The Southern Baptists recently gathered in New Orleans to affirm the “answer” of the Bible that woman cannot be pastors. Reflecting on this claim, it crossed my mind that “answers” may not be the best approach to biblical studies. What if the Bible is not a “Google Search” engine? I went to biblegateway.com and searched for “homosexual” in the Bible. The response: “Sorry, we didn’t find any results for your search.” I searched for “abortion.” The response: “Sorry, we didn’t... Read more

Literalism struggles to hold its head above the high waters of the epistemic sea. Since evangelicals in America, treat the founding documents of the nation – the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights – the same way they treat the Bible, there’s merit in examining one of the most basic of American texts. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable... Read more