Glad you asked. The New Testament reading in church this past Sunday was Ephesians 3:1-12. What struck me was how the author (Paul or a later follower of his) speaks of his commission to preach the gospel to Gentiles. And he keeps using the word “mystery.” He says in verses 3-6, The mystery was made […]
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What Do You Get When You Combine Academics and Game of Thrones? an Interview with Anthony Le Donne
Today’s post is an interview with Anthony Le Donne on his new book, Gods of Thrones: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Religions of Ice and Fire. Le Donne (PhD, Durham) is Associate Professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary. He is also the author/editor of seven books including Historical Jesus: What Can We Know and How Can We […]
St. Nicholas Was an Absolute Beast.
In church this past Sunday, as he does each year, our rector handed out a card with an icon of St. Nicholas, similar to the one to the left. On the back of the card we read the following: Nicholas was born in the 3rd century in Asia Minor. He used his entire inheritance to help the poor, […]
What You Risk Theologically When You Say “God Is Love”
Ironic, isn’t it, that two cherished pieces of evangelical theology—God’s love and God’s unchangeableness—sit so uncomfortably together, at least once you dig down a bit.
On Why I Say Happy Holidays
“You know me, I am no fan of the term X-mas or X anything. I make my kids play Christ-box 360. And if they break a bone they get Christ-rays.” -Stephen Colbert Technically this could be a very short post because I say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas because I couldn’t care less what […]
Talking to People You Disagree With
So, a few months ago (or maybe longer or shorter, I’m too lazy to look it up right now) I posted a podcast on How to Talk to People You Disagree With. Today’s post has two purposes: First, one of our listeners, Nathan Kitchen, designed a wonderful infographic based off the episode and we wanted […]
A Blog Post in Which I Get Belligerent About Theological Belligerence
One cannot use Jesus and Paul as a justification for pathology–and excuse to see a gospel-survival conflict at every point of disagreement.
Was There a “Fall” or Did Augustine Really Screw Everything Up?
The “fall” of humanity, as some Christians understand it, completely dependent on Augustine’s misreading of one verse in the book of Romans.
5 Old Testament Reasons Why “Original Sin” Doesn’t Work
Does the Old Testament portray Adam’s disobedience in the garden of Eden as the cause of universal human sinfulness and guilt? No it doesn’t. Not even remotely.
“Maybe You’re Just Not Listening” (My Mom . . . or God.)
In The Sin of Certainty, I tell a brief story about the time I was in middle school and made myself a sandwich. After I was done, I tied up the bag and tossed it onto the counter a few feet away. My mom, who had grown up in Europe during World War II (the Big One, […]
