The Twin Cities boasts three Protestant seminaries (forgive me if I don’t consider John Piper’s unaccredited school a seminary in full standing). They are Luther Seminary, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and Bethel Seminary. And I think that the rising and falling fortunes of these three can tell us something interesting about the landscape of the church in America today. [Disclosure: I teach at United, I am part of a Templeton grant at Luther, and I once made... Read more
Wolfhart Pannenberg—In Memoriam by Philip Clayton Wolfhart Pannenberg has often been called the greatest theologian of the second half of the 20th century. With his death Friday, the world has lost a brilliant interpreter of Christianity, and I have lost the mentor who molded me as a scholar, theologian, and person. In the 1950s, when Pannenberg was a doctoral student in Heidelberg, Karl Barth dominated the theological stage. In order to counteract Barth’s overemphasis on salvation history (Heilsgeschichte), Pannenberg redefined... Read more
There were a couple things that I couldn’t avoid, even with my self-imposed internet sabbatical. One was the ice-bucket challenge. The other was the ongoing saga of Mark Driscoll. I’ve written about Mark plenty here, and I’ve detailed his early involvement with the emergent movement in one of my books. Mark and I never knew each other all that well. I got the impression that he looked down on me because in our “Group of 20,” I was the lone... Read more
Here’s a short video I shot to update you on the forthcoming book: Read more
So, I took 6 weeks off of the Internet, and I feel fine. Didn’t miss it all that much. In case you’re curious, here’s what I did: 1) Finished the second draft of my manuscript, Did God Kill Jesus? and sent it off to the publisher. Haven’t heard back yet, but I’m hoping they consider it an improvement. I do. Most days over the past six week, I wrote 6-8 hours per day. More on the book tomorrow. 2) Harvested bushels... Read more
Hey, friends, the price goes up on Christianity21 tickets on Monday, so grab yours today. It’s such a solid event, replete with amazing voices. Most recently, we’ve added Brian McLaren, Glennon Melton, and Chris Seay. Plus, it’s in Phoenix. In January. Jump on this, people. Srsly. Register Today! Back to blogging next week. Talk at ya then. Read more
Fellow Patheos blogger Frederick Schmidt has penned an article for the Journal of Preaching about the strengths and weaknesses of Marcus Borg: One: Marc relies heavily on stereotyping of a Christian perspective that, where it exists, is historically representative of a small minority. I’ve known some of the Christians that Marc uses as a foil for his apologetic, but it is hardly fair to suggest that the kind of thinking he outlines dominated the church until Progressive Christianity came along.... Read more
I reviewed two books by evangelicals on gay marriage for The Christian Century — God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines and A Letter to my Congregation by Ken Wilson — and the review is now available online. Here’s the core of what differentiates their books: (more…) Read more
I used to debate Big Phil at the National Youth Workers Convention, at least until the year that a member of his posse started shouting at me and grabbed a chair like he was going to throw it. I don’t think Phil got asked back after that. Well, now Phil is the self-purported “leading expert on school shootings,” although he lacks any formal training…in anything. Self-promotion, however, is still in his wheelhouse, as Newsweek reports, (more…) Read more
This book review is by my spouse, Courtney Perry. Endarkenment. Ray Wylie Hubbard first awakened me to that word when I heard him sing “A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C)” at a party in Texas. I laughed aloud, surprised at the witty mouthful of words he jammed into a mere song chorus, looking at my (now-)husband as if to say, “Are you hearing this? Am I even hearing this?” I didn’t actually reflect upon the meaning of... Read more
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