away practices that are there because they connect directly to the New Testament — in the case of celibacy, to Jesus’ own example and his hard words for anyone making an idol of family life. This seems like a bad bargain, no matter how much hypocrisy there may be in Rome. That clerical celibacy doesn’t guarantee asceticism is obvious, any more than attending Mass guarantees... Read more

From CBE By Chesna Hinkley On February 18, 2019 Short Answers to Tough Questions Studies on Specific Passages Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series on difficult Bible passages entitled “What to Say When…” 1 Timothy 2 is a tricky passage to interpret well. Verses 11-15 alone contain four biblical “buzz phrases” often employed by those who oppose women’s equality in the church. Paul writes:[1] 1. Women should learn in silence (2:11). 2. I do not permit a woman... Read more

I’m so grateful for this excellent series by Michael Kruse. Hope you all appreciate his fair-minded summaries. I believe one of the biggest issues in what Christians say and hope about politics and economics rests upon flimsy understandings of how economies work. Michael Kruse has been a teacher for many of us. How do we create coherence between faith and work? John Knapp has explained how important rethinking vocation is, and how important it is that we carefully consider a... Read more

Source: Actor James Faulkner, who starred in one of the most successful faith-based movies of 2018, has opened up about being filled with the Holy Spirit during filming. “Paul, Apostle of Christ,” which was released in March of last year, took $23 million at the box office, far exceeding commercial expectations. Faulkner, who played the Apostle Paul, starred alongside Jim Caviziel, who famously portrayed Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 epic, “The Passion of the Christ.” “It took me on a... Read more