There Is No Such Thing as “The Church” Here I set aside for purposes of this essay the concept of “invisible, universal Body of Christ”—the ideal collective of all true Christians (and any other saved persons) throughout time. Here I write only about churches visible (and usually institutional) on earth in particular times and places. Over the years I have heard many people, including people who should know better (e.g., Christian theologians and religion scholars) talking about “the church” –... Read more

Evangelicalism as Ethos (versus Evangelicalism as Movement) This is a follow up essay to my most recent one entitled Evangelicalism: A Guide for the Perplexed. One this is obvious to me from many of the comments: Many people do not understand the difference between a spiritual-theological ethos and the spiritual-theological movement centered around that ethos, sharing it. Today, as of at least 2021, there is no even relatively unified evangelical movement. Movements come and go. The evangelical ethos, which I... Read more

Evangelical Christianity: A Guide for the Perplexed As a life long evangelical Christianity and alleged scholar-expert on the subject, I am concerned (to put it mildly) about the widespread confusion in culture and society, spread especially by journalists, about the subject. This blog was begun with the intent of, among other things, elucidating the true meaning of “evangelical Christianity.” That after I noticed a definite trend in American culture and society toward serious confusion about it. There is no “THE... Read more

Again the Distinction between “Christian” and “Saved” Please let me remind you again that this blog is FOR evangelical Christians—broadly defined. Others are welcome to ask questions and listen in, but know that this blog is FOR evangelical Christians. It is a safe place for us to discuss theological issues. When I say here or anywhere that someone is “not a Christian” I am NOT judging him or her as “unsaved.” Whether a person is “saved” in the sense of... Read more

GUEST POST Note to Readers: Rev. Dr. Ted Peters is one of America’s most notable theologians, but he does not speak for me or anyone else. I find his thoughts stimulating, which is why I sometimes post them here, to my blog. Dr. Peters may or may not decide to respond to comments. My usual rules (for this blog) apply here. Responses, comments, questions must be constructive even if critical; they must be civil and respectful and promote thoughtful conversation.... Read more

What Is Christian Mission without Any Call to Conversion? In 1999 I moved – from one Baptist institution of higher education (college and seminary) to another one. Two different Baptist denominations (conferences, conventions, fellowships). Very similar in many ways, but culturally very different. One mostly northern, the other one mostly southern. One rooted originally in the Northern  Baptist Convention (now the American Baptist Churches, USA), the other one rooted in the Southern Baptist Convention. Both broke away from their “root”... Read more

Were “Christianity’s” Evil “Bullies” True Christians? I recently received in the mail, unexpected, a complimentary copy of a new book published by Zondervan, one of my publishers: Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History by John Dickson (Visiting Academic in the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University and Distinguished Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia). First, let me say “thank you” to Zondervan for sending this beautiful,... Read more

Can God Change the Past? Believe it or not, this is the kind of question that I enjoy thinking and talking about—even though it is ultimately, for now, before the eschaton, unanswerable in any absolute way. Yet, I do happen to think “no” is a better answer than “yes.” If, in the eschaton, I find out I was wrong, I will not be dismayed. I will only be very surprised. We often hear Christians and others say “God can do... Read more

Must a Christian Forgive Unconditionally? This is a question many Christians (setting aside others in order to focus on people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ) forgive others unconditionally? This is a question that has haunted Christian ethics for ages and different Christian ethicists have offered opposite answers. To make the question “come alive,” here is a (possibly) hypothetical scenario (but one that many Christians have faced in specific ways): One Christian leader, highly regarded as having integrity,... Read more

Christian Denominations and Gay Marriage A few years ago I had the privilege of re-writing (editing and authoring) the 14th edition of the venerable reference book The Handbook of Denominations in the United States published by Abingdon Press. One of the changes I made was to mention each denomination’s stated policy with regard to gay marriage and homosexual sexual relations. In some cases I could not find a stated, official policy, so I contacted the headquarters and spoke or corresponded... Read more