I invited someone I admire and respect, who considers herself a feminist, to provide a guest blog post about feminism. It follows here. I have to say, as with all guest posts, that it does not necessarily reflect my own views. But I wouldn’t post it to my blog if I didn’t think it worthy of serious consideration. (P.S. I will not post to my blog responses that are not constructive in some way: at the very least civil, respectful... Read more

Long ago someone said that orthodoxy has heresy to thank for its existence. What he meant was that before there was heresy, as we generally think of that as “theological correctness” there was heresy. All the major tenets of Christian orthodoxy were carved out in response to false teachings among Christians. Now, however, the word heresy has become problematic in most circles, secular and Christian. So has orthodoxy. Like many good words and concepts these have been stretched to the... Read more

Thoughts about A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans I had planned to wait until the last week of October to review this book—as requested by the publisher. The book’s official publication date is October 30, but it is already being widely discussed and criticized by people who have received “advance reader’s copies” (like me). Some complementarian bloggers are attacking it without reading it (based on what they’ve heard about it from others who may or may not... Read more

Recently someone asked me to recommend books that will help understand creeds and confessional statements. I mentioned Philip Schaff’s magisterial (but outdated) Creeds of Christendom. Here are three excellent sources for your consideration: Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine from the Bible to the Present by John H. Leith (John Knox Press). I hope it is still in print. If not, I’m sure used copies are available at the usual outlets on line. Christian Confessions: A Historical... Read more

Why I Like Denominations One of the sea changes taking place in American religious life is a popular turn away from denominations. Some say we are entering, if not already in, a “post-denominational” era. Nearly all traditional denominations are struggling with membership declines and revenue shortfalls. As I put my ear to the ground of popular opinion about religion, I hear rumblings of discontent about denominational labels and behaviors and a preference for what I call “plain label” Christianity. I,... Read more

Reasons for Believing the Bible is God’s Word Whenever I talk about biblical inerrancy or the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit (as the basis for believing the Bible to be God’s Word) the same questions arise. People ask: 1) How can I trust the Bible to be true theologically if there are any errors in it? and 2) How does the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit escape sheer subjectivism? Here are my answers. 1) If you are depending... Read more

In The Spectrum of Evangelicalism (to which I contributed a chapter and responded to other authors’ chapters), Al Mohler touted what he calls “confessing evangelicalism.” I suspect he thinks I’m not one. In fact, he more or less wrote (in his response to my chapter and the book’s conclusion) that I’m not an evangelical at all. He said it in a nice way, though. 🙂 I want to go on record that I AM (!) a “confessing evangelical.” Many people... Read more

Recently I’ve read or listened to (I listen to novels on my ipod while I work out and drive) several excellent novels that include religious-theological themes. They certainly are not books of high theology. By that I mean that the theologies in them are often mixed with folk religion, but I bring them up here because they stand out from other novels due to the centrality and intensity of discussions of theology in them. A common theme in many novels... Read more

With the whole catholic and orthodox church of Jesus Christ I whole heartedly affirm that the Bible, the Christian scriptures, is entirely trustworthy and true. As they say, however, the devil is in the details. How does “trustworthy” and “true” function? What do these adjectives mean? Clearly, given a recent experience, a group of people can agree that the Bible is trustworthy and celebrate that common affirmation and consensus and then fall into disagreement and even suspicion (often leading to... Read more

Whatever Happened to the “Evangelical Left? Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who showed me a recently published book I need to read. Rarely do I mention a book here that I have not yet read and this is no review of the book. According to Amazon.com the book’s official release date is tomorrow (October 1, 2012). I’m not sure how my friend got his copy, but sometimes books do appear before their official release date and sometimes publishers... Read more