Leaves from the Notebook of a Not-So-Tamed Cynic I have a confession to make that won’t surprise people who know me well. I struggle with cynicism. But I think if you knew some of my life experiences with powerful people I should have been able to trust but who turned out to be totally unworthy of trust, maybe you’d forgive me. As I said, I struggle. I try not to give in, but I find it a daily task and... Read more

Questions about Both Sides of the Abortion Debate Many states, including Texas, are in the throes of debates over access to abortions. Many fear or hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will one day overturn Row vs. Wade and decide that all or most abortions are illegal. If that day comes, many people will say it iswas much the fault of the “pro-choice” movement as of anyone. Why? Because both sides in the debates over abortion have been too absolutistic,... Read more

A Theology of Duck Dynasty (Or What Duck Dynasty Says about American Culture and Christianity) A while ago a good friend suggested I “check out” the television “reality show” Duck Dynasty. He said that it’s indicative of an aspect of American culture and, as a theologian who believes theology should be culturally aware and relevant, I should at least know about it. He also mentioned that many people consider the show “Christian” in some sense as at least some of... Read more

The Best and Worst Christian Songs—Your Nominations I invite you to nominate Christian songs as “best” and “worst” using theology as the criterion. Please do not include whole verses or choruses in your nominating comment! Copyright laws forbid it. Just include a line or two and how that illustrates what’s theologically good or bad about the song. Follow my example below. Also, please explain your nominations briefly. Finally, please do not nominate songs that are so obscure nobody would have... Read more

Is there Vitality in “Mainline Religion?” Yesterday (July 23, 2013) my colleague Philip Jenkins posted an article from The New York Times on his blog. The article is entitled “A Religious Legacy, with Its Leftward Tilt, Is Reconsidered.” (No URL was provided, so I’m not providing one here. Google the article or go to the NYT web site to read it.) The gist of the article is that scholars and the media have focused so much attention on evangelical Christians... Read more

Jesus Always First (Not “Jesus Only”) Here’s the theological question behind this musing: When composing a Christian statement of faith, a statement of faith for a Christian church, educational institution, whatever, what or whom should the first article be about? Where should it begin? Two candidates spring to mind because they are often used as confessional statements’ starting points—the Bible and “God.” There are good biblical, historical and philosophical warrants for both starting points. The Apostles Creed begins with God;... Read more

Are Men the New Second-Class Citizens? (My Appearance on HuffPostLive July 19, 2013) Yesterday I appeared with two other guests on the internet program HuffPostLive at 3:30 PM EDT. The subject of our web interview and discussion was the following column published by Fox News: www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/07/12/men-the-new-second-class-citizens/ . The column, which you should at least glance at before reading this, is by a woman and argues that society has changed such that now, unlike in the past, men suffer oppression and... Read more

First, let me say that blogging is a joy for me. I do it out of a sense of mission. In my opinion, there are too few moderate evangelicals blogging about serious theological subjects and attempting to steer a path between theological conservatism and liberalism. Second, let me say thanks to all of you who only read and a special thanks to those who engage constructively in dialogue here. I benefit from reading many of your responses to what I... Read more

A New Book about Hell that Will Make You Think A while ago evangelicals were all buzzing about a book entitled Love Wins by Rob Bell. I defended the book against some who attacked it before it was even published and before they read it. That didn’t mean I like it. In fact, I thought it was quite shallow. In the end, it seemed to me little more than a popular presentation (mostly in the form of questions) of C.... Read more

Every Known Theistic Approach to Old Testament “Texts of Terror” The phrase “texts of terror” usually refers to stories in the historical books of the Hebrew Bible that describe God as commanding his people to slaughter groups of men, women and children and “show them no mercy” (to quote on such command). Here I will lay out all the theistic approaches to interpreting these texts I am aware of. Every “other” approach I know about seems to me to fall... Read more