Why I Am Disobeying the Bible I was brought up to believe, as I was taught, that a true Christian always obeyed biblical commandments with certain rare exceptions. One such exception had to do with the Old Testament. We did not believe Christians were expected to observe all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament that pertained to Israel, to the Hebrew people. For example, we did not believe circumcision or strict adherence to dietary laws or observance of Saturday... Read more

Can God Change? Can God change? This question is here and now only for biblically- committed, evangelical Christians (broadly defined). In one of my seminary classes I am using a book entitled The Color of God by Methodist theologian Major Jones (Abingdon Press). It was published in the 1970s—well before “open theism” became a “thing.” And yet Jones anticipated open theism by arguing very strongly that the God of the Bible, the God believed in and worshiped by Black Christians... Read more

Can a True Christian be Demon Possessed? I know this is one of the strangest questions I have discussed here. And yet, it is still a live question—especially among conservative, evangelical Christians—especially those in churches (or raised in churches) that are intensely experiential as well as biblically-committed. I like to hear this question, and I do hear it from some of my students, because it tells me there are still Christians, even American Christians, who believe in evil “powers and... Read more

Responding Theologically to the Coronavirus Epidemic Let me just say up front that I am not a medical professional so read what I write here with that in mind. Please do not quibble over terms like “epidemic” versus “pandemic,” etc. Thank you for that. Over the last week (March 8 through March 13, 2020) it has become clear that 1) the world is facing a disease crisis that some medical experts are calling a pandemic, and 2) many people are... Read more

My Case for Greater Inclusion in “Diversity” I live and work in the academic world. There, let’s get that out of the way. However, I know from my students (over almost forty years) that many American corporations and businesses, government agencies and offices, etc., are also obsessed (no judgment implied) with diversity. (One can be obsessed with something with good cause; obsession with eradicating evil, for example, is a good thing.) I am going to say that “diversity” has become... Read more

What Does “Post-Christian World” Mean? Another book is published expressing the opinion that Christians now must learn to live in a “post-Christian world.” A friend asks me if there can be such a thing as a post-Christian world. Here is my answer. It depends. We certainly do not live in a world without Christianity. But “Christendom” is quickly disappearing from places where it once existed. “Christendom” is a culture in which Christianity functions as the “glue” that holds people together.... Read more

What I Mean by “Moderate” or “Progressive” Evangelical I often identify myself as an evangelical Christian, but especially these days—since at least 2016—I have to modify “evangelical” because so many Americans misidentify the label and the category. I have explained here many times before why I will not simply give up the label. Historically-theologically, even in contemporary culture and religion, there is no better label to describe my particular brand of Christianity. Yes, I use other labels such as “Arminian”... Read more

Who Should Be the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States? Advice to Democrats Once again I will dare to go out on a limb (or thin ice) and strongly suggest to the Democratic Party, in this nominating cycle of state caucuses and primaries, that they do not nominate anyone except former Vice President Joe Biden. Stay with me. I am not endorsing anyone for president or even for the Democratic nomination. I am not a member of any... Read more

A Series: Christian Theology—Answers to Questions: Seven: Bible Interpretation It would be utterly foolish of me to claim to explain “Bible interpretation” in a brief essay such as this. So many books have been written about it and even among conservative Protestant Christians there is so much disagreement about it. I simply laugh at anyone who claims to have the one and only, indisputable and final “key” to interpreting the entire Bible. And yet, I do not believe it is... Read more

“Oh Lord! Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” One of the things I have learned from writing on controversial subjects for public audiences is how easy it is to be misunderstood. Writing to be understood is difficult. I consider myself a pretty good writer and others have confirmed that to be true. Yet, I struggle much with the fact that, no matter how hard I try to make my thoughts clear, if the subject is controversial, I will be misunderstood... Read more