A call to a new Reformation in the teaching and life of Jesus' followers
This afternoon as I was driving my son to McDonald’s I turned on one of the local classic rock stations, that was doing a “Retro Weekend.” Of course I’m just old enough to find it weird that the songs they’re classifying as “retro” came out after I was married, but I guess I’m just not young any more…anyway, I got caught short by a song … Continue reading Surprised on the Radio – What if God Was One of Us?
The geniuses of the legislature in my newly-adopted home state are proving their brilliance once again with regard to the Ten Commandments as a source of American law. A bill has just passed our Assembly (unanimously, no less) and is now headed for the Senate, to make sure the “Foundations of American Law and Government” display can be posted, not only in judicial buildings and … Continue reading The Ten Commandments a Source of American Law…REALLY???
In Scot McKnight book The King Jesus Gospel, which I reviewed a little while ago, Scot issued an interesting challenge: “I have always encountered people who boldly announce to me that they are ‘noncredal’ and even say ‘I don’t believe in the creeds’ because of their next words: ‘I believe in the Bible.’ I respond with one question, and I think I ask this question … Continue reading Why I Don’t Accept the Nicene Creed
Tom (N.T.) Wright recently gave a lecture at Calvin College that I appreciated very much. In it, he drew attention to an important issue I’ve written about here before: the over-simplification of faithfulness to Christ that takes place when creeds and statements of faith occupy a central position. I know my own position is more extreme than Wright’s…he suggests putting the creeds in their rightful … Continue reading Tom Wright on the Creeds
On her blog, Rachel Held Evans has just issued a challenge to Christian men, to respond to John Piper’s recent pontifications on God’s having given Christianity “a masculine feel.” I suppose it will come as no surprise to most of my readers that I take neither a conventional “egalitarian” nor “complementarian” approach to the issue. Rachel is absolutely right to call Piper out on this. … Continue reading Of Gender and Leadership
Scot McKnight’s latest book The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited, is a worthwhile read and I commend it to all who believe that the message of Jesus is, can be, or ought to be genuinely “good news.” McKnight has done an excellent job of analyzing what Jesus and the first-century Apostles meant when they spoke of the “gospel” (gospel being derived from … Continue reading The King Jesus Gospel – Book Review
(The following is a lesson I taught for our Advent series at my church Dec. 18th) When Jesus announced the beginning of his ministry, the first prophetic reference he made was to the book of Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up … Continue reading Jubilee is an Advent prophecy!
“The poor you will always have with you…” So said Jesus according to the accounts of three of the four Gospel writers (Matt. 26:11, Mark 14:7, and John 12:8). He said it in the context of someone objecting to a woman pouring perfume on his feet, when the value could have been given to the poor. (aside…Matthew says the disciples objected and doesn’t identify the … Continue reading The Poor Will Always Be With You…Meaning What?
I have just finished Lee C. Camp’s book Who Is My Enemy? This is a book every American Christian should read–full stop. It is also a book everyone who’s frustrated with the public political stance of American Christians should read. And it’s also a book anyone wrestling with the questions of war and peace with regard to the church and/or teachings of Jesus Christ should … Continue reading Who Is My Enemy? by Lee C. Camp (book review)
Everyone, please go read Shane Claiborne’s excellent piece When Soldiers Become Saints over at Red Letter Christians. Shane is telling us of a modern-day soldier who became a conscientious objector, and also of St. Martin of Tours, whose feast day happened to coincide with Veterans’ Day. This is the kind of church history we seldom hear. . .but should!