I’ve been told on many occasions that I inhabit a postmodern world. But what on earth does that mean? Last year, I had the opportunity to study for a masters degree in theology. My studies revolved around the relationship between faith and culture. Before I began to look at Christianity in other cultures, I decided to look at what academics were […]
April
11
Review of ‘The Rise and Decline of American Religious Freedom’ by Steven D. Smith
posted by georgepwood
Steven D. Smith, The Rise and Decline of American Religious Freedom (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014). Hardback / Kindle In America, religious freedom is often named “the first freedom.” One reason reason for this name is religious freedom’s pride of place in the First Amendment. Only after stating, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or […]
March
17
Review of ‘Man and Woman, One in Christ’ by Philip B. Payne
posted by georgepwood
Philip B. Payne, Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009). Paperback In feminist criticism of Christianity, the apostle Paul often emerges as chief among sexists. He subordinated wives to husbands in the home and women to men in the church, enjoining females to be “submissive” to […]
March
10
Do I Believe in Jesus Because of the Bible?
posted by James Grissom
I love the book Letters from a Skeptic by Greg Boyd, and every now and then when some doubt is rumbling in my head, I’ll remember a section or two and reread it. On page 144 Ed asks a very honest, very important question: why does it take faith to believe in God? Why isn’t it just […]
March
07
Western Pantheism and the god of Liberal Theology: Part I
posted by ryanrago
Introduction When we hear the term pantheism, we naturally think of theological constructions in the Far East, mainly Hinduism and other closely related forms of it. Our minds seem to automatically associate pantheism with Eastern religion in the same way that our minds naturally associate the word “apple” with the word “red.” Nevertheless, we know […]
February
27
Gospel of Going to Heaven: Part II
posted by Nathan Monk
“It is the only happy life to live for the salvation of souls.” – D.L. Moody In continuing my thoughts on the Gospel of Going to Heaven I wanted to give a little background in how I see the development of this mindset. American religious history is marked by revivals. Since the early colonial days […]
February
26
Review of ‘Health, Wealth, and Happiness’ by David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge
posted by georgepwood
David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge, Health, Wealth and Happiness: Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ? (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2011). Paperback / Kindle Health, Wealth and Happiness by David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge offers both a critique of prosperity theology as well as an exposition of what the Bible really teaches about suffering, […]
February
19
Review of ‘The Resignation of Eve’ by Jim Henderson
posted by georgepwood
Jim Henderson, The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam’s Rib Is No Longer Willing to Be the Church’s Backbone? (BarnaBooks, 2012). Paperback / Kindle Women are the backbone of the American evangelical church. They constitute the majority of its attendees and volunteers. Absent their participation, all churches would shrink in size, and most ministries would dissolve for lack of both […]
February
18
Breaking Bad, Legos, and Passover: Why I’m Passing on the Passover Story
posted by John Manguno
I watched two pretty great things this weekend. One was the finale of Breaking Bad. The other was the Lego movie. I’ll let you guess which one of these I watched with my four and six year old children. You get three guesses and the first two don’t count. You see, even though some of […]
February
17
A Source for Morals
posted by James Grissom
The Atheist philosopher J. L. Mackie agrees that if we can prove that there is an ultimate moral truth that governs creation that it must have supernatural beginnings. However, he and his colleagues do not accept that ultimate morals do exist. According to these atheists, morals are just another product of social evolution. Society does […]
February
14
What’s in a Hyphen?: Postliberal vs. Post-liberal Theology
posted by Alex Bartholomew
Let’s get one thing straight before we begin: I (as I imagine most of you do) believe that its socially unacceptable to correct people on their grammar. I’m also more than aware that the hyphen is among the least important of all language symbols known to man. In most circumstances, that teeny tiny little line […]
February
07
Should Christians Sue At All?
posted by Casey Donnelly
The application of 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 presents us with some difficulties today. But before we go any further, here is the text that raises our questions: “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the […]
February
07
We Are All Zombies
posted by Christopher Baca
We don’t know it, but we feel it. We spend all of our time busy, distracted, amused, and entertained. We don’t sit in our cars without the radio on. We can’t be alone with ourselves for three minutes without finding a chore to fill up time or turning on Netflix to watch the next episode […]
February
06
John Piper Answers: Is It Ever Okay for a Christian to Sue a Non-Christian?
posted by Casey Donnelly
February
04
Why Public Debates Matter
posted by Chad E. Graham
Tonight, two icons (in their own way) will be facing off in a debate about the origins of the universe. Bill Nye is the Science Guy who will be presenting an argument for the truthfulness of evolutionary claims considered by Ken Ham to be contradictory to the Bible and reality. Ken Ham is a public […]
February
03
Is “Good” Simply Whatever Makes Us Happy?
posted by Chad E. Graham
Is “Good” Just a Feeling? Our whole lives, we are told to be good and do good. But what is good? Is it a thing that can be measured or is it something I become? Americans have had a hard time agreeing on the answer to such questions. We are however, in general agreement that […]
February
02
Review of ‘A Missional Orthodoxy’ by Gary Tyra
posted by georgepwood
Gary Tyra, A Missional Orthodoxy: Theology and Ministry in a Post-Christian Context (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013). Paperback / Kindle According to research by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in 2012, from 2007 to 2012, the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians declined by 5 points, from 78 to 73. By contrast, the percentage of […]
February
01
I Am A Recovering Hypocrite
posted by James Grissom
I am a recovering hypocrite. Two thousand years ago, Paul shared my struggle. In Romans 7 and 8 he talks about it: The things that I want to do, that I tell everyone I do; I don’t do that. The problems that I say I don’t have, I struggle with those daily. Who can save […]
