Kierkegaard and Biblical Hermeneutics in Conversation at the SBL

Last updated on: June 4, 2015 at 8:57 am By Kyle Roberts

As the representative for the Søren Kierkegaard Society to the Society of Biblical Literature, I thought I’d announce the session for this year’s national conference in Atlanta. It’s a great lineup of speakers and topics. For those coming to AAR/SBL and with interest in the intersection of Kierkegaard and issues in contemporary biblical interpretation, I hope you’ll join us. Søren Kierkegaard Society 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM 11/24/2015 Room TBD Kierkegaard and Biblical Hermeneutics in Conversation Hugh S. Pyper,... Read more

Sepp Blatter’s Resignation and John Oliver’s Wit

Last updated on: June 2, 2015 at 12:07 pm By Kyle Roberts

We have breaking news: FIFA’s controversial (and under fire) Sepp Blatter has announced his plans to resign. Was John Oliver’s plea for his resignation the final straw? OK, probably not, but it’s worth watching anyway: Read more

The Catch-22 of Progressive Christianity

Last updated on: June 2, 2015 at 10:10 am By Kyle Roberts

An editorial by Damon Linker explores the “catch 22” of progressive / liberal Christianity, in the light of Ireland’s historic popular vote to approve same-sex marriage. This triumph of liberal, Enlightenment progress for equality exposed the weakening of the traditional (and conservative) Catholic church’s social influence in that country. And the logic goes: if it can happen in Ireland, it can (and will) happen eventually throughout the West. The spread of equality is inevitable–at least in settings deeply influence by... Read more

The Village Church Debacle and The Evangelical Trifecta: Moralism, Patriarchy, Inerrancy

Last updated on: June 1, 2015 at 10:28 am By Kyle Roberts

Last week, the Daily Beast published a thorough summary of the Village Church debacle/scandal/tragedy (written by Matthew Paul Turner). I have nothing to add to that summary–nor am I familiar with the details of the situation beyond that summary. I’m going to assume that you are familiar with the story–or that you’ve taken a minute to read the article. Upon reading it, I realized that the Village Church debacle represents the worst of what can result when the conservative Evangelical... Read more

Happy Trinity Sunday!

Last updated on: May 31, 2015 at 9:29 am By Kyle Roberts

Here is the famous Icon painted by Russian Andrei Rublev, in the fifteenth century. It depicts the three angels visiting Abraham at the “oaks of Mamre,” but also doubles as a visual illustration of the Trinity, particularly reflecting the plurality of the three persons notable in Eastern orthodox trinitarian thought. Can’t you see the egalitarian, perichorectic relationality? Happy Trinity Sunday! Read more

On Feminist Interpretation of the Bible: A Brief Summary

Last updated on: May 29, 2015 at 10:05 am By Kyle Roberts

The following is a draft of an excerpt from the introduction to a chapter I’m writing on feminist biblical interpretation. Anything off here? Anything I missed? Like liberation theology and other self-consciously contextual theologies, feminist biblical interpretation takes its point of departure from the lived experiences of the interpreters–in this case, of women. Womanist interpretation designates, in particular, the context of African and African-American women in reading the Bible which, while overlapping with feminist concerns, also claims significant distinction from... Read more

Up Next? Religious Freedom to Discriminate Against Gluttons

Last updated on: May 28, 2015 at 10:40 am By Kyle Roberts

As far as I know, we haven’t seen this happening yet. But why not? Why discriminate against one “sin” and not another–particularly when those other sins (e.g. gluttony) seems to get a lot more attention in the Bible–and a great deal more attention by Jesus himself? Thanks to Kevin Frank for permission to reprint his cartoon. For more of his work, go to his website: kevinfrank.net Read more

One Step Leads to Another: FIFA and the Corruption Pyramid

Last updated on: May 27, 2015 at 1:56 pm By Kyle Roberts

Everyone is talking today about corruption and soccer. We’ve got a big scandal going, that will take some time to unpack. I’m not going to summarize in detail the unfolding allegations: but it appears that all of 14 FIFA officials and employees have been indicted for various forms of corruption. The NT Times summarizes it thus: The Department of Justice indictment names 14 people on charges including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. In addition to senior soccer officials,... Read more

Leaving Evangelicalism, Checking in (Nearly) Halfway

Last updated on: May 26, 2015 at 2:39 pm By Kyle Roberts

Last week, I published the third of a seven-part series which I’ve called “Leaving Evangelicalism.” I thought it might be beneficial to pause, now that I’m nearly mid-way through the series, remind readers (and myself) of what I’ve published, offer a few off-hand reflections, and then invite continued discussion in the comments section. Here are the first three topics, with links: 1(a) The Foundations are Breaking Up In this first post I laid out the context for my increasing discomfort... Read more

A Book Recommendation for Memorial Day: Migrations of the Holy

Last updated on: May 25, 2015 at 9:38 am By Kyle Roberts

In Migrations of the Holy, a collection of essays of political theology, William Cavanaugh details the history of the construction of the modern nation-State (the “State” is neither a necessary phenomenon (inscribed in the nature of creation or of humanity) nor (as he persuasively argues) a God-given, divinely ordained institution. , and shows how the formation of the modern nation-State originated in acts of violence and the centralizing of power in order to defend or assert violence, and still feeds on... Read more