Putting the Political in Political Liberalism
I want to focus on the place called Bethel, because in the story of Bethel lies a tail that weaves its way through the Bible. We first hear about Bethel in Genesis 12, where Abram, (Abraham’s original name) receives his call to leave his homeland and is promised a new land and a people. One […]
This post is written largely in response to Morgan Guyton, a UMC campus minister, who steers a path between religious liberalism and conservative evangelicalism as he responds to a piece titled 5 Marks of Theological Liberalism. His responses are well written and there’s a lot to agree with. But given that I identify as a […]
Sanders: You think your statement that you put into that publication, they do not know God because they rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned, do you think that’s respectful of other religions? Vought: Senator, I wrote a post based on being a Christian and attending a Christian school that has a statement […]
A recent piece in Daily Kos writes t’s difficult to see why any believer, fundamentalist or “moderate,” should receive special treatment ― especially when even the most moderate and “progressive” Christians are nurturing the xenophobic, racist, uncharitable and decidedly “un-Christian” America we are finding ourselves in today. And make no mistake: there is no […]
David Gushee, an American Baptist ethicist writes on the state of evangelicalism and the LGBT debate that has embroiled so many churches: I now believe that incommensurable differences in understanding the very meaning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the interpretation of the Bible, and the sources and methods of moral discernment, separate many of us […]
We are in the season of Easter, Eastertide. For 50 days, we have a chance to reflect on the meaning of resurrection, in our life and in our faith. Pentecost, from both Greek and Latin means the 50th day, which celebrates the beginning of the church, when the disciples in the upper room are given […]
I had a chance to attend a symposium on religious pluralism at Oklahoma City Community College, where I teach religion and philosophy part time. It became obvious that there was a tension in the room. This came from having two opposing view points in the room. And the viewpoints largely talked around each other. Let’s […]
If you believe that Christianity is something that people can re-form into a shape that suits our felt needs in this time and place….then a strong form of Christianity cannot survive…The grandchildren of today’s progressive Christians will either be traditionalist Christians or not Christian at all. We really are at a dramatic fork in the […]
In lieu of the critiques Rod Dreher offers against modernity, which he sees playing out in American culture, including the increasing acceptance of LGBT people, the dramatic rise of the nones, and the failure of our society to agree on a common good, he offers a proposal: the Benedict Option. The Benedict Option is […]
Rod Dreher, an Eastern Orthodox writer, has written the Benedict Option. A book of counsel for fellow social conservatives, in particular those he considers small o orthodox. That counsel is partially based on responding to the shift in our society towards LGBT inclusion, the rise of the nones, and the political fragmentation of a society that no […]
Andrew Walker, Director of Policy Studies at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention, gives us a dichotomy. We can believe that there is a final justice, an ultimate ordering of society, of life. The question is, does it happen in this world? Or does it happen in the next world? […]
Lent according to Wikipedia “is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar of many Christian denominations that begins on Ash Wednesday and covers a period of approximately six weeks before Easter Sunday.The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance of sins, alms giving, and self-denial.” This begins […]
