I don’t normally respond to critical reviews of my books. I don’t really see the point. Not everyone likes every book, and that is just peachy as far as I’m concerned. There’s no need to be defensive, and I don’t feel that readers need my help in deciding whether a review is helpful or not. […]
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We Are All Agnostic
When it comes to God, we are all agnostic. And I think I mean that quite literally. The word comes from the Greek agnosis [α-γνωσις] which simply means “not knowing.” Is there a God? Is there no God? We simply don’t know, if by “know,” we mean, “are certain about the scientific facts.” I am […]
Rachel Is Weeping for Her Children
This blog series is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book How The Bible Actually Works. You can read the first posts in this series here, here, here, and here. I trust no one will misunderstand my intentions. I don’t mean to compare the loss of a child to anything, let alone a […]
Don’t Put God in a Box, Unless You Want to Be Swallowed by a Fish
This blog series is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book How The Bible Actually Works. You can read the first posts in this serieshere and here and here. The book of Jonah tells the famous story of the prophet Jonah who wanted nothing to do with his divinely given assignment—to go to the city […]
Making Sense of the God of Old in a 546-Sextillion-Mile-In-Diameter Universe
We are all making sense of God – and many of us have looked to the Bible to do that. Yet, the Bible often sends us conflicting messages about who God is. This blog series is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book How The Bible Actually Works. You can read the first […]
Tiptoeing Around the Touchy Almighty
This blog series is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book How The Bible Actually Works. You can read the first post in this series here. I mentioned earlier that every issue we’ve looked at thus far—what to do with a fool, how to look at wealth, how to rear children, how […]
Does Your God Recycle?
This blog post is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book How The Bible Actually Works. Should we be the least bit surprised when we, along with some biblical writers, find ourselves wandering beyond the words in the Bible as we think about what God is like, sensing that the God we […]
A Thought about Easter and the Bizarre Christian Faith
I have no problem saying—in fact, I think is it good and healthy to say—that I have, and have always had, some intellectual barriers to the Christian faith. Not all the time, but enough of the time. As I said I don’t mind admitting it, because to do otherwise would be a colossally silly waste […]
Using Truth as a Weapon
Just a few weeks ago the Methodist Church, which represents over 12 Million Christians in America, met in St. Louis, for their General Conference. In a special session they voted on what was called The Traditional Plan, which kept church rules in place that disallowed same-sex marriages and gay clergy. In one presentation, Nancy Denardo, […]
Can the Bible Be “Trusted” and What Does That Even Mean?
The Bible bears the marks of the messiness of the diverse human drama. Christian theology, if it wishes to be compelling and speak into people’s lives, needs to incorporate that fact, not shy away from it.
