I’ve run through a few different titles for this post – perhaps “I’ve Found the Solution!” … or even more provocatively “We’ve Been Suckered?” … among others. I’ve settled, however, for a relatively sedate title. The ideas are things I’ve been mulling for a while but given the posts Scot put up Sunday on Teenage Christians and the Bible and Monday on When Pastors Switch Theology perhaps it is time to put it up for some discussion. There is a... Read more
From Danny Zacharias. Danny Zacharias is a lecturer in Biblical studies at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, NS. He is a PhD candidate at Highland Theological College in Scotland, runs 2 websites (one and two) and tweets @da_knee. Some Social Media Advice for Seminarians Social media has changed the way we interact with one another. Sometimes it is for the good, sometimes not. As a seminary prof who happens to be chummy with his students on Facebook as well as following... Read more
From USA Today: TOKYO (AP) – The Obama administration will ask Congress to sustain U.S. assistance for Afghanistan near the average amount it has been over the last decade through 2017 as part of the international effort to stabilize the country even as most international forces pull out over the next two years. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made the pledge Sunday as some 70 countries gathered in Tokyo to announce a four-year civilian assistance plan. Altogether they are... Read more
From Sarah Perez: Have you ever read news that sort of makes you want to cry? I have to warn you, that’s what this new study from enterprise mobility company Good Technology might inspire. The company polled 1,000 U.S. workers to get a better understanding of their mobile work habits. The results are not surprising: the line between work and free time has become so blurred it’s practically non-existent. 80% of people continue working after leaving the office (a figure which actually... Read more
From USA Today, but of course not all agree (by the way, I recommend William Webb, Corporal Punishment in the Bible, if you want to see someone take on this issue with some hermeneutical finesse): Children who are spanked, hit, or pushed as a means of discipline may be at an increased risk of mental problems in adulthood — from mood and anxiety disorders to drug and alcohol abuse, new research suggests. Although it is well established that physical and... Read more
My questions are these: Does your church tolerate theological shifts on the part of the pastor? Do you know what your pastor/s believe about crucial topics? Pastors: What are your stories? Have you struggled? Where can you find a safe place for discussing your shifts, your theology, etc.? What happens if you, as a pastor, shift from your church’s pre-millennial view to a more a-millennial view, or toward preterism? Are you expected to be on the side of the creationists... Read more
Mike Nappa did a survey of 845 Christian teenagers, The Jesus Survey, and asked them the deity question — in particular, he asked if they thought Jesus was God. I have some quibbles with his own theological explanation and one of the questions, but the numbers below may surprise some but shouldn’t surprise those who minister to and alongside teens. My quibble about his first question: “Jesus, in some mysterious way, is both the Son of God and God himself.”... Read more
The big picture: we will fly into Instanbul (Constantinople), tour some of the cities of Peter and Paul and John in Asia Minor, fly to Tel Aviv, get a bus to Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, and then the unique part of this trip is that we will go on a four-day hike from Nazareth to Capernaum. Then we will bus down to Jerusalem to spend a day in Jerusalem. Please think of joining Kris and me on this life-time of... Read more
This post is by Michael O’Neil, a friend of mine who teaches at Vose Seminary in Perth, Australia. Michael, a theologian, offers some reflections on a move, The Life of David Gale. “Gritty Movies” A few days ago my wife and I watched Alan Parker’s 2003 movie The Life of David Gale. It’s what we call a ‘gritty film:’ the kind of movie that is emotionally wrenching or confronting because of its subject matter, or its treatment of the subject... Read more
Mike Nappa did a survey of 845 Christian teenagers — at least those who think they are Christians and who are involved in a youth group — to find out what they believe. He believes his study reflects Christian teenagers (he says his study has 4.44% margin of error), though I’d slightly modify that to conservative evangelical-type Christian teenagers who attended a church camp called Reach Workcamps. The study is not comprehensive nor complete, but I believe it taps into... Read more
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