One of the key passages in theological debates over homosexuality is Romans 1, in which Paul appears to label same-sex sexual behavior as an example of the depravity that results from idolatry and human sinfulness generally. Morgan Guyton argues in this recent post that, in fact, the teaching of Romans 1 leads in the opposite direction. One way to make this point, found in this address by the Catholic theologian James Allison, is to argue that Paul is using examples of... Read more
Chapter 7 of How Jesus Saves the World from Us, “Communion, not Correctness,” deals with the question of doctrinal orthodoxy. Morgan compares doctrine to a blues jam, in which there is a basic “orthodoxy”–a particular scale and set of chord progressions–but lots of freedom to improvise within this. Morgan illustrates his principle with examples of his own practice, following the usage of local churches even on points where he might not agree. So, for instance, he says “Our Mother and Our... Read more
Christianity does not have a good reputation among non-Christians in contemporary America and Western Europe. For that reason, a large number of Christians find it hard to describe themselves as Christians without disclaimers: “I’m not one of those Christians”–those people for whom a “Christian worldview” is identical with right-wing Republican politics, for whom Christian morality primarily means disapproving of other people’s sex lives, and for whom “salvation” means a private legal transaction with Jesus which enables one to escape hell.... Read more
This article argues that it is, but I think the argument is pretty much bunk. Christians do indeed make specific historical claims, but that’s only proof of Christianity if you start with the premise that religions should do that. It isn’t true that Buddhism is non-falsifiable. Buddhism claims to be a means leading to peace of mind and freedom from the inner suffering that arises from selfish desire. If you practice the Buddhist way for a period of time and... Read more
I have now finished reading through Isaiah in Hebrew (I did this quite a while ago, actually, and have been making heavy work of Jeremiah so far, what with more goats to milk and the garden picking up and articles to write for Christian History). In my earlier post I wrote about the language of creation and chaos in “Second” Isaiah and how it connects to the book’s critique of Babylonian idolatry. But there’s another cluster of language that struck... Read more
I haven’t posted for a while because I’ve been working on articles on the Reformation for the next Christian History issue, among other things. Here is a piece I wrote the other day on religion and myth for the Public Square at Patheos. Read more
Chapter 7 of Payton’s Getting the Reformation Wrong focuses on the Anabaptists and other radical groups. His main point here seems to be to establish the diversity of 16th-century Anabaptism and to explain why both Catholics and mainstream Protestants found them so threatening. Payton’s emphasis on diversity is in keeping with scholarship in the past 50 years, and is certainly something non-specialists need to hear, but he carries it too far. Menno Simons and what would become mainstream Anabaptism get only... Read more
James Payton’s 2010 book Getting the Reformation Wrong has a provocative title (one I would love to have used myself). Much of the book, in fact, is simply a summary of modern scholarship on the Reformation, but as the title indicates, one major reason Payton wrote the book is to address what he regards as common misunderstandings about the Reformation. Payton’s list isn’t quite the same as mine, and there are places where I disagree with his take on the Reformation... Read more
I translated this letter some years ago for Dave Armstrong, who had cited parts of it from Hartmann Grisar. This led to a debate between me and Dave on whether Dave and Grisar were overstating its implications for Protestant appeals to patristic authority and the question of how respectful the Protestant Reformers were of the Church Fathers. Dave posted the letter on his site, together with responses by him to some of my criticisms of his original use of the... Read more
I’ve been reading through the Bible in Hebrew for many years now, and I’m just over half way through. In the Jewish ordering of the canon, that means that I’m getting toward the end of Isaiah. I’ve made my way through the marvelous chapters 40-55 and am now up to chap. 60. One of the things I enjoy about reading Hebrew is the rich word play that the authors engage in, particularly in poetic texts such as Isaiah (though there’s... Read more
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