Cynthia Shafer-Elliott is the Professor of Hebrew Bible at William Jessup University specializing in the historical, cultural, and archaeological contexts of ancient Israel and Judah. Her interest in the daily lives of the average Israelite and Judahite household include economics, food … Read more about Cynthia Shafer-Elliott on Bible, Archaeology & Food
Born Of A Virgin? It happened a lot back then
I posted this 2 years ago today and thought it might be fun to revisit. As Christians we confess that Jesus was born to a virgin. Some people doubt the accuracy of that - but they may not realize that it was not that uncommon back then. Here are just 10 people born of a virgin in the ancient … Read more about Born Of A Virgin? It happened a lot back then
PostChristian Piatt Fun!
Christian Piatt of the Homebrewed CultureCast was recently in SoCal to hang with Tripp Fuller and talk about his new book PostChristian: What's left? Can we fix? Do we care? They were joined by Bart Campolo, Peter Rollins and Benjamin Cory to talk about the implications of moving on. Imagine … Read more about PostChristian Piatt Fun!
Plug in ‘the Church’ as an experiment
An interesting way to expose the difference between two things is to take out the subject of great quote and replace it with something else to see if it still works. If your replacement X cannot work in place of the initial Y then you are forced to ask ‘why is this the case?’ Let me give you … Read more about Plug in ‘the Church’ as an experiment
Christianity Without A Cross?
On this week’s TNT I introduced an interesting thought experiment: take the cross out of the Jesus story and see what you can still do. This this thought experiment appeals to me for two reasons: Modern Protestants have overdone it on the cross The incarnation and resurrection hold far more … Read more about Christianity Without A Cross?
Z is for Zebra
I was taught to refute evolution. It was a cornerstone to apologetics. Zebras and their stripes were a primary example used to refute evolution. If the stripes are for camouflaging a herd of zebras from predators … the first striped offspring would have actually stood out from the heard and thus … Read more about Z is for Zebra
U is for Universalism (and Ultimate Concern)
I used to joke with people that you had to be careful attending churches that had a ‘U’ in them. United, Universal, Unitarian, Unity, etc. They seemed either to believe in almost everything or in not much of anything. It was much funnier back then… but there is something to it. Theological … Read more about U is for Universalism (and Ultimate Concern)
7th Inning Stretch for the ABC’s of Theology
I was out of town this week on a youth service trip and want to thank Micky and Callid for taking S and T in our ABC's of Theology series. Micky wrote on Salvation. Callid took Theopoetics. You can also hear Callid and Kristina Keefe-Perry chat about M N and O on a little TNT podcast. I … Read more about 7th Inning Stretch for the ABC’s of Theology
P is for Perichoresis
Perichoresis is the most beautiful and elegant picture of the Christian godhead that many Christians may be completly unaware of. The easiest way to break down the word is: Peri - as in perimeter Choresis - as in choreograph (from the Greek word to ‘give away’ or ‘make room’) It is the … Read more about P is for Perichoresis
O is for Open & Relational
One of the most vibrant developments in Christian theology has happened in the past 50 years. The conversation is diverse and includes everyone from Process friendly Mainliners to Vatican II Catholics, from Emergent types to progressive Evangelicals - and plenty of others. These diverse … Read more about O is for Open & Relational
I is for Infallible, Inerrant, Impassible and Immutable
Note: all relevant ‘I’ words will be placed in italics. It is an unfortunate quirk in the English language that leads negatives - or negations - to begin with the letter ‘I’. The resulting effect is that some of the most problematic and even disturbing words in the theological tool-shed begin … Read more about I is for Infallible, Inerrant, Impassible and Immutable
F is for Fideism or Why What We Believe Really Matters
Fideism is one of the most alluring, and thus, potentially dangerous developments on the theological landscape in our lifetime. Fideism: The view that matters of religious and theological truth must be accepted by faith apart from the exercise of reason. In its extreme, fideism suggests that the … Read more about F is for Fideism or Why What We Believe Really Matters