That’s what Pastor Phil Wyman and his small congregation have been trying to do for years in Salem, Massachusetts. I’ve been to his church, The Gathering. It’s right on main street, surrounded by New Age shops, palm readers, and other storefronts with pagan and occult paraphernalia. The Gathering meets in The Vault, a former bank on that street. Phil is out there. In fact, he’s so out there that he was kicked out of the Four Square, a pretty out-there... Read more
Hunting, I predict, will be the next hipster activity. Having taken to carving their own meat, mixing handcrafted cocktails, and growing mustaches, I expect that a bunch of skinny-jeaners are going to join me afield in the coming years. Yesterday, hunter and writer Steven Rinella wrote about how he is both a serious writer and a big game hunter, a combo to which I also aspire: (more…) Read more
This will come as no surprise to readers of this blog, but it’s time to be bullish about the future of progressive Christianity (aka, Incarnational Christians). According to a new survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution, the proportion of religious conservatives in the United States is shrinking with each successive generation, and close to 20 percent of Americans today are religious progressives. In American, conservative theology is waning, progressive theology is waxing. Here’s what it currently looks... Read more
Two super-popular Christian leaders have recently made public statements about what happens when you die. And they’re both terribly wrong. First, our friend, Rick Warren, tweeted this: (more…) Read more
For years, I’ve had a common retort to those who oppose gay marriage on biblical grounds: Do you make women wear head coverings in church? That’s because prohibitions of homosexuality and head coverings have about the same amount of biblical attestation. When I ask that question, my interlocutors most often pivot to arguments from natural law. That’s because no one — NO ONE — is really a biblical literalist. We all live on the slippery, relativistic slope of biblical interpretation.... Read more
Keith DeRose, philospher at Yale and running partner of Miroslav Volf, has a long and thoughtful post on “Delusions of Knowledge” that lead to a loss of faith. Worth the read, if you have the time — and don’t miss the comments. Here’s a taste: However, over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with some people who did get to the point–often for years, during adulthood–of acting and talking as if they knew that God existed, but who... Read more
In May, 2014, I will be leading a tour of Rome. I’m calling the tour, From Pagans to Christians – The Art, Architecture, and Proto-Theology of the Earliest Christians. My co-leader will be Professor Edward Bradley, my intellectual mentor and a professor of classics at Dartmouth College for over 40 years. Here is an early draft of my description of the trip: (more…) Read more
Fuller Seminary is both my alma mater (M.Div.) and a part-time employer (I teach a cohort in the D.Min. program). As far as I know, I am one of two faculty members at Fuller who publicly supports gay marriage and the full inclusion of GLBT persons in ordained ministry. As such, I’ve had many conversation about the issue of gays in the church with alumni, faculty, and administrators. I have the most conversations with prospective students, many of them gay... Read more
Years ago, in the midst of my divorce, I was sitting in therapy, again bemoaning the injustices of divorce in Minnesota. I was beyond frustrated at the lack of enforcement of court orders, at the assumption that moms are better parents than dads, and that no one seemed to think that my case was as urgent as I thought it was. “Stop calling it the ‘Family Justice System,'” my therapist said. “What?” I asked. “That’s what it’s called.” (more…) Read more
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