I became a Christian in high school. The pastor said some things about hell, and I was sure I didn’t want to go there. Jesus, I was told, was standing by ready to get me out of that, as soon as I gave him the go-ahead. A few years later I caught wind of the fact that there was more to it. Jesus wasn’t a get-out-of-hell free card. Paul put it this way–and when I first began to see the point, I... Read more
I can still recall a conversation I had many years ago while I was still on the faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary. A recent graduate came back to visit the campus and felt strongly that he needed to let me know, in no uncertain terms, how I had failed him in his preparation for gospel ministry. He was a pastor now, for several months, and was called by God to “contend for the gospel,” which is sort of code for pursuing debate with fellow pastors, elders, and congregants to make sure the... Read more
Rob Bell has a new book coming out in March 12, What We Talk About When We Talk About God. Today is February 15. March 12 hasn’t happened yet, because it’s in the future. That means the book hasn’t come out yet. Still, based on a 2:55 teaser video, some have already gotten ahead of the rush and offered their opinions. Here is the video. Here is what I saw. (1) 0:00 to 0:31–Many people today have trouble with traditional... Read more
Today’s post is an interview with Jonathan D. Fitzgerald, author of Not Your Mother’s Morals: How the New Sincerity is Changing Pop Culture for the Better. Fitzgerald is a writer and educator whose with a keen interest in how religion shows up in culture. He is an editor at Patrolmag.co and writes a weekly column for the popular religion website Patheos. His freelance works has appeared in such places as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Christianity Today, Religion Dispatches, The Huffington Post, Killing the Buddha, and The Jersey City... Read more
I like the phrase “living the questions.” I use it now and then, and so do a lot of other people. There’s even a book out there that’s got the phrase in the title. I like the phrase because it encourages a “journey” mentality of spiritual growth rather than a “fortress” mentality. Some might think it’s just a wishy-washy rejection of “absolute truth” that throws everything up for grabs. I disagree. I think it reflects a healthy realization that we are absolutely certain... Read more
Today’s post is a brief interview with Mark Roncace (Ph.D. Emory University), associate professor of religion at Wingate University in North Carolina. He recently published Raw Revelation: The Bible They Never Tell You About. The book is aimed at everyday readers of the Bible who have come to see that the Bible raises it’s own difficult questions. Roncace’s book is a witty, readable, and straightforward invitation to believers to resist the attractively packaged and processed Bible they are often exposed to and... Read more
Peter Rollins recently made an interesting point on his blog, and, to paraphrase, it goes something like this: Q. What do the state, nightclubs, and worship services have in common? A. All have rituals that people participate in willingly, though not really knowing why, and where the true self is kept safely hidden from self and others, thus empowering the institution to continue as is, without threat of revolt. Speaking of a worship service, Rollins writes: Here God is treated as a... Read more
I recently hosted a 3-part guest blog series by Eric Seibert (Messiah College) on the topic of God’s violence in the Old Testament (part one here). It’s a touchy subject for some, and the comments left over several days reflect the diverse points of view people hold, and generally with both respect and passion. Not unexpected, some comments voice very strong opinions that leave little room for give and take–as if the commenter is the very voice of God. Those sorts of comments... Read more
Over the next few weeks, I plan to host several interviews of authors who are writing on Christianity and evolution. As readers of the blog well know, I sort of think this conversation is important, I’m pretty sure it ain’t goin’ away, and more and more thinkers are entering the conversation. In today’s post, I interview Bruce Glass who just published Exploring Faith and Reason: The Reconciliation of Christianity and Biological Evolution. Glass is an eclectic sort of chap: business... Read more
Today’s post is the third and final one by Dr. Eric Seibert, Professor of Old Testament at Messiah College (post one is here and post two is here). Much of Seibert’s work is centered on addressing the problematic portrayals of God in the Old Testament, especially his violence. He is the author of Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God (Fortress 2009) and The Violence of Scripture: Overcoming the Old Testament’s Troubling Legacy (Fortress 2012). Seibert is also a licensed minister in the Brethren in Christ Church... Read more
Peter Enns
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