evangelicalism: the best version of Christianity (or not)

Last updated on: May 12, 2014 at 8:51 am By Peter Enns

In recent months, in various venues, I have seen the following claim made or implied, in one form or another: evangelicalism is the best iteration of Christianity because it is most faithful to the Bible and most in line with the history of the church. Several observations: All Christian traditions say that. To gain credibility this claim would need to be made with at least Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologians in the room. This triumphalist claim is consistent with evangelicalism’s... Read more

buy The Evolution of Adam dirt cheap (get it?)

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 8:30 am By Peter Enns

From today through May 15, The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins will be available for $2.99 (ebook–Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD). At that price, you can’t afford not to buy it. I mean, where else are you going to find such a handy catalogue of information to help you negotiate the muddy waters of evolution and Christianity? Or, if you prefer, where else are you going to find such a handy catalogue of... Read more

Bryan College and evolution: maybe the board and president should listen to the faculty and students on this one

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 3:09 pm By Peter Enns

Inside Higher Education posted recently the latest developments in the unfortunate yet expected and predictable events at Bryan College over evolution. (See my earlier post here.) You will recall that college’s board voted to “clarify” the colleges original statement on human origins from this: “that the origin of man was by fiat of God in the act of creation as related in the Book of Genesis; that he was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby... Read more

another juicy quote from Oswald Chambers: “we are not asked to believe the Bible.”

Last updated on: May 6, 2014 at 9:08 pm By Peter Enns

Here is another quote from Oswald Chambers sent to me by my rector, Father Dave Robinson of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Apparently he seems to have a lot of time on his hands, and if he keeps sending me these things, the vestry will likely require him to start giving 14 minute homilies instead of the regular 12 minute kind. The title of this reflection is “Liberty and the Standards of Jesus,” the May 6th reading at My Utmost for His Highest. It is based... Read more

being certain of God–not our beliefs–is the mark of the spiritual life

Last updated on: April 30, 2014 at 8:42 pm By Peter Enns

The following was posted as “Gracious Uncertainty,” the daily reading (April 29) at My Utmost for His Highest (I made my own paragraph divisions). My Rector at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Dave Robinson, sent this to me. When you preach 12 minute homilies you’ve got extra time for passing on nice things like this. The text for these reflections is 1 John 3:2, …it has not yet been revealed what we shall be… Our natural inclination is to be so precise—trying always to... Read more

6 thoughts–let’s call them tips–on publicly criticizing and being criticized

Last updated on: April 29, 2014 at 12:40 pm By Peter Enns

The following comes to mind in light of some Internet theological smackdowns I’ve been reading lately, as well as my own working through the muddy fields of publicly criticizing and being criticized. 1. To write is to be criticized. If you don’t want to be criticized, don’t write. Anything. Ever. In fact, don’t think, talk, marry, beget/bear children, or otherwise engage with humans. But definitely don’t write. And most definitely don’t write about God or the Bible, for there is... Read more

that horrible church moment for us introverts when we have to….yuck…and what I learned about it today

Last updated on: April 27, 2014 at 7:38 pm By Peter Enns

I like 12 minute Episcopal homilies. No time for fooling around. Just get to the point. And since that point can show up at any time, I have to be paying attention. Paying attention to sermons is new for me. In the past my mind would often wander because my mind tends to do that during a 45 minute Sunday morning “sermon”/lecture/doctrinal beat down/look-at-how-much-I-know session. In a way, I miss those days. I got some of my best writing ideas... Read more

a long lost letter back to Paul from the Jewish Christians at Rome that I totally made up

Last updated on: April 21, 2014 at 1:31 pm By Peter Enns

If I could go back in time, I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear how the Jewish believers in the church at Rome heard Paul’s words in his letter to them. (Actually, if I really could go back in time I’d first make a pit stop along the way so I could win the Power Ball Jackpot, but I digress.) Here we have Paul writing a letter to a church he had neither founded nor even... Read more

the apostle Paul’s clear inerrant teaching on government and why we don’t need to follow it

Last updated on: April 14, 2014 at 8:59 pm By Peter Enns

Is the Bible without error in all that it affirms or teaches? Many of us are no doubt familiar with this way of articulating inerrancy. Its advantage is that those things that are not affirmed or taught can be in “error,” at least error-like in that they don’t need to be obeyed–like the pessimistic theology of Qohelet, or Ps 137, where the psalmist is giddy with the thought of Babylonian babies’ heads smashed against rocks. Portions of Scripture that do... Read more

“Scripture is like a cracked jar”–the glory of an imperfect Bible (Michael Hardin part 4)

Last updated on: April 11, 2014 at 8:06 am By Peter Enns

Today we come to the final post of a 4-part series by Michael Hardin, “How Jesus Read His Bible.” Hardin (see full bio at part 1) is the co-founder and Executive Director of Preaching Peace a non-profit based in Lancaster, PA whose motto is “Educating the Church in Jesus’ Vision of Peace.” Hardin has published over a dozen articles on the mimetic theory of René Girard in addition to essays on theology, spirituality, and practical theology. He is also the author of several books,... Read more