The question of divorce and remarriage is a sad reality that the church must face. Sometimes marriages fail. This issue leaves many divorced Christians stuck: Did I sin? Am I forgiven? Can I marry again or am I committing adultery by doing so? My view is that everything should be done to preserve a marriage, as long as it doesn’t involve ongoing dehumanizing abuses. If divorce happens, which we always pray against, I do believe that it is possible for... Read more
Some people may think that I’m “over the top” when it comes to dealing with animal ethics. But stories like the one in the following video remind me of how big a concern the welfare of animals needs to be for the local church. After all, we know that when the fullness of the Kingdom of God comes, the world will be set right, even for the animal kingdom! In the United States, one of the most humane nations in... Read more
Jimmy Spencer Jr., the founder and CEO of Love Without Agenda, has written a book by the same title. Love Without Agenda: Moving our Spiritual Goalposts from Heaven and Hell to Wholeness, is a resource that I want to share with you today. First of all, it is astetically pleasing. Artistic touches add to each page making this a fun book to engage with. Second, it is a book that is endorsed by folks I respect: Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren,... Read more
I’m going to do a first on this blog, report controversy caused by Pat Robertson that I actually agree with. According the the Huffington Post: Robertson’s comments were made in response to a viewer who had written in to the show. The woman said that her “biggest fear is to not have my children and husband next to me in God’s Kingdom because they question why the Bible could not explain the existence of dinosaurs.” I am sympathetic to anyone who has concerns... Read more
I’m currently reading a great book by Frank Viola and Len Sweet called “Jesus: a theography.” Frank and I have become friends over the last year or so and I appreciate his unique voice for the Kingdom. Frank is a uniter which I like, yet willing to shake things up at the same time. If you enjoy learning about Jesus and theology, you are going like Frank and Len’s newest book. It is loaded with insight and TONS of footnotes... Read more
Early on when I started this blog, I became aquanted with Lois Tverberg. Her written thoughts on Jesus reminded me of her good friend Ray VanderLaan who continues to have an influence on my theology (for those who are skeptical of the Jewish roots of Jesus scholarship because of what Ben Witherington said about Rob Bell, see this article). We fail to appropriately study Jesus when we extract him from his first century Jewish context. This is why I have... Read more
I’ve followed Rachel Held Evans’ Year of Biblical Womanhood project since she announced it a couple of years back. By that time, we had already connected on the Web. Since then, I’ve followed with interest, reading several blog posts about her journey. Shortly after the “year” had come to completion, I led a workshop at a conference where Rachel gave a general session talk. She spoke masterfully of the problem of Biblicism (of the wooden-literal-ahistorical variety) interweaving images and stories... Read more
In the first part of the article, NT Wright demonstrates (importantly) that the reasoning for wanting women to have the chance to be bishops is NOT a matter of progress, but of good biblical exegesis. Those who argue that the church needs to “get with the times” hurts their argument amongst their critics. His description of the “progressive” argument and how it auto-deconstructs is full of wit as you might expect. Following these reflections, Wright says the following: EXCERPT FROM... Read more
My friend Jim LePage (along with Troy DeShano and others) is doing good things through art! You may remember Jim’s guest blog post, “The Artistic Imagination and the Word.” His approach to art is incredible, illuminating the Scriptures in ways only images can. Here are some examples of his personal artwork from that great guest post from back in 2011: HERE’S WHAT THE FOLKS AT OLD & NEW PROJECT ARE UP TO TODAY: For Cybermonday 2012, can you join us... Read more
FROM WASHINGTON POST, “9 QUESTIONS ABOUT ISRAEL-GAZA YOU WERE TOO EMBARRASSED TO ASK“ I thought that this article was quite helpful on catching people up with the conflict between Gaza and Israel. For those who may hear folks talking about it at Thanksgiving celebrations, this might give a ‘buffer’ for being able to engage in the dialogue. I would add that this is only an excerpt and I highly recommend reading the rest of the piece on the Washington Post... Read more
The Pangea Blog
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In