The Enneagram: A Christian Tool? I begin this blog post with a degree of fear and trepidation because I very close Christian friends and loved ones who a “fans” of the Enneagram. I also know many Christians who believe it is a tool of Satan. I know very few people who are very familiar with the Enneagram who are neutral about it. For those of you who do not know, the Enneagram is a personality inventory often used by spiritual... Read more

RIP Juergen Moltmann: The Last World Class Theologian Juergen Moltmann died this month (June, 2024) at age 98. He was my most important theological “conversation partner” even though I did not agree with everything he said or wrote. I read almost every book he wrote, including some in German, and spent quality time with him. I considered him a friend. Why do I say he was the late “world-class theologian?” Because, when he was alive and active in writing and... Read more

Us for Them: Book Discussion: Chapter 1 Here I begin a series of comments on Austin Fischer’s new book Us for Them: Seeking Higher Ground in the Cultural Holy Wars (Wipf & Stock, 2024). The chapter is titled Justice + Friendship. I invite those who have read the chapter to participate in discussion (following the rules below). Others may ask questions. Austin is my friend and former student. I am very proud of him which doesn’t mean we agree about... Read more

I Ask Again: What Would It Take? A historical event: an American former president has been convicted by a jury of felonies. Thirty-four of them. And the result is millions poured in to his campaign coffers. What would it take for Trump’s die-hard supporters to give up their support? Is there anything that would accomplish that in them? It seems not. So I ask myself Why? Why do so many Americans support Trump seemingly unconditionally? He’s an adulterer, a liar,... Read more

New Book Discussion Begins Monday, June 3 You still have time to purchase (digital book by download) Us for Them: Seeking Higher Ground in the Cultural Holy Wars by Austin Fischer, lead pastor of The Vista church in Temple, Texas and author of two important previous books including Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed (which I have reviewed here before). The first chapter is Justice + Friendship: An Invitation to Middle (crossed out) Higher Ground (pp. 1-19). I assure you this... Read more

Why We Believe the Bible Is God’s Word Written First, who is the “we?” By “we” I mean Christians who think like I think. I’m not alone. Second, a complete answer to such a big question can never be offered in a blog post like this. Third, this answer is not intended to be a rationalist apologetic for the Bible, even though it may be part of one. We do not believe in “proof” outside of a priori and purely... Read more

Again: Ohlendorf and the OT Texts of Terror If you are just dropping in here with this blog post, you need to go back and read the previous one. This is an addendum and response to critics of what I said there. Very few, if any, of you who responded to the previous blog post “caught” the main point. Or, if you did, you ignored it. Let me repeat it: Otto Ohlendorf was right when, during his Nuremberg trial for... Read more

Nazi Otto Ohlendorf and the Old Testament Nazi war criminal Otto Ohlendorf defended his actions by appealing to the Old Testament “texts of terror” in which God is said to have commanded the genocide of Canaanites. His point, during his Nuremberg trial, was that genocide cannot automatically be considered a crime against humanity because God, the God believed in by most of his prosecutors and judges, commanded it. If the Jewish and Christian God, the God of the Bible, commanded... Read more

Can Anything Be Religion? Here, this time, I take off my Christian theologian’s hat and wear only my religion scholar hat. I hold three degrees in religious studies, two from a major secular research university (Rice, Houston, Texas). I have been involved in various program units of the American Academy of Religion including one that focuses on new and alternative religions especially in America. I have conducted non-sectarian research into new and alternative religions, presented scholarly papers at professional societies... Read more

The Political Meaning of Christianity: Relevance to MAGA Some of us have been reading and discussing The Political Meaning of Christianity by Glenn Tinder. This is my final post about it. If you have been reading the book, feel free to comment; if you have not been reading it, feel free to ask a question. The final chapter is entitled “Prophetic Spirituality.” Then comes the Postscript entitled “World Politics.” It is there, in the Postscript, that Tinder makes some comments... Read more