The Problem With Liberal Christianity (From the Perspective of a Radical Christian)

September 14, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Dorothy Sölle, a radical Christian theologian (her memoir is sub-titled Memoir of a Radical Christian), begins her book, Thinking About God, with an incisive critique of modern liberal Christianity. She was no fan of fundamentalist evangelical theology, but she provides an interesting and perhaps still timely two-pronged critique of the liberal end of Euro-American Christianity. In the first part, she claims that liberal Christianity’s insistence upon the separation of church and state is naive and self-defeating. The attempt to keep... Read more

Should We Pray For God’s Protection From Hurricanes?

September 8, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

I’m going to shift gears for a while with my blogging. Instead of trying to come up with my definitive response to various cultural happenings, I’m going to ask more questions. Or, I’ll questions that other people are asking me. And I may venture an answer to the question. Or I may not. Like this one, which someone asked me the other day–someone who had Hurricane Irma in mind: “Is it legitimate to pray for God to spare people from... Read more

The Inconsistent Docetism of Evangelical Theology

September 2, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

OK, here’s another thought I had about the so-called “Nashville Statement” that’s been buzzing around social media. Conservative evangelicals are some of the most docetic Christians around, in my experience. By docetic, I mean they tend to differentiate between spiritual and material, and elevate the spiritual over the material. Docetism was an early Christian heresy, a belief about Jesus Christ which was condemned as inadequate at the Council of Nicaea (325). It held that Jesus only appeared to be... Read more

On the Nashville Statement, Paradigm Shifts, and the Kingdom of God

August 31, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Jonathan Merritt has an interesting take on the “Nashville Statement,” a conservative Christian “manifesto” (that’s the word John Piper used) that, among many other things, declares that: *There are “divinely ordained differences between male and female,” *There is a “God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female” *Denies that “adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.” And yes, according to these evangelical signatories, one can simply “adopt” a... Read more

A Scholar on Why Evangelicals Love Trump: Not Abortion, but Racism

August 25, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

While many of Trump’s advisory board members (business, arts) jumped ship following his (widely perceived to be) inadequate response to Charlottesville, his white evangelical advisors have remained steadfastly by his side–with only one exception. The unflinching support of Trump by the likes of Robert Jeffress, Paula White, Jerry Falwell, Jr., have raised an identity crisis for many in the evangelical movement–not to mention a massive PR problem. Some apologists point to Trump’s (however evolved and recent) “pro-life” position and his... Read more

Removing Racist Monuments Doesn’t Destroy Culture, But Transforms It

August 19, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Donald Trump thinks that the removal of confederate monuments is tantamount to destroying culture. Recently he tweeted: Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson—who’s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns, and parks will be greatly missed and never... Read more

Luther on Faith, that Great Destroyer of (Meritorious) Works

August 11, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

In Luther’s Freedom of a Christian, he explicates his view of the relation between faith and works. For Luther, good works are necessary–the natural outcome of (transformative) faith in Christ. But works are not meritorious for salvation, and should not be approached that way. Here’s what he says (as only he can): If works are sought after as a means to righteousness, are burdened with this perverse leviathan, and are done under the false impression that through them one is... Read more

“A Complicated Pregnancy” Now Available for Pre-Order

August 10, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

I’m happy to announce that a book I’ve been working on for the past two years or so is now available for pre-order. The official publication date is set for December 1, but I’m told it may be available before then. The process of researching and writing this book was a kind of milestone in my own theological development–this book unfolds that journey through stages–both theological/biblical and personal. I’m excited to share that journey with you. The publisher’s description:... Read more

Why the Protestant Principle Might Outlast the Protestant Church (Theology of Protest, Part 2)

August 8, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

The following post is the first of a multi-post series called a “Theology of Protest: The Reformation and Paul Tillich’s ‘Protestant Principle’” by Dr. Paul Capetz. The original essay was delivered at a conference at United Seminary of the Twin Cities devoted to the theme of the ongoing significance of the Reformation for Christianity. Dr. Capetz has given me permission to publish his lecture as a multi-part blog series. Capetz is Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at United. His... Read more

Notice: Upcoming Luther Conference in the Twin Cities

August 7, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Check out this upcoming, free (!) conference, held at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. I’m one of the presenters and yes–my title is the least intriguing of them all–which means I’ll have to make up for it in spicy content: To register, go here to the event’s Facebook page “Contemporary Perspectives on Luther” Do Luther’s reforming insights still speak? Come to hear and converse with theologians as they address how Luther’s reforming insights speak to—and are redefined by—a range... Read more