Does the Christian cross, as a symbol of the suffering of Christ, contribute to more suffering and victimization? Here’s a nice warning from Moltmann’s The Crucified God on the ways that the cross as a symbol of suffering is often used to perpetuate the suffering of the oppressed. Moltmann is in the midst of explaining what he calls the “mysticism of the cross,” which is an approach to the cross as a symbol that when spiritually internalized in the midst... Read more
Someone needs to tell Kim Davis, County Clerk in Kentucky, that Christendom is over. She drew national attention when, back in June, she famously (or infamously) refused to fall in line with the Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell decision, ceasing to issue marriage licenses so she wouldn’t have to go against her conscience. This is a problem, however, because issuing marriage licenses is something county clerks are apparently supposed to do. A New York Times article today explains the most recent... Read more
As a follow up to my post last week on the question, “Did Jesus believe the Bible is Inerrant?” I thought I’d share an extended quote from late theologian Donald Bloesch’s book Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration, and Interpretation. In the chapter from which I quote (and in the quote itself) Bloesch refers a good bit to “fundamentalism” and he allows for a distinction between fundamentalism and evangelicalism. I wonder, given the way evangelical theology has been shifting over the past... Read more
“From the child of five to myself is but a step. But from the new-born baby to the child of five is an appalling distance.” – Leo Tolstoy Our oldest child, our daughter Ella, begins Kindergarten tomorrow. It’s pretty surreal. It’s hard to grasp the concept that in just a matter of hours, our little baby will climb the steps to that big yellowish bus — no doubt peopled with more than a few raucous “big kids” — and... Read more
Did Jesus believe in the inerrancy of Scripture? Rob Bowman recently responded to my post, Seven Problems with Inerrancy, with his essay, Seven Problems with Christian Opposition to Inerrancy. In this post, I’m going to address only the first of Bowman’s critiques. Perhaps I can address the others in a new series of posts. He raises some good questions, deserving of serious response. Bowman expresses disappointment that, like so many other critics of inerrancy, I neglected to deal with Jesus’... Read more
“You mention the Bible..you’ve been talking about how it’s your favorite book…I’m wondering what one or two of your most favorite Bible verses are..and why?” This was the question raised on Bloomberg’s “With All Due Respect” His answer? He doesn’t want to get into it. It’s a personal thing. Given that Donald Trump is the front-runner in the Republican race and is even leading among white evangelical voters, it makes sense to wonder about how he practices his faith–and you... Read more
Religion gets a bad rap these days–and more and more so all the time, it seems. And for understandable reasons. Anyone who has taken a church history class (or pretty much any history class, for that matter) is aware of the contribution of religion to humanity’s collective bloodshed. Prominent examples of Christianity’s role include the Crusades of the Middle Ages (1095-1291) and the “30-years war” in continental Europe (1618-1648), a war fought between Protestants and Catholics. In both cases, the... Read more
I’d like to take a detour from my usual blogging fare to recommend to you a new series on Netflix, “Chef’s Table.” Or rather, I can heartily recommend the first episode in the series, the one focused on chef Massimo Bottura and his rise to fame in Modena, Italy. I have yet to see the other episodes, but on the basis of this review, it seems that the first installment may be the best. Massimo is a lively person, full... Read more
The latest Trump-tastic news involves an incident in Boston in which two brothers, Scott and Steve Leader, (allegedly) assualted with a metal pole, urianted on, and laughed at a homeless Latino man. They claimed they were inspired by the rhetoric of Donald Trump. According to Time’s report: Police say Scott Leader told them it was alright to beat the man as he was homeless and a Latino. “Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported,” Scott allegedly... Read more
Financial hacks are boring. Government hacks are little more interesting–if there’s international political intrigue. The Ashley Madison hack? Anything but boring. Salacious, steamy, revealing, personal, sexual–with plenty of opportunities for voyeurism, reveling, disgust and “I’m-glad-that-isn’t-me” relief. Yesterday, I reflected on the morality of vigilante hacking. I also pointed out, via reference to Graham Culley’s post, the potentially serious consequences for the exposed customers of Ashley Madison. Embarrassment, shame, regret–potentially even suicide. How will these millions upon millions of people (we’re... Read more
Unsystematic Theology
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