The Question I’d Ask Trump at the Evangelical Gathering

Last updated on: June 21, 2016 at 10:21 am By Kyle Roberts

Donald Trump, amidst some apparently bad news about his campaign’s meager bank account, is meeting this morning with nine-hundred or so evangelical leaders to court their support. He’s got people like Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and Eric Metaxas (really?) speaking on his behalf. Other usual suspects of the conservative evangelicals (Ralph Reed, Gary Bauer, Tony Perkins, etc.) will be attending, while many others are coming armed with questions for the candidate. A Time piece today shared some... Read more

Pastors, Don’t Miss This Resource (“Teach the Text” Commentary Series)

Last updated on: June 20, 2016 at 11:49 am By Kyle Roberts

Pastors and teachers, you’re busy, you’re over-loaded with meetings, budgets, and putting out little or big fires that keep popping up. You’d love to spend all day reading commentaries, preparing the perfect sermon. But you just don’t have the time to pour through commentary after commentary, and then hop online to find the fitting illustration or application point. May I commend to you the “Teach the Text” commentary series by Baker Academic? Scholars have done the academic work, they’ve already... Read more

An Important Answer to the Question, “Why Are Conservative Christians Being Blamed?”

Last updated on: June 17, 2016 at 12:38 pm By Kyle Roberts

Isaac Archuleta, at the Huffington Post, has a powerful answer to that question that keeps popping up online: “Why are conservative Christians being blamed for what happened in Orlando?” Read his entire letter, “To My Conservative Christian Family: A Response to the Orlando Shooting.” Here’s a small bit, to give you an idea: Conservative Christians are being lumped in with the homophobic shooter, ISIS, and religious radicals because, to the LGBT+ community, these are the groups who maintain the system... Read more

God, the Motherly Father

Last updated on: June 17, 2016 at 11:29 am By Kyle Roberts

“Our Father, who art in heaven…” This phrase is repeated countless times in countless churches across the globe. This coming Sunday, with celebration of Father’s Day on the minds of many, that line will be said with invigorated significance. By Stephencdickson (Own work)[CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons But when we call God,”Father,” what do we really mean? Theologian Jürgen Moltmann, in an article called, The Motherly Father, (see reference below for the fancy subtitle) argues that the only way... Read more

“You Are Accepted”: What a Strange Idea (Paul Tillich)

Last updated on: June 15, 2016 at 10:37 am By Kyle Roberts

Theologian Paul Tillich’s sermon, “You Are Accepted” is a powerful piece of pastoral theology. The sermon is a reflection on Paul’s words in Romans 5:20: “Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” After noting the strangeness of the ideas of both sin and grace, Tillich goes on to elaborate how he thinks these words should be understood in the context of the modern situation. In that modern situation, we... Read more

After Orlando, the #1 Rule of Religion Must be Love

Last updated on: June 13, 2016 at 11:56 am By Kyle Roberts

Following the immediate shock and grief of the terror and tragedy of Orlando, the media discussion has turned to the causes. How–and why–would someone carry out such a heinous act? Should we attribute this evil to mental/emotional instability, to militant religious fanaticism, to extreme homophobia, or simply to an unleashing of raw unabashed hatred? And what role does the ridiculous laxity in gun regulations (ease of access) play in how we assign culpability? The question that’s received the most attention... Read more

Richard Beck Wants to Bring the Devil Back (Sort of)

Last updated on: June 9, 2016 at 2:39 pm By Kyle Roberts

If you’ve followed this blog much, you’re probably aware of my appreciation for the work of Richard Beck. I’ve written about his two books, Unclean and The Slavery of Death, I assign Unclean for my seminary senior seminar. Students sometimes say it’s the best book they read in seminary. I haven’t read his latest book yet, Reviving Old Scratch: Demons and the Devil for Doubters and the Disenchanted, but it looks like a good one. Josh de Keijzer, over at HelloChristian,... Read more

Free Upcoming Webinar: From Facebook to the Pulpit

Last updated on: June 8, 2016 at 3:38 pm By Kyle Roberts

It’s a good time for this conversation, so check out this free webinar I’ll be doing in July: “From Facebook to the Pulpit: Election Year Theologizing,” hosted by the zesty folks at Homebrewed Christianity. Read more

Martin Luther on the Importance of Inviting Death Into Our Presence

Last updated on: June 7, 2016 at 12:36 pm By Kyle Roberts

From Martin Luther’s “A Sermon on Preparing to Die” (from 1519): Death looms so large and is terrifying because our foolish and fainthearted nature has etched its image too vividly within itself and constantly fixes its gaze on it. Moreover, the devil presses man to look closely at the gruesome mien and image of death to add to his worry, timidity, and despair. Indeed, he conjures up before man’s eyes all the kinds of sudden and terrible death ever seen,... Read more

Paul Ryan’s Disavowal of Trump’s Racist Comment Rings Hollow

Last updated on: June 7, 2016 at 11:40 am By Kyle Roberts

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has been slow to coming around in support of Donald Trump’s candidacy, has clearly rounded the bend. Image by Gage Skidmore, CC0 2.0, via Flikr However, today Ryan disavowed Trump’s recent firestorm comments about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel. In those comments, Trump suggested the judge’s Mexican heritage makes him unfit to preside over the ongoing Trump University case. The Ryan highlights: “I disavow those comments … I regret those comments that he made.” “Claiming... Read more