I was 16 years old and a new convert to the Christian faith. I had started attending a conservative Baptist church. Those who know anything about the conservative Baptist tradition know just how little emotion is shown in their churches. They don’t believe in the “heavenly gifts”; things like speaking in tongues, prophecy, etc. When this event occurred I had only been a Christian for a few months, which meant I had not yet been indoctrinated with the clichés of... Read more
We are taught from a very young age that we have to grow up a certain way. That we do well in school so that we can get a college education – not because it’s good for us to do well and be educated, but because it is something that will lead us to a good college. We are also taught that when we graduate from college that we should compete in the marketplace to attain the best paying job.... Read more
Public critiques from evangelicals regarding deconstruction are on the rise over the last few years. Do you ever wonder why? I mean, what could be the harm in thinking critically about matters of faith? Wouldn’t any denomination or church movement encourage such thinking as a means for people to grow in their faith? In this article, I will provide two reasons why evangelicals hate deconstruction and why they continue to call it “dangerous”. What is deconstruction/reconstruction? First, it’s important to... Read more
Recently, Matthew J. Distefano and Zak D. Parsons constructed what could be best described as a theological book of art. Each image is a hand-drawn expression of the biblical narrative. The prose that accompanies the art helps to properly orient the viewer to each piece. I have reviewed many books over the years. There is a general template that one can use when reviewing a book. That general template oftentimes applies across the board and is a much more objective... Read more
Why do people say ignorance is bliss? The simple answer is because sometimes it’s better for a person not to know the truth than to know it. I don’t have an issue with people who are truly ignorant of something. My problem is with people who are intentionally ignorant to get out of knowing something that could cause them to grow or change some previously held belief. This is not meant to be an insult, but a matter of fact:... Read more
Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Frank Schaeffer. Frank is the son of theologian/philosopher Francis Schaeffer and a New York Times best-selling author. He recently published a book called “Fall in Love, Have Children, Stay Put, Save the Planet, Be Happy”. If you have never had the chance to hear Frank speak this is a podcast you must listen to. For those unfamiliar with the Schaeffer family. Francis Schaeffer was a theologian/philosopher who was highly influential through... Read more
Cornerstone University is a small, liberal arts university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you live outside of Michigan, you have probably never heard of it. It’s a university of about 2,000 students and sits comfortably in the West Michigan Bible-belt bubble. For full disclosure, I am an alumnus of this university. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Bible from Cornerstone in 2002. The university holds tightly to its Baptist roots – notwithstanding its generic university moniker. Despite this heritage,... Read more
Trigger Warning: this will piss some people off! Disclaimers: By “evangelicals”, I am referring to anyone who believes they are evangelical. By “progressive”, I am referring to anyone who believes they are progressive. By “fundamentalist”, I am referring to anyone to whom this post applies. Make sense… Good! With all of those qualifications out of the way, let us begin. Recently, I had some conversations that reminded me fundamentalism comes in all shapes and sizes. I spend a great... Read more
I am obsessed with lists. If a headline promises a list, I’ll almost always click on it. Recently, I looked at several lists of the “evilest” people in history. There have been some pretty depraved individuals throughout history, but nearly every list puts Adolph Hitler as the evilest person in history. Certainly, directing the killing of approximately 11 million people, including 6 million Jews, would rank you pretty high on any list of evil-doers. The question of interest in this... Read more
Fun with philosophy are my philosophical musings about various topics that interest me. No doubt publishing an article on aliens just begs for the crazies to come out of the woodwork. However, the purpose of this article is to think about the religious ramifications of the existence of an extraterrestrial race. I don’t know if aliens exist or not. However, since the release of classified military documents over the last two years, there is a strong case that can be... Read more
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