Discussion of Malestrom by Carolyn Custis James (Part Two) In Chapter 1, “The Genesis of the Malestrom,” Carolyn Custis James explains what I have long believed—that men and women share the image of God equally and that patriarchy is a result of the fall, not part of the intended pattern of creation. Also, contrary to belief that “this is a man’s world” (intended prescriptively, not only descriptively), Christians ought to recognize and live out the truth that this is God’s... Read more

I’m a historical theologian and I tell my students that the history of Christian theology is a series of pendulum swings–reactions that are often over reactions to events, movements, etc. I think this is true of cultural history in general. Let me give some examples. The second century Christian bishops’ response to Montanism was an over reaction that had extremely negative consequences. Instead of the church being where the Spirit is, the church became defined as where the bishop is.... Read more

What’s with the Popularity of Off-Beat Political Candidates? Many people are scratching their heads over the growing popularity of Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. (To be specific—as a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination as its presidential candidate next year. However, Trump has made some indications he may run as an independent should he not receive that nomination, so I think it’s fair to just call him a “presidential candidate.”) That popularity, to say nothing of Trump himself, is... Read more

Discussion of Malestrom by Carolyn Custis James (Part One) I recently announced here that I would begin a series of blog posts based on evangelical author Carolyn Custis James’s new book Malestrom:Manhood Swept into the Currents of A Changing World (Zondervan, 2015). I realize most interested people will not have had time to order and receive a hard copy of the book. So, after this first post in the series, I’ll wait a few days until posting Part Two. This... Read more

An Invitation to Discuss Malestrom by Carolyn Custis James Either serendipity or providence. Just a few weeks ago I was on a panel discussing Christ and Gender with Ben Witherington and Carolyn Custis James at the MissioAlliance gathering in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s an explosive issue; whatever a person says will inevitably spark some strong disagreement, if not harsh criticism, from someone else. But we were all civil to each other and found common ground and raised a lot of questions.... Read more

This is a request for your help identifying relatively new Christian denominations in the U.S. It’s for a project I’m beginning to undertake. I will explain more about that project later. (I’ve had a special interest in denominations for many years and have served as a consultant to the last two editions of the Handbook of Denominations published every few years by Abingdon Press.) Here are the guidelines. Please only report to me here denominations 1) founded in the last... Read more

Recommendation of an Old but Good Book about the Human Condition (A Follow Up to the Previous Post about Christian Ignorance and Anti-Inellectualism) Do you like to read serious but understandable Christian theology? Are you interested in creative and insightful, biblically-based, serious investigations of biblical themes correlated with contemporary cultural questions and issues? Are you not biased against “old school” thinking but actually believe a past Christian thinker might have something valuable to offer? Although it is now long out... Read more

Whatever Happened to the Christian Mind? Yes, I know, this has been asked before—numerous times and by many Christian philosophers and theologians. A relatively recent classic on the subject is Mark Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1994). Francis Schaeffer, especially in his early works, decried Christian anti-intellectualism. Recently a friend sent me this statement by A. W. Tozer, an evangelical preacher and writer of a previous generation (than mine or my parents): “There is, unfortunately, a feeling... Read more

True Christian Ecumenism: Reconciled Diversity Some Christian theologians I know believe the existence of separate Christian denominations is scandalous. H. Richard Niebuhr very strongly promoted that belief in his classic book The Social Sources of Denominationalism (1929). For much of the twentieth century especially so-called “mainline” Protestants talked endlessly about “visible and institutional unity” of the churches. Some went so far as to call for Protestants to re-join the Catholic Church if and when (they were optimists) the pope admits... Read more