This morning, after posting my essay about the Bible and genocide yesterday, I found almost sixty comments waiting for my moderation. (Some came in while I was reading ones already here when I opened my blog messages!) Given my limited time (and patience), please follow these guidelines when commenting: Keep your comments relatively brief (no more than 250 words). Do not expect your comment to appear here if you misrepresent what I wrote or engage in ad hominem argumentation or... Read more

If God Once (upon a Time) Commanded Genocide… Earlier here (e.g., in my review of Kenton Sparks’ book Sacred Word, Broken Word) I questioned whether the biblical “texts of terror” should be interpreted literally. I pointed out that the church fathers, almost without exception, interpreted them allegorically. Just the other day I was talking with a conservative evangelical layman who is a self-taught theologian and member of an Evangelical Free congregation in the Upper Midwest. Somehow our conversation drifted to... Read more

Below is a class handout I have prepared to inform students of the primary Christian options (“ideal types”) for thinking about sex, gender and roles (of men and women) in home, church and society. Obviously a book could be written about each of these. Also obviously many individuals and organizations would prefer to be located between them (hybrids). My own study of this question, however, has led me to believe these are the five main types of thinking about this... Read more

John Piper Does It Again: My Response to “The Self-centeredness of Arminianism” For those of you who are new to this blog or have missed reading my earlier messages here about John Piper and his many anti-Arminian messages (both in writing and in talks), let me catch you up briefly. (If you are already aware of this history or have no interest in it, please skip down to paragraph 9 below.)  I have known John Piper “from a distance” for... Read more

Am I an “Authentic Christian?” (I Doubt It) Some people get very upset when I question the authenticity of their “Christianity.” I understand that, but I also don’t. It confuses me because I am not sure that I am authentically Christian. Let me explain. I’ll begin by referring to two very old Christian (church) songs from my childhood. One was “I’m Saved (and I Know that I Am)” and the other was “Lord I Want to Be a Christian in... Read more

Why Authentic Christians Must Oppose the Death Penalty I live in a state of the United States of America where, for many people, including many self-identified Christians, capital punishment is a kind of sacrament. Of course I do not mean “true sacrament,” like baptism or the Lord’s Supper, but a sign of public virtue, an enactment of justice, a way of demonstrating the livingness of civil religion. The most common defense one hears of it is something like “The Bible... Read more

Memories of a Previous Election Stunner: Minnesota and Jesse “the Body” Ventura This 2016 election year cannot help but bring back memories of Minnesota’s election of professional wrestler-turned-politician Jesse “the Body” Ventura governor in 1998—for anyone who lived there then. The race for governor included three main candidates: St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman (Republican), Minnesota attorney general Hubert H. Humphrey III (Democrat-Farmer-Labor) and Brooklyn Park mayor Jesse Ventura (Reform Party). Throughout the campaign most Minnesotans expected either Coleman or Humphrey... Read more

American Christians and American Politics: A Call for Calmness and Civility Never in my lifetime have I experienced the kind of harsh rhetoric being thrown around between and among equally devout Christians over political differences of opinion. Much of it happens on Facebook. Christians there (and elsewhere) are using ridicule, for example, not only to promote their own political preferences but to demean and insult those who disagree with them. This is happening increasingly from both “sides” of the political... Read more

The subject of torture is a tortuous–and, to me–torturous one. Especially since “9-11-2001” it has been much discussed by politicians and philosophers and often depicted in movies and on television shows. I find torture so revolting, disgusting, that I hate even to think about it let alone watch it on the screen. Sometimes, however, it seems almost impossible to watch a dramatic movie or television show without having to see some scene of torture. Even one of my favorite “prime time drama”... Read more

“The Bonds of Freedom” The Global Gospel Project, Christianity Today (October, 2012) Roger E. Olson No single word resonates with Americans and millions of others as much as “freedom.” Politicians, businesspeople, advertisers, salesmen, military leaders and recruiters—all know how to use “freedom” to attract attention and draw interest. Few words are as common and yet carry so much weight. The word is also found throughout Scripture and Christian tradition. Everyone raised in Sunday School knows “The truth will make you... Read more