When the Bible Sanctions Violence, Must We?

Last updated on: February 4, 2013 at 3:46 pm By Peter Enns

Today’s post is the second of three by Dr. Eric Seibert, Professor of Old Testament at Messiah College (post one 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 and formerly the Director of... Read more

Will God Be Tailgating at the Super Bowl? (I’m going with no)

Last updated on: February 2, 2013 at 8:42 am By Peter Enns

Red Letter Christians recently posted the statistic that 3 in 10 Americans believe God will play a role in determining which team wins the Super Bowl. I could say something cute about how horribly shortsighted and ridiculous this is about God, because we all know God is really a baseball fan, but I won’t. The Red Letter Christians post adds that about half of professional athletes believe that God rewards their faith by giving them health and success on the field. Reading this gave me one of those “Really!?! with Seth... Read more

When the “Good Book” is Bad: Challenging the Bible’s Violent Portrayals of God

Last updated on: February 4, 2013 at 3:47 pm By Peter Enns

Today’s post, the first of three, is written by Dr. Eric Seibert, Professor of Old Testament at Messiah College. 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 and formerly the Director of the Peace and... Read more

Guess What: Your Presuppositions Don’t Automatically Make You a Better or Worse Interpreter of the Bible

Last updated on: January 23, 2015 at 8:57 am By Peter Enns

A couple of weeks ago I posted on “3 ways I would like to see evangelical leaders stop defending the Bible.” The third way I was complaining about is the common claim that if one’s presuppositions are false, false conclusions are sure to follow. I see this not only among evangelical leaders but also now and again among evangelical biblical scholars, especially with respect to inerrancy as the proper and necessary starting point–unless you begin there, you will not come to... Read more

10 “I-Can’t-Believe-What-I’m Reading” Lessons from Creationist-Inspired Textbooks

Last updated on: January 28, 2013 at 8:14 pm By Peter Enns

A couple of days ago, PBS.org posted an article, “10 Interesting Lessons from Creationist-Inspired Textbooks.” The article providers quotes from various textbooks to illustrate the point. The article ends with a short video of examples from the A Beka Book and Bob Jones University Press curricula. A couple of thoughts. First, I can understand if some creationists might feel misrepresented in this article. For example, likely not all creationists think killing native Americans (Trail of Tears) and the African-American saga of slavery are justified... Read more

The Deeper Scandal of the Evangelical Mind: We Are Not Allowed to Use It

Last updated on: January 25, 2013 at 10:01 am By Peter Enns

Mark Noll’s 1995 book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind hit a raw nerve when he declared “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” He argued that Evangelical scholarship had a minimal presence in doing serious academic research, and that they need to–and can–do better. His followup book in 2011, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, is Noll’s theological vision for how to move forward–and I don’t mind adding that Noll devoted about... Read more

What’s God So Mad About, Anyway? (or, why is God so mad at an evolving creation?)

Last updated on: January 21, 2013 at 11:46 pm By Peter Enns

Here’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. How often do we read about God’s anger, wrath, etc. in the Old Testament? What are the kinds of things–specifically–that make God angry? What does God do to the offenders because of his anger? I’ve been wondering about this since I started thinking more seriously about evolution a few years ago. Why? Because according the Genesis 3 and Romand 5, death is a result of God being angry about something. According to an evolutionary... Read more

Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Handling Theological Disagreement I Learned in Kindergarten

Last updated on: January 17, 2013 at 11:26 pm By Peter Enns

1. Don’t gang up on anyone. 2. Don’t be a bully. 3. Don’t scream or throw a tantrum. 4. Don’t make fun of anyone. 5. Don’t make up lies to get your way. 6. Don’t try to make others look foolish. 7. Don’t say things when you are angry. 8. Don’t say things when you are tired. 9. No scratching or biting. 10. Respect others. 11. Work as a team. 12. Take turns listening and speaking. Read more

3 Ways I Would Like to See Evangelical Leaders Stop Defending The Bible

Last updated on: January 14, 2013 at 10:52 pm By Peter Enns

I posted last week on “3 Things I Would Like to See Evangelical Leaders Stop Saying about Biblical Scholarship.” Today’s post is about rhetoric I have heard from evangelical leaders when defending a biblical position. Though these leaders may be well-intentioned, I feel their rhetoric only serves to score points, entrench positions, and detract from much needed conversation. You’ll see that these three are interrelated. 1. The “it’s possible” or “be patient” argument. When faced with a genuine and serious challenge to... Read more

When Cute Little Bunnies Talk Theology

Last updated on: January 11, 2013 at 10:18 am By Peter Enns

Though himself neither cute nor a bunny, my friend James McGrath over at Exploring Our Matrix has posted this ever-so-cute response to creationism by the two ever-so-cutest stuffed bunnies you’ll ever want to see. Of course, the point of this bunny dialogue is applicable not just to creationism but to other issues of theological disagreement where the familiarity and safety of an “authoritative tradition” collides with thoughtful and needed exploration that challenges that authority. And, no, I’m not saying tradition is always wrong and exploration is always... Read more