This has been an exciting couple of weeks for evangelicals. Well, at least the term evangelical. Kurt Willems started it all with a post about being an evangelical “reject” and a guest posted about C.S. Lewis being one. I responded by putting forward a progressive re-interpretation of the … Read more about Progressive is not Liberal
The Nine Nations of Evangelicalism
One of my all time favorite books is The Nine Nations of North America by Joel Garreau (published in 1981). [summary article here] His theory was that by any measure of culture, there were at least nine of them in North America. As someone in the newspaper industry in the 70s and 80s, he was … Read more about The Nine Nations of Evangelicalism
Is ANYone evangelical enough anymore?
I saw two interesting bits of controversy this past week. I wasn't necessarily surprised by either of them but I was disturbed by the way they overlapped. The first item was a post as part of a series at Pangea (on Patheos). This one was reeling over the evangelical credibility of C.S. Lewis. … Read more about Is ANYone evangelical enough anymore?
True Religion: always revising renovating and reviving
Religions need revision. This is even true of made up ones! Scientology has been in the news over the past months for all the wrong reasons: splinter groups, rival factions, money issues, coercive strategies for intimidating dissenters, and even heated theological debates. [check out last week’s … Read more about True Religion: always revising renovating and reviving
Sound Off: American Grace and Islam
In his interview for Homebrewed Christianity (episode 103), David Campbell covers just about every aspect of American Christianity that one could hope for. Recounting his book American Grace, written with Robert Putnam, he addresses generational differences, cultural shifts of the 20th century and … Read more about Sound Off: American Grace and Islam
what went wrong with the Mainline?
I was editing the 101st episode of Homebrewed Christianity, a conversation primarily between Paul Capetz and John Cobb. It was a fantastic theological dialogue ... and then then subject turned toward practical matters. What happened to the Mainline church? Why is it in such decline? It turns … Read more about what went wrong with the Mainline?
David Fitch and The End of Evangelicalism? Part I
“. . . even the religion we are commited to and in which we found God and purpose and meaning and truth, can become . . . the religious public relations department for an inadequate and destructive ideology.” – Brian McLaren[i] I think Roger Olson would find a friend in David Fitch (I had the … Read more about David Fitch and The End of Evangelicalism? Part I
Another Lenten Challenge for Peter Rollins
Peter Rollins rocked my seminary world with his first two books, How (not) to Speak of God and The Fidelity of Betrayal. I have a deep appreciation for him. His parables compel me to act. His message disallows taking comfort in mere “belief”. At the same time, he gives transformative power to my … Read more about Another Lenten Challenge for Peter Rollins
The New Orthodoxy
I’d like to make something clear upfront, here. I’m not completely orthodox. I have some beliefs that don’t mix well with older forms of Christian thought, even if they’re often times congruent with some of the oldest forms (for instance, I’m a universalist). I’m not saying this, however, in order … Read more about The New Orthodoxy
Defining the Secular: a Two-part Digression on the Emergent Church and Secularization (Pt. 2)
In the last blog, I tried to show the relationship between denominationalism and the functionalist (which I previously defined, so please see that definition) account of religiosity. The importance of drawing out this relationship was described in the final paragraph, namely, that when a … Read more about Defining the Secular: a Two-part Digression on the Emergent Church and Secularization (Pt. 2)
Defining the Secular: Charles Taylor (pt. 2)
In my previous blog, I tried to give some sort of picture of what Taylor is generally up to in his book on secularization. As said, he is trying to give an historical analysis of how the social conditions that once socially bound persons to a belief in God shifted in such a way that belief became … Read more about Defining the Secular: Charles Taylor (pt. 2)
Progressive Christians, Tradition, and the New
The Church is always facing new challenges, always drawing from new sources, always trying to be Christian in a new way, in a new place. Important to me is what is meant by new or better yet where God is in the new. As Clayton points out Church history is full of new thoughts emerging as the … Read more about Progressive Christians, Tradition, and the New