Is the Holy Spirt Moving in Ireland? (On Pentecost Weekend, No Less)

Last updated on: May 24, 2015 at 7:52 am By Kyle Roberts

Many across the world followed the results of Ireland’s referendum vote to enshrine the legality of gay marriage in their constitution. This is historic because it’s the first time marriage equality has been constitutionally enshrined via popular vote. Ireland is an unusual country to take a leading position on the contentious issues of gay rights, given their heavily Catholic influence and their conservative history. Divorce was illegal in Ireland until 20 years ago, after a 1995 constitutional referendum made it... Read more

The Holy Spirit Didn’t Turn Jesus (or You) into Superman

Last updated on: May 23, 2015 at 6:59 am By Kyle Roberts

Pentecost Sunday is tomorrow. Because the Holy Spirit is often considered the “forgotten member of the Trinity,” trinitarian Christians should reflect on the Spirit’s important role in the gospels, in the kingdom, and in the church–whenever we have a chance–but especially when we have a designated occasion to do so. One way to do so is to remember that Jesus would not have been Jesus without the Spirit. He would not have done what he did, apart from the Spirit. In Jürgen... Read more

Christian Universalism: Or, What if God Gets What God Wants? (Leaving Evangelicalism #3)

Last updated on: May 21, 2015 at 1:23 pm By Kyle Roberts

This is the third post of a series I will be writing over the next few months in which I reflect on my theological journey through Evangelicalism and “out the other side.” I never did much like the idea of Hell. Eternal fire. Unending punishment. Torture, even, perhaps? No second chances. Make the wrong choice in this one life you have, and you’re cooked. But no one likes the idea of Hell, right? Remember when Rob Bell lit a fuse, set... Read more

Is Religion a Force for Good or Evil?

Last updated on: May 20, 2015 at 3:00 pm By Kyle Roberts

“Does religion make people good or bad?” Jonathan Haidt raises this question mid-way into his book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Religion and Politics. With a nod to the debate between atheists and believers over whether religion does more harm than good for society, Haidt goes on to stake his claim. He points to studies by social psychologists that evidence higher levels of altrusim, in particular charitable giving, and higher levels of trust among and for religious... Read more

Socialism or Just Good Christianity? Gravity Payments, Happiness, and the Living Wage

Last updated on: May 19, 2015 at 9:23 am By Kyle Roberts

Christianity Today has a good update article on Gravity Payments, the Seattle company that made national headlines when the CEO (Dan Price) decided to set a uniform salary for all employees–regardless of education and position in the company. From the janitor to the CEO, the salary will be $70,000. Price set that number when he read a study that suggested it to be a benchline income which predicts personal happiness. Not surprisingly, the counter-cultural move created a buzz of both... Read more

Who are the “Least” in Matthew 25? Baptist Bakers, Fundamentalist Florists, or the Poor and Oppressed?

Last updated on: May 18, 2015 at 2:57 pm By Kyle Roberts

A Southern Baptist professor and blogger recently asserted that “least of these” in Matthew 25 doesn’t refer to the poor, but Christian businesspeople (bakers, florists, etc.), who suffer for their discrimination against LGBTQ people. Denny Burk points out that the “least of these,” in Matt. 25, is linguistically related to the “little ones” in Matt. 10:4042 and in Matt. 18 (vv. 6, 10, 14). The “little ones” in Matt. 10 and 18, Burk argues, refer to Jesus’ disciples. Therefore, the “least... Read more

The Blues as “Secular Spirituals”: James Cone on B.B. King

Last updated on: May 15, 2015 at 10:01 am By Kyle Roberts

Blues legend B.B. King died on Thursday, at 89 years, after an announcement several weeks ago that he was receiving hospice care. This morning, I pulled out my copy James Cone’s The Spirituals and the Blues. Cone unpacks the historical context of the emergence of blues music, showing how it is both similar to and different from its antecedent in the spirituals, and then gives us a “theology of the blues” by connecting it to God, Jesus, suffering in the black experience, and... Read more

Five Metaphors for a Constructive Approach to Scripture: Responding to Scot McKnight

Last updated on: May 14, 2015 at 7:00 am By Kyle Roberts

I appreciate Scot McKnight taking the time to engage my recent post on inerrancy (See his response here. Se my inerrancy post here). He largely agrees with my critique of the term “inerrancy” and the way it is often used in Evangelical settings. But he asks a good question: If all we do is poke holes in inerrancy, and acknowledge the Bible’s problems, then we may only feed the flames of doubt and contribute to a environment of skepticism and distrust... Read more

Reflections on the Pew Forum: Adjusting to the “New Normal”

Last updated on: May 12, 2015 at 3:07 pm By Kyle Roberts

As chance (or fate, or meticulous divine providence) would have it, I led a church staff discussion this morning about the changing shape of Christianity in America, with particular focus on the role of Millennials. I prepared my talk using a lot of the data from the 2007 major Pew Research study on religion in America. But this morning, via Facebook, I learned that the 2015 Pew Research study came out (today). And the race is already on to prognosticate... Read more

The Difference Between a Liberal and a Libertarian (From Jonathan Haidt’s Righteous Mind)

Last updated on: May 11, 2015 at 3:23 pm By Kyle Roberts

A liberal and a libertarian walk into a bar… Not really. But have you ever looked for a good, succinct explanation of the difference between a liberal and a libertarian? I came across one recently in Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion: Libertarians are the direct descendants of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Englightenment reformers who fought to free people and markets from the control of kings and clergy. Libertarians love liberty; that... Read more