In high school, I was the president of the Led Zeppelin Fan Club. It was a small club, but we were zealots. My best friend, Todd, and I must have watched The Song Remains the Same over 100 times — we knew every line by heart. Also while in high school, I bought a banjo (later traded in for a mandolin) and thus began my obsession with bluegrass, old time, and folk music. Among my early purchases was Alison Krauss... Read more
The Original Sin SeriesIntro–Intuition–Definition–Genesis–Jesus-Paul-Augustine-Calvin-Conclusion First, let it be said that Jesus is not recorded in the gospels as saying anything that can be construed as particularly supportive of the doctrine of Original Sin. Jesus did talk about sin, to be sure (and n.b., dear readers, I am not disputing the reality of sin, just the doctrine of Original Sin). Probably the closest he came to tackling the idea of inherited sin is the pericope of Jesus healing a man born... Read more
“We live in a condition where we cannot help but be aware that there are a number of different construals, views which intelligent, reasonably undeluded people, of good will, can and do disagree on. We cannot help looking over our shoulder from time to time, looking sideways, living our faith also in a condition of doubt and uncertainty.” – Charles Taylor, A Secular Age I am going to begin blogging through this amazing book in coming weeks. Read more
That’s what awaits me next Wednesday, on the L4-L5 disc. Read more
Jenell Paris has continues her provocative series. 6. Evangelicalism Likes Prioritizing the Superiority of Its Point of ViewI wrote about a man who moves from Christian faith to atheism, and evangelicalism worried that I was showing more credence for his point of view than I was defending the Christianity he had abandoned. Indeed, because I was writing for an audience predisposed against atheism, I thought I’d show the marginal point of view in as empathic a way possible. It’s just... Read more
Jason Byassee, late of the Christian Century, is now at the helm of a new online offering from Duke Divinity School: Faith & Leadership: Where Christian Leaders Reflect, Connect, and Learn. It’s a good looking site, and it should have some good resources. More significantly, Jason has launched the Call & Response blog on the site, and he’s enlisted some thoughtful Christian leaders like Lillian Daniel and Mark Chaves. I think it’ll be worth subscribing… Read more
I was really, truly excited about Tom Daschle as HHS Secretary. I think he is a fundamentally good person. Larry Lessig agrees, but says that doesn’t excuse him: Daschle, of course, is the most innocent in this guilty system. His plan was to serve the public as long as he possibly could. The voters in South Dakota terminated that plan. His desire is to return to public service, working on a set of issues that he feels passionate about. Indeed,... Read more
Andrew weighs in on “Progressive” or “Liberal”: Maybe I’m just anal retentive but I think that the term “progressive” is a lot like the term “evangelical.” It’s just an easy way for folks to compartmentalize others (and maybe even themselves) into easy categories without the subsequent (and necessary) process of dealing with actual beliefs and practices. I really do agree with Mollie that these terms have little substantive meaning. These days I’m uncomfortable calling myself either “progressive” or “evangelical” because... Read more
Philip Clayton (who is, by the way, da bomb!) tells us: Read more
Over at GetReligion, Mollie dissects a WaPo story on the new Religious Left…um…er…the religious “progressives.” Progressive? Is this the best descriptor for religious groups who advocate for liberal political aims? I have used the term regularly in the past and can argue for its use. But I’ve heard from people all across the spectrum who don’t like it. Some on the right say that it implies people who don’t share a belief in, say, higher taxes are regressive or oppressive.... Read more
Theoblogy
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In