I’ve often commented how much I think theological education needs to change. For instance, I’m not interested in moving from my home to join the faculty of a residential seminary. I’d rather have the students come to me. That’s not just because it’s convenient for me (which it is), but also because I have a lot more to teach about here, where I’m rooted, than in a classroom. The D.Min. cohort I’m teaching for Fuller Seminary will meet here in... Read more
I’m teaching a D.Min. cohort at my alma mater, Fuller Theological Seminary, starting a year from now. In advance of that, I’m going to post occasionally for The Burner Blog at Fuller’s Lowell W. Berry Center for Lifelong Learning. My first post is up, In The Courage to Teach, Parker Palmer writes, “The subjects we teach are as large and complex as life, so our knowledge of them is always flawed and partial.” That’s especially true when the subject is... Read more
Here’s some Friday fun. I think it’s time to coin a new term: Emogelical. It’s a mash-up of Emo and Evangelical. Among the Urban Dictionary definitions of Emo is, A group of white, mostly middle-class well-off kids who find imperfections in there [sic] life and create a ridiculous, depressing melodrama around each one. They often take anti-depressants, even though the majority don’t need them. They need to wake up and deal with life like everyone else instead of wallowing in... Read more
Unless, of course, it’s an ironic, hipster mustache. N.B., This post is (NOT) part of a series exploring apophatic statements about God. Read more
Definitions of “just” and why God is not that: 1.) merely: and nothing more; “I was merely asking”; “it is simply a matter of time”; “just a scratch”; “he was only a child”; “hopes that last but a moment” God is not merely anything. God is always the unexpected more. 2.) precisely: indicating exactness or preciseness; “he was doing precisely (or exactly) what she had told him to do”; “it was just as he said–the jewel was gone”; “it has... Read more
It’s often said that God is on the side of the poor/oppressed/marginalized, and, indeed, there is much in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures that suggest that God has an eye out for those who who have less voice in society than others. But YHWH is more than happy to use rich kings as well as naked prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures, and Jesus embraces tax collectors and fishermen alongside the blind and lame in the Christian scriptures. The rain falls... Read more
I’ll begin my explorations into the apophatic by stating something that God is Not, and something that I doubt will generate too much consternation among readers: God Is Not Male. Since God is also not female, it’d be even more accurate to say that God Is Not Gendered. I think this sentiment is more palatable these days than it was fifty years ago because we are now aware of the complexities of gender. The meanings of words like “masculine” and... Read more
I’ve been thinking about God lately, and I cannot help but be continually pulled toward an apophatic relationship with God. That is, the more I’m drawn to thinking about God, the more I am convinced of the unknowability of God. And so I wonder if I took on the challenge of Maimonides and spoke about God only in the negative, only stating what God is not. I’m ready to dive into this, but I’m also struck with the challenge as... Read more
That’s what a school in Boston did, and, not surprisingly, they made headlines. Well, I’m here on Cape Cod, and the local newspaper, The Boston Globe, has a story today in which Boston Archbishop Sean P. Cardinal O’Malley comments publicly on the situation. And, as a loyal churchman caught in a sticky wicket, he plays both sides. On the one hand, O’Malley says that the church’s main concern is the best interests of the child, regardless of who the child’s... Read more
When I spoke last month to the Alliance of Baptists, I tried something that I’d done once before: a public reading of our new translation of the Didache from my latest book. And I was thrilled with the result. As we passed the book around the room and heard chapters read by varying voices, it was variously funny (I mean laugh-out-loud, pause-the-reading-for-the-laughter-to-subside funny), poignant, and even uncomfortable. For instance, the Didache’s prohibition of abortion (literally, “you shall not murder a... Read more
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