Names. For the most part in our culture, we think about them in ways that are foreign to the biblical world. Sound, associations, family traditions, and social trends often figure into the choice of our children’s names in a way that people in the ancient world would have considered strange. When I was an undergraduate I had a friend whose Father was named after a millionaire. An old bachelor, the millionaire told my friend’s grandfather that if he named his... Read more
Over the years the people I have met who “deconstruct” their faith have lived under the sway of “fundagelicalism”. Fundagelicalism is that expression of the Christian faith which weds an emphasis on a personal relationship with Christ to rigid legalism and an inerrantist approach to Scripture.[1] The correlation between fundagelicalism and the deconstruction movement is not surprising. Fundamentalism presents itself as the one and only faithful and orthodox expression of the Christian faith. Churches associated with it impose a strict... Read more
Note: The following article is about a trend that is not universal. There are notable exceptions to the trend described here. This is also not an article about conspiracy. It is about mission creep and a loss of focus which is often invisible to outside observers and the product of more than one factor. As an undergraduate, light years ago, a major conflict erupted between two of my professors. Each professor recruited students in a battle over the differences between... Read more
[In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he... Read more
Who are you? Deep into life identity is a challenge for all of us. I don’t know anyone who escapes that challenge. And for many people it is a source of real struggle and no small amount of anxiety deep into life. Identity is also a challenge that reinvents itself. Even after we have made the choices that most of us identify with settling into adulthood – finding a spouse, getting a job – the questions of identity surface and... Read more
The comparative study of religions replaced the study of theology in western universities. No doubt a number of factors accounted for its rise. The increasingly secular nature of universities precluded the discussion of theological matters. The Enlightenment promised scholars that religion could be parsed in analytical terms. Academics felt obligated to account for religion, because it figured as one of the more prominent features of human behavior. And – at the same time – the academic enterprise required that those... Read more
But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober… (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6) New Testament scholars often argue that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians because they expected Jesus to return soon, and they were... Read more
Some years ago, I was privileged to edit a book by Bishop Steven Charleston. A citizen of the Choctaw Nation and a retired Bishop of the Episcopal Church, he offers regular reflections on the spiritual life. Recently, he offered this observation: I wish I could do more. So much of my spiritual life is haunted by that feeling. I feel helpless against the great disasters of my age. I feel inadequate when confronted with the scope of human need. I... Read more
The complex history of the Holy Land makes it all but impossible to offer an exhaustive account of the strife and struggles that have roiled that small patch of ground. And it is certainly impossible to do that here. As the home to all three Abrahamic traditions, it has been contested, over and over again. Given its location in the Fertile Crescent and the Middle East, it has been strategically important for as long as anyone can remember. And,... Read more
“I don’t have any friends here anymore.” It’s the complaint that priests often hear from parishioners, especially as churches grow and change, and one sympathizes. At every juncture in life, we are confronted with change, and change is disorienting. We become dependent on our surroundings and on the relationships that we forge. And while life in the church is ultimately about the healing work and mission that God does in our midst, it is easy for that web of dependencies... Read more
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