Can God Change the Past? And What Does that Have to Do with Open Theism? My thesis: The “past” is what by definition, a priori, cannot be changed. That means that even God cannot change the past anymore than he can make a round triangle. Even William of Ockham, one of the main medieval formulators of nominalism and voluntarism admitted that, although God has no essential, unchanging nature that binds him, he cannot do what is strictly illogical. This nearly... Read more

Who Needs a God Who Looks Like Us? Over my years of teaching Christian theology I have frequently encountered the problem theologian Karl Barth identified as “projection.” (Of course, he was borrowing that term from 19th century atheist Ludwig Feuerbach who argued that God himself is but a projection of humanity on the “heavens. Barth used the term for a different concept.) For Barth, “projection” is when people project themselves onto God. For example, when people think that God as... Read more

A Question about Evangelical Churches that are “Welcoming and Affirming” Let me define my terms. To me, “evangelical” is a brand of (mostly) Protestant Christianity that strongly emphasizes the unique inspiration and authority of the Bible, that believes and preaches and teaches that all people are sinners in need of redemption and that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world and that he is God incarnate, the Second Person of the Trinity. It also believes, preaches and teaches... Read more

The Fundamentalists Are At It Again Most American fundamentalists stopped calling themselves fundamentalists years ago—around the time the media used that label to label non-Christian religious militants and terrorists. I was shocked when I heard the Ayotolah Khomeinei and his Iranian followers as “fundamentalists.” I had never before heard the label “fundamentalist” attached to anyone but extremely conservative but basically orthodox British and American Protestants. *Here I speak only for myself* Around that time many extremely conservative but basically orthodox... Read more

What Is It Like to Be Black in America? The simple answer is “I don’t know.” One thing I do think I know is that “It depends.” It depends somewhat on location, education, economic status, and gender. I’m not saying those differences change everything; I’m sure they don’t. But the differences aren’t what concern me here. What concerns me here is that in spite of fifty years of abolishing “Jim Crow” laws, in spite of the somewhat successful Civil Rights... Read more

Some Thoughts about Celebrities Who Become Christians and Then… Recently, here in the United States, two very well-known musical celebrities have come out publicly as Christians. And by “Christians” I mean “born again Christians.” I mean they testify that turning to God through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has changed their lives and they intend to live from now on as followers of Jesus Christ. I feel bad for them. *Sidebar: The opinions expressed here are my... Read more

Is It Ever Wrong for a Christian to Forgive? Here is my question spelled out more fully: If we do not believe that forgiveness requires forgetfulness or that it sets aside consequences for the person who needs forgiveness, is it ever wrong for a Christian to forgive someone? Out of context, most Christians would say no; it is never wrong to forgive someone (given the conditions stated in the italicized sentence above). Christians claim to be Christ-followers; Jesus Christ commanded... Read more

Review of Lovin’ On Jesus: A Concise History of Contemporary Worship Plus Thoughts about “Contemporary Christian Music” Background: Recently here I argued that real Christian worship cannot happen with a “concert atmosphere.” I examined a church’s web site because someone asked me to. There I saw a comment, under “About Us,” that said the church worships with a “concert atmosphere.” I was pleased that at least the church admits it and dismayed that any church would do that. To me,... Read more

Surprises in the History of Christian Ethics Lately I have been reading a great deal of primary and secondary literature about Christian ethics—beginning with the ancient church fathers. (In my opinion, Richard Hayes’s The Moral Vision of the New Testament more than adequately covers New Testament ethics, so my book will begin with the second century church fathers.) I have run into some very startling ideas about the right way to live the Christian life—in the church fathers and in... Read more

Should Christian Worship Happen with a “Concert Atmosphere?” Recently someone seeking a church to attend asked me to examine a church’s web site and give them advice about the church, from its web site, before they visit it. I have examined numerous church web sites in that city and visited many churches there. So, that church’s web site revealed the following. And I must say, after examining numerous churches’ web sites and visiting many of the churches in that metropolitan... Read more