The Phoenix Affirmations: A Progressive Christian Statement

Last updated on: June 15, 2015 at 9:23 am By James F. McGrath

Chuck Queen recently shared the text of the Phoenix Affirmations in Baptist News. I am sharing them in turn below, and hope you will discuss them in the comments section. CHRISTIAN LOVE OF GOD INCLUDES: Walking fully in the Path of Jesus without denying the legitimacy of other paths that God may provide for humanity. Listening for God’s Word, which comes through daily prayer and meditation, studying the ancient testimonies which we call Scripture, and attending to God’s present activity in... Read more

Approaching Failure Scientifically

Last updated on: June 15, 2015 at 6:45 am By James F. McGrath

The Biggest Heresy of All

Last updated on: June 14, 2015 at 6:43 am By James F. McGrath

The quote comes from Jeremy Myers’ post “The Biggest Heresy of All Time.” Here’s a larger quote from the context of the quote above, to whet your appetite: If I hate a person because I’m mean, well, then that’s just mean. But if I hate a person because “Jesus told me to hate him,” this is not just mean, this is satanically mean. This is why the lack of love – especially the lack of love from people who claim to follow... Read more

Movie Trailer for the Papal Encyclical

Last updated on: June 13, 2015 at 10:52 am By James F. McGrath

I may be mistaken, but I believe that this may be the first time in history that, even in jest, someone has made a movie trailer for an encyclical that the pope is expected to issue. The subject is climate change, and it there are high expectations for it. Does a trailer like this actually help raise expectations for the actual encyclical? Or does it distract from it? Or does it just provide a bit of light comic relief? Read more

Not Far From The Kingdom

Last updated on: June 13, 2015 at 8:43 am By James F. McGrath

In a recent sermon, my pastor raised the question of whether Jesus’ reference to certain individuals as “not far from the Kingdom of God” was a compliment or an insult. What do you think? Is he praising them for being close, or insulting them for not quite being there yet – or perhaps both, simultaneously? And if such language is authentic, what light does it shed on Jesus’ conception of the Kingdom of God? Read more

The Deep End of the Library

Last updated on: June 13, 2015 at 6:28 am By James F. McGrath

I Passed for Black

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 12:10 pm By James F. McGrath

As a fan of John Williams’ music, I am aware of the old movie “I Passed for White” and blogged about it a while back. Today there has been a prominent news story about the reverse situation – someone who is “white” passing for “black.” Rachel Dolezal, president of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) chapter in Spokane, Washington, is apparently listed as “white” on her birth certificate, and yet she has identified herself as African-American. I hope... Read more

Spiritual Agoraphobia

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 6:15 am By James F. McGrath

The quote comes from my blog post “Spiritual Agoraphobia” from a few years ago. Read more

RIP Christopher Lee

Last updated on: June 11, 2015 at 3:02 pm By James F. McGrath

This seemed the appropriate clip to offer as a tribute to actor Christopher Lee, who died this past Sunday at the age of 93. And despite the misspelling of “Mandarin,” this image below also seemed appropriate to share on this occasion. Read more

Trade Day at #GenCon (Gaming and Education)

Last updated on: June 11, 2015 at 9:44 am By James F. McGrath

Gen Con will be taking place at the end of July, and this year I’ll be attending Trade Day, the day before the activities most gamers are interested in. That day includes a large number of sessions aimed at educators. I was quite astounded by the sheer number of them, so many overlapping sessions that one has to choose between many overlapping sessions that look interesting. I don’t remember noticing so many such sessions being listed in previous years. Perhaps this is a sign... Read more