You may have heard of the book, Why We’re Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be (I don’t know what it’s about — I never read it). Well, you might call this review, “Why I Don’t Love a Movie: By a Guy Who Should.” I basically agree with the LA Times review: “Meh.” Hellbound? is a movie that features many of my friends, and at least one former friend. It takes a point of view: the conservative version of hell... Read more
This week’s Question That Haunts Christianity, Andrew challenged us with a question not so much theological, biblical, or historical in nature. Instead, his question is spiritual and, ultimately, existential: Why do I not experience God like I have been taught I should? Why don’t I hear his “voice?” … If Christianity is for real, why am I not able to have experiences of God? Ayayay. In many ways, Andrew’s question is the toughest one we’ve tackled yet. When it comes to issues... Read more
Afra, the Sri Lankan girl I sponsor through World Vision didn’t only affect me. She also touched the heart of Lindsey Minerva, the WV staffer who led our trip. She’s blogged about Afra’s birthday party on the WV blog, and what she’s written is beautiful and profound: After candles were blown out and cake had been cut, most of our group left. Tony and I stayed behind to spend some more time with Afra and her family. Afra’s parents opened... Read more
This sponsored post is part of the Patheos Book Club. Check out the Book Club for more posts on this book, an interview with the author, and for responses from other bloggers and columnists. Christians continue to talk about Genesis, to debate Genesis, and to write books about Genesis. Fellow Patheos blogger Peter Enns, for instance, got some evangelical undies in a bunch with his 2012 book, The Evolution of Adam, The: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about... Read more
Since I’m writing a book on prayer, I’ve been thinking a lot about the subject. So has Texas pastor Rick Scarborough. The pastor-genius behind the Rick Perry prayer rally “The Response:” has now launched a 40-day prayer-fast to save America. It starts this Friday and runs, coincidentally, until election day. Over to you, Stephen, Read more
This post is part of the Patheos Book Club. Check out the Book Club for more posts on this book, an interview with the author, and for responses from other bloggers and columnists. He doesn’t say it the way that I say it, but I think that Chuck Gutenson is onto something. Gutenson’s new book, The Right Church: Live Like the First Christians, presses modern-day Christians to look to to the earliest church fro guidance in the vexing issues of... Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I attended the first of four “Civil Conversations” that Krista Tippett is hosting in advance of the election. The Civil Conversations Project is attempt to bring some nuance and sophistication to the too often shrill soundbytes that overwhelm us these days. The first conversation was meant to bring some complexity to the way that we think of evangelicals, so Krista sat down with Gabe Lyons, the founder of Q Ideas, and Jim Daly, the successor... Read more
Watch this clip and tell me if you’ve ever seen/heard a Pentecostal TV preacher who sounds so much like Peter Rollins. Then tell me which phrase got his show canceled. I’m guessing “the negation of the negation.” Read more
A little different tack in this week’s Questions That Haunt Christianity. Rather than a theological or historical question, Andrew submits an existential/spiritual question: (more…) Read more
As we in the West struggle to understand the upheavals and violence taking place in the Middle East and elsewhere, I am reminded of this prescient quote from one of the very best books on postmodernism (which I loaned to someone and was not returned — if you have this book of mine, please send it back!): The postmodern condition, we are told repeatedly, manifests itself in the multiplication of centres of power and activity and the dissolution of every... Read more
Theoblogy
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In