A Question to Calvinists One of my most faithful blog visitors and participants signed off recently, telling me in a message not to be posted that he would no longer read my blog. He is a self-identified Calvinist and accused me of misrepresenting Calvinism here. The offending statement was in my recent post about Christian Caregiving. There I gave an example of what a Calvinist chaplain (or other Calvinist Christian caregiver) should say to a suffering person who asks “Where... Read more

What about “Contextual Theologies?”   The term “contextual theologies” has come to be used in several ways. Here, by it, I mean theologies, accounts of God and matters related to God, that claim to be Christian but 1) fairly radically diverge from so-called “Western theologies,” and 2) propose alternatives to traditional “Western” orthodoxy based on cultural contextualization that goes beyond style to substance.   Many contemporary Christian theologians are supportive of each people group, usually ones that have experienced oppression... Read more

This is a follow-up to my most recent post about Christian care-giving that focused especially on hospital chaplains (although much of what I said could apply to any form of Christian care-giving).   It seems serendipitous if not more that today’s (Sunday, September 14) newspaper carries a front-page story entitled “Seminary grads lack psych training.” As often happens, the headline doesn’t exactly fit the story. To get the “whole story” you have to read the whole article.   The article... Read more

What Is the Duty of a Christian Care-giver (Such as a Chaplain)?   I recently had a fascinating discussion with a couple hospital chaplains about theology and what I would call “therapeutic ministry” to the suffering. By “the suffering” I mean those who are ill or wounded and their grieving loved ones.   Let me preface what follows by saying how much I admire chaplains; they have extremely difficult jobs and, for the most part, carry them out very well.... Read more

What Is “Marcionism?” My Response to a Ludicrous Accusation   It has recently come to my attention that some critics are accusing me of “Marcionism.” A few commenters here have thrown that wild accusation at me—based on my questioning the literal interpretation of some Old Testament “texts of terror.”   Anyone who throws that accusation at me is either ignorant of what I have said or ignorant of the meaning of Marcionism or both.   By all credible accounts, Marcion,... Read more

One of the last theological giants passed away September 5 (2014). Wolfhart Pannenberg was without doubt one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. He was born in Stettin, Germany (now part of Poland) in 1928. He was in poor health for the past several years. I had the privilege of studying with Pannenberg in Munich, where he taught theology at the University of Munich, during the year 1981-1982. I wrote a major part of my Rice University... Read more

I had to laugh when I read a comment here (responding to one of my blog posts) calling me a “fauxevangelical.” The prefix “faux-” means “fake.” I’m not sure why the commenter didn’t just say “fake evangelical.” Maybe he thought calling me a “fauxevangelical” was less offensive and/or made him sound more intelligent. In any case, this was just the most recent on a long series of accusations that I’m not a “real evangelical”–whatever that means. Why do I care?... Read more

I am very proud of my students–past and present. Recently two of them have made what I consider powerful and positive contributions to the evangelical community (and beyond). Austin Fischer is teaching pastor at The Vista Community (church) in central Texas (Temple/Belton). He is the author of the much acclaimed book Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed that I reviewed and recommended here. If you haven’t purchased it and read it, you should. He is the new up and coming evangelical... Read more

Some Follow-up Thoughts about the Bible and Genocide   Comments here responding to my earlier essay about Jesus, the children, and Old Testament texts of terror (e.g., God commanding Israel to slaughter infants) have often, in my opinion, distorted what I said—reading into my essay points I did not make. For example, I never suggested “cutting out” portions of Scripture and I certainly did not advocate Marcionism. These are ideas read into my essay, not out of it. The issue... Read more

Guest Post by John Inglis Re: Carl Trueman’s First Things article “A Church for Exiles”   From Roger Olson: I agree with those who have suggested that frequent commenter John Inglis is an excellent and insightful writer. I asked him to work one of his recent comments into a guest post for this blog and below is his response. I couldn’t have said it better myself.   Carl Trueman’s “A Church for Exiles” and Roger Olson’s response are worth working... Read more