If you’re not familiar with it, the “Jesus Myth” hypothesis suggests that Jesus of Nazareth never existed, or at least the Jesus described in the New Testament never existed, but his story was composed as a kind of pastiche with bits and pieces from other legends and myths. It’s a silly hypothesis, really, but don’t take my word for it. See Oxford’s R. T. France in The Evidence for Jesus, Ronald Nash’s The Gospel and the Greeks, or Bart Ehrman’s Did... Read more
Does evangelical support for Mitt Romney require evangelicals to elevate political partisanship over theological integrity? Does this show that evangelicals are willing to compromise their core theological beliefs in service to their political agenda? I don’t think so — but some have suggested it does. As the Republican national convention is underway, it’s worth revisiting this issue: Jonathan Merritt wrote back in early June: What’s surprising in 2012 is the relative lack of anxiety on the other [non-Mormon] side, among... Read more
Alexei Laushkin was kind enough to interview me recently for his Creation Care Podcast. We had a pleasant, broad-ranging conversation on my own story, how Patheos came about, what the Evangelical Channel strives to be, and some recent posts. I always try to find the line between simple narcissism and insufferable self-promotion, but since I’m trying to drive some traffic over Alexei’s way, I’ll post a link: Check it out. Read more
Mike Huckabee has defended Todd Akin even after his infamous Rapegate comments. Are social conservatives bound by principle to defend their fellow pro-lifer? Read more
Being an evangelical Christian, of course, I grew up with vicious hatreds implanted deep within my heart. Hatred (I refuse to use “hate” when the proper word is “hatred”) for women who obtain abortions. Hatred for gays. Hatred for criminals and illegal aliens. Hatred for people of other faiths. Hatred, basically, for anyone unlike myself and my cru. I am a Christian, therefore I must be a hater. I eat hatred for breakfast — and yes, it takes like hate.... Read more
Every now and then, the reality-based community gets a reality check. One particularly bruising encounter with hard facts came recently in the form of a newly released study in The Chronicle of Philanthropy showing that the cities and states that give the most to charitable causes are overwhelmingly religious, conservative and southern. “The nation’s generosity divide is vast,” reports the Chronicle, as households in states like Utah and Mississippi give over 7 percent of their income to charity while the average household in... Read more
Raymond Lo and Kendra (Alger) Amrine were beautiful people who lived rich and happy lives, but they were very different. About the only thing they have in common is that they're both gone, leaving families behind that will try to pick up the pieces and keep on living. Read more
God's gracious communion is the one thing needful. No matter what else might be taken from you, if you have that, then you have enough and more than enough. The goods of the world will come and go. Yet the peace and the joy of your fellowship with God through faith in Jesus Christ will endure forever. Read more
Anyone else wondering why so many Romney surrogates and conservative pundits are jumping into the attack against Biden? Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, all suggesting that Obama should abandon Biden. They don’t actually want him to replace Biden with Hillary, of course; that would make for a much stronger Dem ticket. But, knowing that Obama won’t abandon Biden, they argue that he should, in order to make the point that Biden is unfit to be Vice President. I don’t think... Read more
Rob Schwarzwalder is Senior Vice President for the Family Research Council — and I met him in the past year at a Great Objects Gathering, an event meant to gather conservative and liberal evangelical leaders together and seek common cause on the overarching causes of our era. I had never interacted much with FRC or anyone affiliated with it, but I knew on the one hand that I sometimes found myself wincing at the things its representatives said and on... Read more
Philosophical Fragments
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