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, […]
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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, […]
3 Ways to See the Bible “as an Adult” (But Let Me Explain Before You Jump down My Throat)
I know the title of this post might sound offensive, but don’t give in to that feeling. I’m probably not even talking to you. The title channels something I read by C. S. Lewis somewhere in the past (that I really don’t feel like looking up right now) and that I also heard from Jon. D. Levenson while […]
Is the Christian Faith, Strictly Speaking, Biblical?
Strictly speaking, no. Not even unstrictly speaking. All this Jesus business doesn’t simply “follow” what the Bible (namely, the Old Testament) “says.” It transforms that sacred text. Actually, if I can lay my cards out on the table right at the beginning, the Christian faith is at its roots a Jewish one. It is one […]
