Teach a Church to Think

Last updated on: July 9, 2016 at 6:11 am By James F. McGrath

If you haven’t been following the Religion Bulletin series “So You’re Not a Priest? Scholars Explain What They Do to Outsiders,” you should. Here is a quote from the recent post in the series by Justin Henry: [P]erhaps my approach does resemble that of one eminent theologian, Paul the Apostle. Nicholas Wright argues that Paul’s theology was not inherently dogmatic, but was rather a framework for Christian communities to think together and come to their own conclusions regarding the essence of... Read more

The Biblical Prophets vs. #AllLivesMatter

Last updated on: July 21, 2016 at 6:32 pm By James F. McGrath

As I was thinking about the way some respond to #BlackLivesMatter with #AllLivesMatter, it struck me that people could have responded to the prophets in the Bible in the same way. Sure, poor lives matter, Micah and Amos. All lives matter. Stop focusing on just one group, when God cares about everyone. The prophets would not have disputed that God cares about everyone, or even that all lives matter. But I imagine they would have said that different people have different needs. The... Read more

Your Black Lives Matter To Me

Last updated on: July 21, 2016 at 6:35 pm By James F. McGrath

I happen to live in a neighborhood where most of my neighbors have much darker skin than I do. I wish more of my city were like my street. Demographic maps based on census data show that my city’s neighborhoods, like most, tend not to be diverse. Even if it were not my friends and neighbors that we are talking about when unarmed black men are killed by police, I would not be able to stay silent. But I suspect a big... Read more

Loving the Bible Again

Last updated on: July 8, 2016 at 6:22 am By James F. McGrath

Another quote from a very helpful post by John Pavlovitz. Read more

Hot and Cold Baptist Evangelism

Last updated on: July 7, 2016 at 4:31 pm By James F. McGrath

I saw this truck in front of me and had to take a photo. I am disappointed that they missed the opportunity to use Revelation 3:15 as their logo. Revelation 3:15, in case you don’t know it, says “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!” Something from Daniel 3, about four men walking around inside the fiery furnace, would also have worked. How do you react when you see trucks like this one? Read more

Killing Wonder With a Giant Ark

Last updated on: July 7, 2016 at 10:45 am By James F. McGrath

The above quote comes from Paul Wallace’s great blog post, “Ark Encounter and the death of wonder.” For a survey of the many lies told by young-earth creationists, see the post “Are Noah’s ark and flood literal scientific facts?” on the blog Science Meets Religion, which concludes: “Not only is this approach scientifically untenable, it is also a theological disaster, since it leads directly to “God the Great Deceiver” theology, an absurd notion that has been condemned by scientists and... Read more

Young Earth Creationism Attacks the Bible

Last updated on: July 7, 2016 at 6:19 am By James F. McGrath

As we lament the grand opening of the Ark Encounter, here are some links to blog posts that I have been meaning to share related to that topic. Hemant Mehta was one of several voices online to point out that the use of modern construction machinery to make the Ark Encounter replica of Noah’s ark highlights the implausibility of the Biblical tale, rather than making it more plausible. He also highlighted a new book about the phenomenon of young-earth creationism.... Read more

Why Science Does Not Disprove God

Last updated on: July 21, 2016 at 6:16 pm By James F. McGrath

I am grateful to Morrow for sending me a gratis review copy of Amir Aczel’s book Why Science Does Not Disprove God. Aczel’s previous work on the history of science and math is well-known. This book is based on interviews with a range of scientists and scholars, and is intended as a direct response to the claims of New Atheists. Aczel describes his aim in writing as follows: “The purpose of this book is to defend the integrity of science…My... Read more

Doctor Doctor

Last updated on: July 6, 2016 at 5:37 pm By James F. McGrath

David Tennant has been awarded an honorary doctorate. Steven Moffat has been awarded an honorary doctorate, too, and had an interesting guest turn up at the ceremony… Read more

Mapping the Origins Debate

Last updated on: July 6, 2016 at 10:47 am By James F. McGrath

I am grateful to IVP for sending me a gratis review copy of Gerald Rau’s book Mapping the Origins Debate. The book’s subtitle refers to the “Beginning of Everything,” but the book in fact looks at a number of quite distinct beginnings – the beginning of the universe, of life, of species, and of humans. Given all it tries to cover, the book is obviously not going to enter into great detail, and it is not intended to. Rather, Rau writes... Read more