The Day that Minnesota Saved America

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

One hundred and fifty years ago today, the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment performed a military action about which President Calvin Coolidge would later say, “In all the history of warfare this charge has few if any equals and no superiors. It was an exhibition of the most exalted heroism against an apparently insuperable antagonist.” When they formed in 1861, the First Minnesota boasted 1,000 men — indeed, Minnesota had the highest percentage of volunteers of any state in the Union, with... Read more

The Paradoxical Lesson of Paula Deen’s Language (for Tony Jones)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

You’ve heard from my friend and rabbi, Joseph Edelheit, before. He’s in Brazil at the moment, and he’s been thinking about Paula Deen, Edward Snowden, and the contentious posts on this blog. He sent this piece and the above photo, unsolicited, and I post them here, unedited, for your consideration. This post may strike some as inflammatory, so I hope that you will keep your comments civil. When we find out that someone in popular culture uses language, no... Read more

Farewell, Google Reader

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

Google Reader shuts down this weekend, causing much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the technorati. Rachel has switched to Feedly. So have I. If you want to see all of your options, and see why Feedly is your best bet, read this. Thanks to all of you who subscribe through readers. Click thru once in a while to comment. 🙂 Read more

Richard Beck’s Progressive Vision

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

Richard Beck is one of my favorite theologians of the moment. Maybe it’s just because I agree with most everything he says. He teaches at a college that’s affiliated with the Churches of Christ. That’s not a progressive group — most of those churches still don’t use instruments in worship. I’m saying, it’s not easy for a Church of Christ theologian to publicly acknowledge that he’s “progressive.” Nevertheless, Richard has taken up my longstanding challenge for progressive Christian theologians to... Read more

Does God the Father Suffer?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

Fred thinks so, and I agree, in spite of the heresy of Patripassianism: Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the Trinity, in one God in three persons. This is a historically Christian way of talking and thinking about God. It’s a helpful and insightful metaphor. And it’s a metaphor that can be supported by several passages in the Bible. But it’s not actually a biblical metaphor. It’s something that Christians have, for many centuries, laid on top of the... Read more

On Retiring a Sermon

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

Unlike a lot of you, I don’t have to prepare a sermon each week. In fact, I only have to prepare two or three a year. And I’ve usually got one that’s my go-to sermon. When I’m asked to preach on a particular topic or text, I prepare something original. When I’m not, I go to the go-to. I realize this is a luxury. I’ve gotten to deliver this sermon in many venues over many months. I know the jokes... Read more

Would Hipster Jesus Do a Juice Cleanse?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

Around my emergenty world, my friends have been having colonics and juice cleanses for years. I tried a juice fast once, but couldn’t go more than a day without coffee, so I quit. And, no, I’ve never had a colonic. In the New Republic, Judith Shulevitz investigates the hipster trend of juice cleanses and fasts, “Jesus and Moses Went on Cleanses: That Doesn’t Mean You Should“: Ask a doctor about cleanses, though, and she’ll probably become enraged. I e-mailed Michael... Read more

Two Podcasts, No Waiting

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

I took some time away from the blog this weekend, due in part to a power outage caused by major thunderstorms in Minnesota. I also spent most of Saturday tracking down a swim raft from Craigslist, floating it into the lake, and subsequently vanquishing all comers who attempted to dethrone me as King of the Hill. But we awake Monday to two Homebrewed Christianity podcasts featuring items of note: (more…) Read more

Farewell, Exodus International. You Will Not Be Missed.

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

Rachel Held Evans breaks the big announcement: Update: Exodus International announces it is shutting down Wow. It takes a lot of guts to issue an apology as honest and as public as this one from Alan Chambers of Exodus International. An excerpt: (more…) Read more

Sacred Texts After the Apocalypse

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm By Tony Jones

Today, I’ve finished teaching the third in a three-year cycle of classes for a Doctor of Ministry cohort for Fuller Theological Seminary. This year’s subject matter was Fiction, Film, and Christian Spirituality. I presented the following lecture on on of my favorite novels, and one of my least favorite films. Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz (hereafter CL) is a masterwork of science fiction, standing among the most renowned novels in that genre.[1] The same cannot be said... Read more