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What Is Biblical Literacy?
We complain about it, write about it, claim it’s important or even critical, design programs to create it, but what is it? I don’t mean that none of us know what we mean when we say “biblically literate” or “biblically illiterate,” but do we all mean the same thing? I don’t think we do, and…
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Fences: Mending or Rending
The following is a sermon I presented at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Pensacola on September 11,2005 and originally posted here on September 13, 2005. I’m reposting it because when I went to look for it, I found that the original post had somehow been truncated, and also because there is a one word at a…
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Experiencing the (Baptism of the) Holy Spirit
This is a topic where I tend to make just about everyone uncomfortable. Long time readers may recall a previous discussion of speaking in tongues, and my own experience of it. Those who expect me to be intellectually oriented and rational are uncomfortable with mystical experiences, and many who are comfortable with the mystical experiences…
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Christian Carnival CLXXII
. . . has been posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet. For unknown reasons my post isn’t there, but it’s still a good collection. I’ll have to make sure I made it through the time related hoops. Enjoy!
ID and Theistic Evolution
Ed Brayton calls attention to the “exchange of views” between P. Z. Myers and Wesley Elsberry. As any reader of this blog will know, I’m siding with Wesley Elsberry. But this whole debate continues to annoy me. Why is it that people have to care what someone believes about something that is not going to…
My Latest Book (Partly)
My new book wasn’t planned–by me, that is. Rev. Riley Richardson, pastor of Gonzalez United Methodist Church (and thus my pastor) were talking one day about books, and he said, “What I need is an extremely simple book that I can give to new members that will tell them what to do next and help…
Elgin Hushbeck’s New Blog
Elgin Hushbeck is a friend and also business associate (I publish his books in the Consider Christianity series). He is a contributor to the Running Toward the Goal podcast. He’s started a new blog at Townhall.com, and for better or for worse his first blog touches an issue on which we disagree, the war in…
Brokeback Mountain for Kids
For some balance on the incident of showing Brokeback Mountain to middle schoolers, check out this post on Pursuing Holiness. I really can’t comment much since I haven’t seen the movie, but the phrase “age appropriate” (or in this case, not so much age appropriate) makes sense to me.
The Right Type of Accountability
I’m an advocate of accountability, especially in church matters and our spiritual lives. I think it makes for wiser decision making and greater likelihood that we will carry out our goals. Accountability can come in many forms, from very formalized, such as an accountability group that meets regularly in which you question one another’s spiritual…
Roles and Relationships Add, Not Subtract
I just got back from a Mothers Day service at my church. The pastor, a good friend, commented both to me before the service and during the sermon itself about those who can be hurt because for one reason or not they are not mothers. Often hurtful comments are made by well-intentioned people. I know…
Congressman Ron Paul in the Debate
Too bad he doesn’t stand a chance. 🙁 HT: Quiet Paths.
Candidates on Technology Issues
Here is a good article that barely touches on the technological issues which could impact and be impacted by federal government policy over the next 4-8 years. It’s something that we need to think about, no matter what side of each issue we’re on. And just to remind us of the great need for education,…
Christian Carnival CLXXI
. . . has been posted at Light Along the Journey. Check it out!
Inerrancy and Wheaton
I was interested to see a quote about Biblical inerrancy for candidates for faculty positions at Wheaton College. Check the note out at Through a Glass Darkly.
NPP: A Starting Position
I’ve been reading some more on the new perspectives on Paul, and particularly focusing on a <a href="http://www.thepaulpage.com/Summary.html"summary written by Mark W. Mattison and provided by The Paul Page, and a response to that summary by Chan Lai Ping. I’m going to use the list of key points in the response as a starting point….
Baseball Instant Replay
OK folks, I don’t write all that much about baseball, but my stepson John Webb is a pitcher for the Iowa Cubs (AAA), and though I grew up overseas watching soccer and cricket, I’ve learned to love the game. I recall one game last year when he was playing for the Memphis Redbirds and they…
Pious Assertions About the Bible
There is a whole category of assertions about the Bible that I call “pious,” that reflect people’s desire to respect the Bible and uphold its authority, but that are often inaccurate and poorly considered. I would ask whether a statement can be truly pious and respectful if it is also not true. My suggestion is…
Social Darwinism and the Theory of Evolution
Science Avenger has an excellent article on the connection, or rather lack of a logical connection, between the theory of evolution and social Darwinism (for the third time today, HT: Dispatches). Evolution is a scientific theory. It explains why many facts are what they are. It can never tell us what we should do about…
WP on Blair Legacy
The Washington Post has an interesting article on Tony Blair, titled For Blair, a Legacy Overshadowed. The article is quite interesting, looking at the thing Blair accomplished, and what has brought his popularity from a peak of 75% down to 28%. It reflects on human nature that any number of accomplishments can be completely obscured…
There ARE Moderate Muslims
. . . and some of them speak up, too! Daniel Pipes writes about protests by moderate Muslims in Pakistan and Turkey (HT: Dispatches from the Culture Wars). It’s worth reading. My first thought was that the fewer and weaker moderate Muslims are, the more we ought to support them. I have always maintained that…
Being a Passionate Moderate
I frequently am asked what I mean by “passionate moderate” or how I can be a committed moderate Christian. These questions come even more frequently than ones that ask how I can be a “liberal charismatic,” probably because “passionate moderate” is my self-label, whereas “liberal charismatic” was assigned to me by someone else. The term…
MSNBC Article on Condaleeza Rice
I’ve always though that Rice was a tremendously intelligent person but at the same time I intensely disliked the policies she has been advocating. There’s an interesting opinion piece in Newsweek/MSNBC.com by Marcus Mabry that may give more insight into who she is. She built the image the public has of her as an ice…
Miracles and Community
I’ve been reading Mark through as part of preparation to resume my series on the Gospel of Mark for the Bible Pacesetter Podcast. Right now I’m listening to and then podcasting recordings of the radio program from which this developed just before we closed that program down three years ago. It’s an interesting process getting…
Walking To New Orleans
Well, not quite. I’ll be driving. My stepson John Webb is a pitcher for the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs AAA team in the Pacific Coast League) who are in New Orleans for a series against the New Orleans Zephyrs. Last night the Cubs beat the Zephyrs and John put in two good innings in relief….
The Gospel of Masculinity
Over the last few years we have seen a number of movements in Christianity to involve more men in the church and in spiritual activities. I welcome this trend, because spirituality has too long been the province of only a small percentage of men. This is not because I think that women need men to…
Moderate Christian Blogroll Requirements
I’m assuming that very few people subscribe to or read the main Moderate Christian Blogroll blog yet, so I’m going to link to my latest post there from here as a reminder. I started posting blogroll related items there because I like to keep this blog focused on opinion on religion and society type issues….
H. R. 1592
I’ve posted on this one before, but over the last few days my e-mail inbox has been bombarded by notices telling me that my freedom of speech is about to be destroyed. Amanda at Imago Dei has an excellent post responding to this as well, and that reminded me to say a few more words….