Theology in the Raw

As you now know, I’ve started my own personal blog. I’m terrible at titling, so I thought long and hard about this one and “Theology in the Raw” seemed to best capture what this blog is all about.

I’m not a very churchy theologian, and I despise Christianeze rhetoric that clutters the scandal of the gospel. I love to talk about real things, nitty gritty issues—the messy stuff. We serve a real God whose Son was born in a real manger surrounded by shame, scandal, and real cow dung (or maybe goat dung, I don’t know). God really entered history to roll up his sleeves and get his hands messy with our real sin.

I like talking and writing about real stuff. The stuff that we all wrestle with and think about but are oftentimes scared to admit. The stuff that secular marketing firms know about, even though the church often pretends like it doesn’t exist—the real wants and needs and struggles and desires. I want to talk about sex. I want to talk about depression. I want to talk about alcohol. I want to talk about a crucified and risen Christ, who bled real blood when the spear pierced his side. I want to talk about homosexuality, violence, hell and heaven. Parenting, relationships, masturbation, and poverty. I want to think theologically through all the real facets of our life; I want to bring our thoughts and actions—what’s really going on in our hearts and noggins—back to God’s inspired text to find direction and comfort; critique and forgiveness.

Hence the name “Theology in the Raw.”

The Bible is a very raw book, and it would be rated R were it shown on the big screen. A father having sex with his daughter in law; a priest chopping up his concubine into 12 pieces; the wife of a political traitor smashing a spike through the skull of a famed warrior; a terrorist turned preacher who penned ½ the New Testament; a God with tattooed hands commanding his image bearers to have lots of sex and rule the world. It’s all there. It’s in the Bible.

Yeah, I’m a Bible professor. And I LOVE my job!

So that’s what my blog’s all about. A real God. A messy book. And a life turned upside down by a scandalous gospel.