Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
This is Memorial Day weekend, when we as Americans remember those who gave their lives for our country. For me that turns back to my uncle, Don Gaston Shofner, and his sacrifice even before he could get to enemy skies. But that brings up another point: Gaston (as he was called in good Southern tradition) …
Continue reading "Bill Gothard’s Poison Pill for Southern Baptists"
All of the blather we've been hearing about Presiding Bishop (not Archbishop) Michael Curry's sermon at the royal wedding last weekend obviously focuses attention not only on Curry and the duplicitous Justin Welby but on the Episcopal Church in general. I don't doubt that same church, faced with years of declining membership and self-inflicted litigation …
Continue reading "Why I’m in a Pentecostal Church and Not an Episcopal One"
Atlanta's Christian management guru is at it again, this time with the Old Testament: North Point Community Church Senior Pastor Andy Stanley has stated that Christians need to "unhitch" the Old Testament from their faith. In the final part of a recent sermon series, Stanley explained that while he believes that the Old Testament is "divinely …
Continue reading "What We Really Need to Do is to Unhitch @AndyStanley"
Some people will complain about anything: Recently some critics of prominent Trump-supporting Dallas Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress have disapprovingly identified him as a supporter of “Two Kingdoms” theology, an historic Protestant belief about the division of duties between spiritual & earthly rule. Jeffress in public pronouncements has stressed that civil government is called to provide …
Continue reading "The Only Real Alternative to “Two Kingdoms” Theology is Islam"
Rachael Denhollander, one of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse victims at Michigan State University, makes it plain: Bethany Jenkins, vice president of forums at the Veritas Forum, which helped to organize the event, reported that Denhollander was asked about her view of the church responding to the issue of sexual abuse. When asked "how do you …
Continue reading "If You’re Not Doing It for Jesus, You Shouldn’t Be Doing It"
It's an old Evangelical tradition: the "Easter Sunrise Service," when people get out of bed early to go to church (or somewhere) and celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For some people--especially musicians--rising from the dead is an easier task than getting up in the morning. Celebrating anything before noon is …
Continue reading "The Alternative to Easter Sunrise Service…At Sunrise"
In all of their glorification of the "giants of the faith," evangelicals either overlook or ignore the fact that same giants were usually far better versed in the classics of antiquity than is common today. To some extent this is understandable: study of these works has taken a beating the last fifty years, and we …
Continue reading "Scourged and Crucified: A Good Friday Reflection"
Higher education is a competitive business. One of the things that educational institutions that are affiliated with a church or profess or call themselves Christian use to attract students is "your faith will be enhanced by coming here." Christian parents and students find that attractive, which is why many pay the premium to go to …
Continue reading "Just Because Your Alma Mater is “Christian” Doesn’t Mean You’ll Be"
While most Americans were bracing themselves for Donald Trump's first State of the Union Address (which turned out reasonably,) I got myself into a Facebook argument with the most bilious person I know about immigration policy. During that dialogue I stated my preference for a Canadian (the Aussies use a similar system) immigration system which …
Continue reading "Is Going to a Canadian Style Immigration System That Bad?"
There's a well-known Anglican "divine" (to use the old term) in this country who's engaged in a Facebook campaign/rant (take your pick) about African faith declarations and the popularity of prosperity teaching. It's gone on for some time, and the fact that he's Reformed only adds to the persistence. (Maybe he's also trying to prove …
Continue reading "The Real Problem with Prosperity Teaching Isn’t Theological (Well, not entirely…)"
Positive Infinity 