Again with “Good God” and Calvinism Throughout the years of this blog (and before and outside of it) I have wrestled with people objecting most strenuously to my contention that true, historical, consistent Calvinism undermines the goodness of God. If God foreordains some people to hell when he could save them because grace is irresistible and election is unconditional, then God is not good. The common response is “You are imposing on God your own standard of ‘goodness’ and God... Read more

A Magnificent Resource for Arminian Evangelicals: “John Wesley’s Teachings” (Zondervan) Why should John Wesley matter to anyone who’s not a Methodist? Somehow over the years most people have come to limit Wesley to Methodism. What I mean is that IF someone expresses real appreciation for Wesley people assume he or she must be a Methodist. But why? People don’t assume that all admirers of Martin Luther are Lutheran. Yes, Wesley was the most important founder and leader of early Methodism,... Read more

What Is a Postconservative Evangelical?   This is how I describe myself and many others who think in a way similar to my way—about being “evangelical.” For a fuller explanation see my books Reformed and Always Reforming: The Postconservative Approach to Evangelical Theology (BakerAcademic) and How to Be Evangelical Without Being Conservative (Zondervan). Not many theologians I know want this label slapped on them. However, N. T. Wright accepted it and named me in his book Justification. I thought I... Read more

Some Uninvited Advice for the Democratic Party I am not a partisan when it comes to American politics. I’m independent and have voted for independent candidates several times. I have no party allegiance or loyalty. However, I pay attention to the two main American political parties (Republican and Democratic) and often shake my head in bewilderment at both of their antics. Over my lifetime I have seen both become overly rigid, ideologically-driven, and just downright dumb in their decisions. I... Read more

Bonhoeffer, Ethics, and “Scruples” Foreward to this blog post: I make no claim to being an expert on Bonhoeffer, but over the years, since seminary (1970s), I have read many books by him and about him. These are my musings; I make no claim to infallibility and I would appreciate it if no one would nit-pick in responses. For example, if I say Bonhoeffer is “widely regarded as a martyr,” I do not invite correction. Yes, I know there are... Read more

Why Essentialism is Essential (At Least to Me) Here’s a delicious irony: “essentialism” is the philosophy that says entities have certain necessary properties that define them, that make them what they are. (It is, of course, a form of metaphysical realism as opposed to nominalism.) However, “essentialism” is itself an essentially contested concept. Look it up in dictionaries of philosophy. So, here, for purposes of this blog essay I am going to use “essentialism” for how I think and write... Read more

What Were You in the 1970s If You Remember…? Larry Norman and Keith Green Washington for Jesus (1980) Mike Yaconelli and Youth Specialties The Other Side and the PostAmerican Eternity magazine Thief in the Night (movie) Christian coffeehouses Petra Bill Gothard and Basic Youth Conflicts seminars HIS magazine ”Key ‘73” Rex Humbard and the birth of “televangelism” Jesus People USA Andre Crouch and the Disciples Brian Ruud Arthur Blessit Tom Skinner The Relational Revolution and Christian Encounter Groups Camps Farthest... Read more

Are White Evangelicals the Only Religious Group to Support Trump? According to an article published by Baptist News Global (curated from Vox) “White evangelicals are the only religious group to support Trump.” (October 8, 2018) I doubt it. *Note: This blog is not a discussion board; if you choose to write a comment know that it may not be posted here. This blog is moderated and only comments and questions that are relatively brief, addressed to me, civil in tone,... Read more

Does Calvinism Justify Domestic Abuse? Recently there has been some “buzz” in public and “around the water coolers” that Calvinism justifies domestic violence and abuse. Because I am one of Calvinism’s best known critics, I feel the need to wade into this controversy and nip it in the bud, so far as possible, early—before it gets to the point of people accusing Calvinists (people) of justifying domestic violence and abuse. *Note to readers and potential commenters: Here, as always, I... Read more

Who’s Really a “Fundamentalist?” Again—the American Media Gets Religion Wrong One of my main complaints about the American media—both “news” and “entertainment” (and the line between the two is increasingly blurred)—is their tendency to get religion wrong. Often these are journalists who have easy access to religion scholars and don’t use them (us). Often these are entertainment writers of television (or other broadcast or streaming media) programming. *Sidebar: The opinions expressed here are my own (or those of the guest... Read more