Dear readers, for the next week, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope is on sale in the ebook version for just $1.99. It’s a great book, edited by Doug Pagitt and Your Favorite Blogger, with contributions that include: • Brian McLaren on postcolonialism • Dan Kimball on theology • Sally Morgenthaler on leadership • Will Samson on mission • Karen Sloan on sexuality • Tim Keel on imagination • Carla Barnhill on parenting • Tim Conder on church Find it on... Read more
Remember the “racist” kerfuffle, in which I was accused of excluding minority voices for saying at a conference, “We have a better version of the gospel than the regnant version in the West”? Many of you asked for the audio of that talk so that you could decide for yourself whether I was being exclusionary, and whether my theology is, as the accompanying image screamed, for “Whites Only.” Well, now you can listen to it: (more…) Read more
I appreciate what Richard Beck did in his series of posts, calling on progressive Christians to recover the biblical language of spiritual warfare. But, as I noted yesterday, I think there are a couple of weaknesses with that line of reasoning. One is that, while spiritual warfare language is biblical, it does not emanate from Jesus. So I’d like to offer an alternative, and highly related, corrective to Richard’s. I think that progressive Christians need to reclaim the biblical language... Read more
Richard Beck has concluded his lengthy series in which he responded to my challenge to articulate a progressive vision for theology. In an epilogue, he sums up his argument: “God is love” is the foundation of progressive Christian theology. That means that God is weak in the world, acting out of love rather than power. The weakness of God initiates a warfare relationship between a weak, loving God and those who strive for power in the world. That last point,... Read more
The anonymous gay professor at a Christian college continues to speak out, this time about how Christian colleges will happily accept tuition and contributions from GLBT persons, but not their academic contributions: This month, the Christian Reformed Church synod, with which Calvin College is associated, voted 154-24 not to reconsider its official position which states “that homosexual orientation is a ‘condition of disordered sexuality that reflects the brokenness of our sinful world.’” The synod did vote 135-43 to create a... Read more
I’m an extrovert. Surprised? Having just returned from a week at the family cabin with 14 humans and 8 dogs, my beloved, the introvert, sent me this graphic and accompanied links: Introverts reflect on new information at length and react relatively slowly: Extroverts are geared more for action, so they reflect and react almost at the same time (more…) Read more
(Reuters) – The Church of England published a plan on Friday to approve the ordination of women bishops by 2015, a widely supported reform it just missed passing last November after two decades of divisive debate. It said the new plan, outlined in a document signed by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of York John Sentamu, would be presented to the General Synod, the Church legislature, in July to begin the approval process. The proposal would make allowances... Read more
This is the second of two excerpts from a book that I happily endorsed: Emerging Prophet: Kierkegaard and the Postmodern People of God by Kyle Roberts. Kyle is a professor at Bethel Seminary and a fellow Patheos blogger. The emergent movement comprises communities of Christ-followers who desire to recover a sense of authenticity, passion, vulnerability, and intimacy in their lives together. They organize their communities in an intentionally organic way, such that these ideals become (at least conceptually) more attainable that... Read more
This is the first of two excerpts from a book that I happily endorsed: Emerging Prophet: Kierkegaard and the Postmodern People of God by Kyle Roberts. Kyle is a professor at Bethel Seminary and a fellow Patheos blogger. Doubt is the other side of faith…This ethos may be one of the defining features of emergent Christianity—the willingness to countenance doubt. These doubts can arise from questioning the sincerity of religious faith (i.e. Freud’s “great apologetic challenge” to Christianity), the truthfulness of... Read more
Process theology and radical theology flirted at Subverting the Norm 2 in April. Will they get married? Maybe, but I doubt it. With Bultmanniac, I’m interested in the flirtations of radical and liberation theologies. He suggests that might happen over Christology: Radical tradition doesn’t “do” anything (to embody Christ, necessarily). And Liberation theology (and those from the non-white traditions) fail to adequately deal with its metaphysics (see this article from the Other Journal), which in my opinion replicate and perpetuate... Read more
Theoblogy
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