Theoblogy
I haven’t banned Frank. Not yet. But after all that’s gone down over the last couple weeks, it’s time to revisit the commenting and moderating policies here at Theoblogy. Back in 2008, I posted my “Blogging Rules“: (more…) Read more
I haven’t banned Frank. Not yet. But after all that’s gone down over the last couple weeks, it’s time to revisit the commenting and moderating policies here at Theoblogy. Back in 2008, I posted my “Blogging Rules“: (more…) Read more
Fellow #progGOD theoblogger James McGrath is glad that Matthew got the infancy narrative of Jesus wrong. The Massacre of the Innocents never happened, he confidently proclaims in his post “Why I’m Glad that the Infancy Narrative in Matthew Isn’t Literally True,” because Matthew lacked sympathy and theological concern: If Matthew had had more sympathy towards those who lose children, and more theological concern not to depict God in a manner that people would eventually find morally problematic, he could have used... Read more
There are some really great, beuatiful submissions to the #progGOD Challenge, Why an Incarnation? This week’s Question That Haunts comes from Judy, and it’s also got a Christmasy theme. It comes at the Why? question from a different angle: (more…) Read more
I own firearms. They are within a few feet of where I sit at this very moment. I’ve made no secret of that fact. They are shotguns, and I use them to hunt and shoot sporting clays. They are empty, and the shells are kept in another part of the house. They are also secured with trigger locks and in a gun safe. Only I know where the keys to the locks and the safe are kept. I’ve also fired... Read more
Of course, someone took yesterday’s school shooting to comment on one of my homeschooling posts: Today is 12-14- 2012 us homeschooled parents don’t seem that paranoid???? Seeing what happened in Conn??? Pray for the families Fellow Patheos blogger Libby Anne knows a lot more about homeschooling than I do. Like me, she doesn’t like it, and for a lot of the same reasons, even though I’m a Christian theologian and she’s an atheist, humanist feminist. She has collected her posts... Read more
David tweeted a question into the series asking a question about one of the most troubling passages of the Bible, and many of you answered him: @jonestony speaking of god’s preferences, why did god prefer abel to cain? my baptist buddies say it was the blood, but i’m not so sure. — David Wierzbicki (@wierz) December 3, 2012 It’s a great question, and one that I must say is all the more poignant because of the blood shed yesterday. For... Read more
Out of respect for the families in Connecticut, I will delay the posting of this week’s answer to Questions That Haunt until tomorrow. Instead of debating on blogs today, let’s all hug our loved ones. And if you have any firearms in your possession, immediately unload them, and secure them with trigger locks and in gun cases. Read more
A lot of what I get to do is spend time thinking and writing about the future of Christianity — my preferred future, at least. And getting together with people who are interested in the same trajectories of Christianity is a big part of my life, too. Honestly, it’s the whole reason that Doug and I started The JoPa Group and produce events like Emergence Christianity: A National Gathering with Phyllis Tickle and Friends. What I do with my part-time... Read more
A letter in the New Yorker following up on the Rob Bell profile: Kelefa Sanneh’s Profile of the ex-megachurch pastor and ersatz theological liberal Rob Bell provides a fascinating glimpse inside the struggles of American evangelicalism (“The Hell-Raiser,” November 26th). Bell’s “evolving faith” in many ways mirrors my own: I graduated from Wheaton College several years after Bell, and his formative experiences with Christianity and his subsequent efforts to come to terms with the strengths and weaknesses of an evangelical... Read more
I’ve been wondering lately how weird it is that Yahweh commanded Abraham and his male descendants to mutilate their genitals. Richard Beck writes about the transition of circumcision of the penis to the ears: What I find of interest here is how circumcision is a deliberate act of setting something apart, an act of consecration. Which is interesting given the anatomical relationship between ears and heart. A relationship that I think the prophets were getting at. The ears function as gate-keepers. If... Read more
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