I’m apparently a bit behind the curve on this as I had never heard of The Bible Series that is set to premiere on the History Channel in just a few weeks. In case you’re like me and you’re out of the loop, here’s the preview for it. If you have already seen it, I encourage you to watch it again, pay careful attention, and let me know if you notice anything. Did you catch it? Apparently according to this... Read more

When I woke up this morning I awoke, as so many others did, to the news that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning. I’m a big theology and church history guy, so I’m devouring every piece of news I can find about this event and can’t wait for conclave to begin. And I’m not even Roman Catholic. Which got me to thinking about something. How many Protestant Christians think the Pope’s sudden resignation even matters? My guess is some, but that many... Read more

Sex. It’s not exactly a topic you associate with the Bible, at least not in a particularly positive sense. If the Bible does talk about sex, we assume, it’s not in a very positive light. Often times that is true. There are many stories in the Bible that warn against all sorts of sexual vices. But then there’s that funny book in the Old Testament called Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon. Not only is it all about sex,... Read more

If you would allow me, I’d like to try something a little different today. Instead of “pontificating” about a subject that’s been rolling around in my head, I want to hear from you about something. I want to talk about election. Not presidential elections. Biblical election. You know, the election that determines who gets to go to heaven and who gets to go to hell. If you’re not familiar with the doctrine of election, or predestination, let me briefly fill... Read more

Matthew Paul Turner and Stuff Fundies Like both posted this video from First Baptist Church in Hammond, IN. The same church that was home to Jack Schaap who, before he was arrested for having sex with a teenager girl at his church, also spewed all kinds of bile from the pulpit. I’m not sure which bothers me more: pastors like this or the fact that they have congregations that continue to support their incredibly un-Christian vitriol. Read more

The remnant of the beer case a man found on the street in Florida was in the shape of a fish. On the backside of that remnant of a case was a white blotch that looks vaguely like the outline of a famous mid-20th century portrait of Jesus. The fish was an early symbol of the Christian faith. Christians today often think of themselves as a “remnant” of God’s people. Sure, nobody knows what he looked like, but the face... Read more

I’m a big fan of N.T. Wright. If you read many of my posts, that probably doesn’t come as any sort of surprise. His thinking saturates my theology, as it does for so many others. Last week, a friend of mine shared a quote from an old interview Read The Spirit did with N.T. Wright that, like so many of the things he says, drove straight to the heart of the issue and exposed the root of the problem. In... Read more

Greater than Superman. That’s how many of us think about God. If you were to listen to many of the conversations going on in evangelical circles today, you would hear many of the same things about God’s sovereignty repeated over and over again.. God has to be the biggest, strongest, greatest, most awesome being in the universe otherwise God can’t be the God of the Christian faith. In some sense, God does have to be “greater” than the rest of... Read more

As it turns out, we Americans aren’t the only ones who like using guns to solve our problems.   Nigeria: Pastor Pulls Out Gun On Church Accountant in Benue BY PETER DURU, ALL AFRICA Makurdi — THE Benue State Police Command, yesterday, arrested the pastor of a new generation church in Katsina-Ala (names withheld) for illegal possession of fire arms and assault on the church’s accountant. Vanguard gathered from sources that the pastor was apprehended with the firearm by men... Read more

I really hope this isn’t true. I really hope somebody scribbled “pastor” on the receipt after the fact. But it looks like they didn’t. It looks like somebody out there is just a really poor excuse for a pastor. This sort of thing is ridiculous in the first place, but coming from a pastor it’s repugnant and embarrassing to the rest of us who think Jesus actually meant all that stuff he said about generosity, kindness, and love. UPDATE: Apparently... Read more