I had a friend ask me today what my definition of a Christian is. I resisted the question to some degree, as I remain extremely troubled by the obsession many have, with drawing lines to delineate who is “in” and “out” of fellowship, orthodoxy, or whatever. I am not taking anything back that I said in my Word About Creeds. Nevertheless, if I claim to … Continue reading What IS a Christian, anyway?
I normally don’t embed videos on this blog, so for those of you who would rather read a sermon than listen to one (as I normally would), I apologize. However this message by my friend Rod Cardoza is worth the half-hour it’ll take you to hear it: Rod is the founder of The Abrahamic Alliance, a Silicon Valley-based ministry that seeks to build bridges between … Continue reading Love God, Love Neigbors…including Muslim Neighbors!
I was having a conversation with a group of friends the other day. The conversation turned to the state of the evangelical denomination over the past 10+ years. I wrote in a post why I am not an evangelical but that is not to say that I don’t like the idea or what they stand for. Rather I think it is in desperate need of … Continue reading Reformed Evangelicalism
I was at an event recently where a missionary from Africa came and shared about their work. After he spoke a pastor came up and shared how blessed he felt that a member of his church was called to the mission field. Although it sounds odd it seemed as though in the mind of the pastor this persons calling was “higher” because he left the … Continue reading Aren’t We All Missionaries?
I think I have finally nailed what my problem is. It’s that i’m just not an Evangelical. I was for the better part of my Christ following life very integrated and involved at a local church associated with the Evangelical Free Church. Which is no where near free of Evangelical’s humorously. On the of tenants of the Evangelical and the Free church is that they … Continue reading Why I’m Not an Evangelical
We rarely have the guts to admit it, but our most cutting critics often hold up a mirror into which we would do well to look. The picture at right, which many will find highly offensive, is just such a mirror. It reads: CHRISTIANITY: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat … Continue reading Evangelical heretic…
Well, it seems the firestorm ignited by Rob Bell’s Love Wins just won’t let up. Now the Southern Baptist Convention has passed a resolution On The Reality of Hell (June, 2011), in which they reaffirm their belief in eternal conscious punishment for all “the unregenerate.” My thanks to Rachel Held Evans for her highlighting of this resolution (of which I had not heard), and to … Continue reading The SBC: Pro-Hell, Anti-Bell — Still Wrong!
A common phenomenon within theological, political, and other discussions that get us worked up, is that someone frames a question as “either-or” and then others jump onto that argument as “for” one side or the other…without anybody really stopping to consider whether the question itself was properly framed to begin with. The recent controversy surrounding Rob Bell’s book “Love Wins” seems to me a prime … Continue reading Burn-them-all vs. Universalism: A false choice
I am the way , and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There are, I suppose, a variety of possible candidates, but today I submit John 14:6 as the single most blatantly misquoted saying from Jesus’ entire ministry. Lifted completely out of context, Jesus’ statement is usually presented as “Exhibit A” for Jesus’ establishment of the exclusive … Continue reading No one comes to the Father but by me…
I heard a great feature this morning on NPR’s show “Morning Edition,” in which the brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens were interviewed. Christopher, as most of you likely know, is a world-famous atheist (I would describe him as an anti-theist fundamentalist) who rails against those who hold to faith, and who wrote the bestseller “God is Not Great.” What I did not know is that … Continue reading Christopher Hitchens Interview — More evidence bad theology drives people away from Jesus
