My friend Mike Bird is the editor of a new book called The Apostle Paul, one of the more important Counterpoints books produced by Zondervan. What makes the Counterpoints series so helpful is that readers are given four committed authors who interact with one another, sometimes at razor’s edge because what they wrote in their chp matters so much to them. I don’t think Zondervan has ever produced a volume with four such different viewpoints as this new book on Paul.... Read more
Missy Franklin‘s way to the Olympics was from home: One of America’s new sweethearts is rewriting the conventional rules on how young athletes and their families must sacrifice for their sport. The 17-year-old Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin did not follow the standard, and much derided, formula for training. She did not abandon her home and support system once her swimming career took off. She did not coach shop, trading up until she found a respected and feared champion maker.... Read more
This is by Ben Irwin, and is a beautiful rendition of the king Jesus gospel, written for his daughter Elizabeth. The King Jesus story It all began with God. God made everything you can see. (And even some things you can’t see!) God made the world to be his home. Then God made the very first people so he could share his home with them. God gave them a beautiful garden to live in. He gave them a job to... Read more
By Margaret Wente, who sounds a bit like Ross Douthat: Two weeks from now, the United Church of Canada will assemble in Ottawa for its 41st General Council, where it will debate church policy and elect a new moderator. The top item on its agenda is a resolution calling for a boycott of products from Israeli settlements. Fortunately, nobody cares what the United Church thinks about Israeli settlements, or anything else for that matter, because the United Church doesn’t matter... Read more
From NPR: Is it possible to follow Jesus and turn away from the church? Something is happening when it comes to religion in America. Though more Americans go to church or believe in God than their counterparts in virtually every other Western country, fewer Americans now trust religious institutions. A recent Gallup pollshowed that just 44 percent of Americans have a great deal of confidence in “the church or organized religion.” It’s unclear if this is a permanent shift or just... Read more
Ross Douthat, whose book Bad Religion I posted about on this blog, has been given some serious pushback by Diana Butler Bass, whose book Christianity after Religion I may well blog about too. (Here’s a recent post by Douthat linking to the others.) Two claims: Douthat thinks mainline Christianity’s demise is due to its lack of moorings in historic Christian orthodox faith, while Bass is making the counterintuitive claim that mainline liberalism’s theology may be the seedbed for a renewal of Christianity... Read more
I have a very brief post, and it concerns how and what we preach. Observing internet sermons, reading sermons by famous pastors and the like, I see two sorts of preaching (there are of course more and nuances between them — and good lectionary preaching is a combination of both): Do you think we need to return to preaching Bible books or portions of Bible books? What does your church tend to do? Bible Raiding. This sort goes to the... Read more
Here’s a story about persecution, and that is followed by the way not to teach our youth about persecution: CARROLLTON, Texas, July 28, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ — Gospel for Asia (GFA) officials have confirmed that a senior mission leader in India has been abducted by a terrorist group. On July 23, around 7 p.m., Pastor Ponnachan George was kidnapped by five armed terrorists from the Bible school campus operated by Gospel for Asia in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam, India.... Read more
Laurie Goodstein: Dissent within the Catholic Church calls for some levels of nuance most of us non-Catholics don’t comprehend, such as obedience to superiors, and this recent dustup between the American nuns and the Pope has within the potential for significant problems. No doubt, many of the anti-institutional Christians of our day see this as yet one more example of institutional rot, the claim for authority, and the lack of recognizing the power of the people. How about you? American... Read more
BioLogos has received a good deal of press in recent weeks. The series Southern Baptist Voices has been an impetus for much of this press. One of the primary reasons for this series is a belief, deep and sincere, that we are brothers and sisters in Christ first – not opponents or enemies to be shouted down and vilified. This means that we must engage in serious and respectful conversations. A number of sources have reported on the story –... Read more
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