This image from Pictoral Theology illustrates nicely a number of things about the approach many conservative Christians take to science and nature. Seeing “GOD” in DNA involves (1) treating one’s English language as normative, (2) selectively leaving out and adding things and fixating on the ones which provide meaning, and (3) reading significance that just isn’t there into the result of doing (1) and (2). If you can’t see God at work in the world the way it really is, then... Read more
Recently when I shared a post on this view of the Bible, I tried to articulate my own thoughts on the topic to sum up the matter. The words above/below are what I came up with and commented on Facebook when sharing that blog post, and I thought it might be worth sharing them here too. Few assumptions prevent people from understanding the Bible as much as the idea that it is a love letter from God to them. Every part... Read more
On the Bible Odyssey website, Larry Hurtado answers a question about the worship of Jesus. Dale Tuggy has a two-part podcast interview with Keith Ward, focused on his latest book, Christ and the Cosmos: A Reformulation of Trinitarian Doctrine. Daniel Kirk blogged about divine identity Christology, suggesting that, like Biblical inerrancy, it is a viewpoint that is contradicted by the very texts on which is claims to be based. Read more
Inerrancy is about the desire to have one’s own views regarded as inerrant. The inerrancy of the Bible is just a means to getting there. And the failure to humbly recognize one’s own human proneness to err, which is exposed at the heart of “biblical inerrancy,” shows that this doctrine is not merely wrong, but a direct frontal assault on the Bible’s teachings about God, humans, and the difference between the two. (This is yet another instance of a thought... Read more
The above litany was used in a service recently at Crooked Creek Baptist Church, in which Rev. Joy Amick delivered a sermon which was essentially a first person narrative told from the perspective of the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman mentioned in the Gospels. The service mentioned Jesus having his horizons broadened by his encounter with the woman, and the woman herself suggests that Jesus was delighted when she bested him in their discussion. Christians often say that we worship a... Read more
Here is something I wrote for Facebook when I shared a meme I made with a quote from Richard Rohr: One of the biggest religious divides cuts across religious traditions rather than between them. It is the difference between those who treat religion as a magnifying glass to help expose and oppose the sins of others more effectively, and those who treat it as a mirror to help one’s own spiritual and moral life by fostering introspection and personal repentance... Read more
The title of the episode “The Woman Who Lived” is noteworthy in the way it not only indicates that this is a sequel to last week’s “The Girl Who Died,” but also the things it hints about Ashildr’s life after the Doctor used an alien repair kit to save her life – rendering her effectively immortal in the process. It was a girl that died, and whom the Doctor brought back to life. The title thus suggests that, although she... Read more
The quote comes from Richard Beck’s blog post “Emotional Intelligence and Sola Scriptura.” Here is another excerpt from the post: [W]e all have a hermeneutic. The only question is whether you are consciously vs.unconsciously using a hermeneutic. Fundamentalists are interpreting the text unconsciously. Fundamentalists are interpreting the text right and left, they are justunaware that they are doing so… When your hermeneutic is operating unconsciously it causes you to say things like “this is the clear teaching of Scripture.” …Basically, fundamentalism–denying that you are engaged in... Read more
I apologize for taking so long to get to blogging about the most recent episode of Doctor Who, “The Girl Who Died.” The episode was full of everything that I love about Doctor Who – silliness, serious reflection, connections with earlier episode, and religious themes. Spoilers ahead! Many fans have been waiting for a key moment in this episode – the snapping of the sonic sunglasses. Many will be glad to see the last of them – although I suspect... Read more
I’ve floated the idea of doing a service of rock and roll prayers at my church. Here are the songs that I think would work for it. Can you suggest others? U2, “40” Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes” Mr. Mister, “Kyrie” Styx, “Show Me The Way” Foreigner, “I Want to Know What Love Is” Mike and the Mechanics, “Beggar on a Beach of Gold” Another that I think would be fantastic, but is perhaps too obscure, is “Light of the... Read more
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