What Does It Mean to Be Protestant Today? (Theology of Protest, Part 1)

August 4, 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

What is Postcolonial Theology? (The Reformation From the Margins)

August 3, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

If you’ve been following my blog in the past few weeks, you know I’ve been doing a lot of reading on Luther’s theology. Recently I picked up what looks to be an inspiring and timely book, Wittenberg Meets the World: Reimagining the Reformation at the Margins, by Alberto L. Garcia and John A. Nunes. The book offers something unique in Luther scholarship: it explores the theology of Luther and the impulses of the Reformation from the perspective of the “margins”–minority... Read more

The Mystical Luther That Time Forgot

August 2, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Martin Luther is often thought of as advocating a type of “forensic justification,” a kind of legal (and objective) declaration that a sinner is “just” or “righteous,” completely irrespective of that sinner’s “works” or contribution to salvation. did or didn’t do. A forensic view of justification says that God “imputes” righteousness to sinners, declaring them to be perfect. What follows from justification is sanctification, which is the forgiven, redeemed person now working out their objective status subjectively. Justification and sanctification... Read more

Yes, Luther Believed in Predestination But That Doesn’t Mean You Should

July 27, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

When I co-taught a course on Luther’s theology last summer, we had a lively discussion regarding to what extent–Luther, the great Protestant reformer, affirmed the doctrine of predestination. That is, did Luther subscribe to the notion that God “predestines” (elects), from eternity past, those who will be saved–simply as a consequence of God’s own will or decision and apart from any causation or influence of human will or agreement? As one of my former Calvinist professors used to say: dead... Read more

Is Unity With God the Main Theme of All Religions?

July 26, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

“All major religions agree on one thing: the deepest desire of the human person is to get in contact and to live in union with his or her God.” And then, “The search for unity with God is undoubtedly the leading motif in religions.” Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, begins his book, One With God: Salvation as Deification and Justification, with these strong claims. The main theme in common with the major religions is the human desire for union with God. He goes... Read more

Almost the Greatest Heresy of All

July 21, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Heresy isn’t the same as doctrinal error. Heresy is a willful disobedience of the truth–a willingness to proclaim publicly that the church’s official teaching is wrong. Thus, heresy is a “moral offense, not an intellectual one.” This is how Alec Ryrie, in Protestants: The Faith that Made the Modern World, explains the background belief (the nature of heresy as willful, moral disobedience) that motivated the Catholic church’s virulent opposition to Martin Luther’s teachings. Luther, like any heretic that question the church’s... Read more

When Feminists Read the Bible (Dorothy Sölle)

July 18, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Dorothy Sölle (1929-2003) might be one of the best theologians you’ve never heard of. She was a German political (liberation feminist) theologian whose work was extensive and varied. Her influence has been overshadowed, at least in my observation, by the “great” German theologians (male), Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rudolf Bultmann, etc. But her work should be read, perhaps now more than ever, in these times when calls for justice are not easily heard. In Thinking About God: An Introduction to... Read more

The Beatles’ “Let It Be” is Not About the Virgin Mary (Or is It?)

July 14, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

I recently looked into the history of the Beatles’ 1970 song, “Let it Be,” after my artist and musician brother-in-law reminded recently of the song’s reference to a “mother Mary” who “comes to me speaking words of wisdom” during my “times of trouble.” I was glad to be reminded of the song and it’s connection to “Mother Mary,” because I’d just written a book on the topic of the virgin birth (due out this November)–which includes a chapter on the... Read more

Eight Reasons Evangelicals Still Trust in Trump

July 12, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Amid the scattered pieces of the the Don Jr. / Russia email bombshell, a group of evangelicals gathered around Donald Trump and prayed for the embattled president. A participant who tweeted a photo of the event, replete with the evangelical laying-on-of-hands, observed that Trump was confident and “in command”: “He was as strong and focused as I have ever seen him. It was as if he was entirely above the fray.” Yes, of course. Entirely. It appears that the stalwart... Read more

Kierkegaard on Christian Nationalism: “Will He Find Faith On the Earth?”

July 4, 2017 By Kyle Roberts

Kierkegaard, writing in Danish newspaper article, in the final year of his life (1855), reflects on the problem, as he saw it, of “Christendom” in Denmark–using Luke 18:8: It is Christ’s own words: “Will the Son of Man, when he comes again, find faith upon the earth?” Consequently Chris sees a possibility that the situation at his second coming may be such that Christianity does not exist at all. Those words imply in addition that Christ more particularly considered that... Read more