December 13, 2024

Deus Vult! ? What Does It Mean Now? ”Deus Vult!” The historic motto and cry of the European crusades of the eleventh and twelfth centuries—against the Muslims of the Middle East, especially Palestine. Of course, it means “God wills it!” However, today, in the third decade of the twenty-first century, it is coming to have a specific cultural meaning as a meme and motto of “Christian reconstructionists.” Trump nominee Pete Hegseth, among others, touts the motto—in his case with a... Read more

December 11, 2024

Confessions of a Christian Humanist and a Call for a Renewal of Christian Humanism I confess it. I’m a Christian humanist. Some years ago I saw an article in a fundamentalist denomination’s magazine entitled “Are You a Christian Humanist?” Having long considered myself one, and thinking most fundamentalist Christians probably aren’t, I began reading the article with interest. The author, a pastor, defined “Christian humanist” as a person who (among other things) watches TV more than reads the Bible. Needless... Read more

December 4, 2024

  Politics. Government. Ethics. Theology. For the Christian, all are related. I wrote here about that not long ago. I have made an in-depth study of Germany in the 1930s and into the 1940s and beyond with special focus on the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazi Party. I lived in Munich, where it all began in the 1920s and sought out both sites and facts. I interviewed people who lived through those times. I have read many... Read more

December 2, 2024

Reflections on Hermann Cremer, The Christian Doctrine of the Divine Attributes, Chapter 4: Second Series: Divine Attributes Implicit in the Concept of God, Seen in the Light of Revelation: I. The Omnipotence of God (pp. 55-61) If you have read this section, feel free to comment. If you have not, you may ask a question. Here I continue the discussion of Hermann Cremer’s book about the divine attributes. Here are my thoughts about his treatment of “The Omnipotence of God.... Read more

November 27, 2024

Who Is a “Real Christian?” Several times recently I’ve mentioned “real Christians” here. A few visitors and commenters have objected to the concept. How is it possible to discriminate between “real Christians” and, well, false Christians? If we start at the other end, so to speak, and talk about “false Christians,” it’s easier to understand why it’s necessary to speak about real Christians. Who can doubt there have been and are false Christians? I confess that this habit of distinguishing... Read more

November 24, 2024

The Christian Doctrine of the Divine Attributes by Hermann Cremer, Chapter 3: First Series: Divine Attributes Disclosed in Revelation: 3: The Wisdom of God (pp. 47-54) This is my contribution to a continuing discussion of Cremer’s book. If you have read these pages, feel free to comment. If not, feel free to ask a question. In about one week I will offer here my thoughts about Cremer’s treatment of the attribute of God’s omnipotence (pp. 55-69). A reminder: Cremer is... Read more

November 22, 2024

RIP Tony Campolo My evangelical heroes are dying off. For those of you who do not know, Tony Campolo was an evangelical influencer and leader of “the evangelical left,” a group of (formerly) young evangelicals who left fundamentalism and embraced left-leaning politics. Their original publication was The Post-American which became Sojourners. That group influenced me a great deal when I was in seminary and later. Tony died November 19 this year (2024) at age 89. For many years he was... Read more

November 20, 2024

Stop Jailing Drug Users Far too many people are in American jails and prisons for nothing more than possessing illegal drugs for personal use. Drug use alone, without selling, should not be a crime. This needs to stop. Recently, a twenty year old man was murdered in an Alabama prison—one day before his scheduled release. Evidence showed that he had been raped and tortured before being murdered. So far, no one has been indicted for the crime. He was sentenced... Read more

November 18, 2024

A Bold Claim about Theology Theology is everything, but not everything is theology. That’s my paraphrase of the old saying that “Economics is everything, but not everything is economic.” Theology is everything. What does it mean? There is no area of life that is entirely divorced from theology, that falls entirely outside of theology’s realm of judgment. Some people wondered why I, a theologian, had so much to say about politics. Theology includes politics. Politics does not include theology. See... Read more

November 17, 2024

Hermann Cremer, The Christian Doctrine of the Divine Attributes, 3: First Series: Divine Attributes Disclosed in Revelation, 2: The Righteousness of God, pp. 43-47 Here I continue discussing Cremer’s treatments of the attributes of God with the second part of “The Righteousness of God.” If you have read these pages (43-47) you may comment. If not, you may ask a question. In about a week I will discuss 3 “The Wisdom of God.” In these pages Cremer does not really... Read more


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