Jeff Cook (info at bottom) has examined ten arguments against God-belief and now he turns it around for the positive case — apologetics — of arguments Socrates said, “Philosophy begins with wonder” and nearly all human beings at all times have looked at the world around them and, given its beauties, powers, and complexities, asked if what they saw was designed by a mind for a purpose. I think it is vitally important to think hard about God. Whether or... Read more
From CT, which has a short piece up about the BGEA’s decision, after Billy Graham met with Mitt Romney, to remove Mormons from their site as a cult. Ken Barun, the BGEA’s chief of staff, confirmed the removal on Tuesday. “Our primary focus at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has always been promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Barun said in a statement. “We removed the information from the website because we do not wish to participate in a theological... Read more
James Michener found a list of twelve rules in a Spanish community on a church door… what do you see here? Dated July 11, 1943, the poster read as follows: 1. Women shall not appear on the streets of this village with dresses that are too tight in those places which provoke the evil passions of men. 2. They must never wear dresses that are too short. 3. They must be particularly careful not to wear dresses that are low-cut... Read more
From Maria Popova’s always interesting column… this one on letters to the next generation… here’s a brief excerpt from Nussbaum’s letter about advice for the next generation: What’s your advice on developing an inner life? One of the most poignant letters comes from philosopher Martha Nussbaum, who makes an eloquent case for the importance of cultivating a rich inner life bycelebrating emotional excess as a generative force, embracing vulnerability, not fearing feelings, and harnessing the empathic power of storytelling…. What is the remedy of... Read more
As I was preparing last week’s post A Conversation About Genesis, I came across the YouTube video of this extended reflection by Tom Wright put out by World Vision as part of a Faith Effect campaign in Australia. This is an excellent clip – well worth the 11 to 12 minutes or so it takes to watch it. In fact, it is well worth the 20 to 30 it takes to listen more than once and mull over some of... Read more
Carl Henry, in 1947 in his book The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, called American evangelicalism out of its fundamentalist closet and into the public sector, and in so coming out evangelicalism was called by Henry to become intellectually responsible. That book generated “neo-evangelicalism” and re-generated much of American evangelicalism. Within two decades of Henry’s famous book many American evangelicals had become not just public but activist. David Swartz examines in his new and exceptional study, Moral Minority, the progressive, or... Read more
From Brink Lindsey: (At the link you can read the whole article). Today’s hyperventilating “helicopter parents” are comic fish in a barrel. Playing Mozart to their babies in utero and dangling Baby Einstein gewgaws over their bassinets. Obsessing over peanut allergies, turning school science fairs into arms races of one-upmanship, and hiring batteries of private tutors to eke out another 10 points on the SAT. When we stop giggling, it’s only to cluck with disapproval…. Well-educated parents of means these... Read more
From a reader of this blog: I recently was reading through 1-2 Samuel. These books, of course, include the story of the rape of Tamar. I tell others to handle this and similar stories (e.g., Dinah’s rape in Gen 34) with great care when they teach/preach because such stories can stir up pain for victims of sexual abuse within the church and, perhaps, bring such victims to them looking for help. In this light, I try to give people resources for... Read more
John Collins, professor at Yale Divinity School, is right. “When it became clear that the terrorists of September 11, 2001, saw or imagined their grievances in religious terms, any reader of the Bible should have had a flash of recognition.” This comes from John J. Collins’s short book, Does the Bible Justify Violence? , which itself is rooted in his SBL Presidential address in 2002. What he means is that there are instances of sacred violence in our Scriptures as well. To be... Read more
In the 1960s, or roughly the same time the Great Migration of African Americans left the South and came North or left rural areas for the big cities, many white Americans fled. Perhaps the most oft-told story is about Detroit, but suburban development occurred not just because there weren’t enough homes in the cities. It occurred because more and more were uncomfortable in cities. Prior to those days most model churches were in the cities but once again the fleeing of... Read more
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