Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
Jordan Smith's stunning performance of "Mary Did You Know" on "The Voice" is a reminder of the fact that this song--written by Baptist comedian Mark Lowry--is American Evangelicalism's "official" Christmas carol. What Evangelicals probably don't know is that, for all of their reputation for sloppy theology, Lowry nailed it on this one: Did you know …
Continue reading "The Non-Nestorian Theology of "Mary Did You Know""
Today is the feat of Christ the King, and it's right to consider the title "King of Kings": From his mouth comes a sharp sword, with which 'to smite the nations; and he will rule them with an iron rod.' He 'treads the grapes in the press' of the maddening wine of the Wrath of …
Continue reading "The Persian Origin of the Title "King of Kings""
David Fowler's generally incisive piece on the current mess our institutions of "higher" learning are in repeats, unfortunately, a misconception that needs to be challenged. Down in the article he states the following: Relativism, by definition, must question anything that purports to be authoritative, and, of course, nothing can be authoritative if there is no …
Continue reading "Ending Authority Has Never Been the Problem"
Race is the thing we seem to obsess about these days. That, in part, is because Americans on both sides of the political and religious spectrum have hung their hats on it, either explicitly (on the left) or implicitly (on the right). Looking at the results, the conventional wisdom on the subject has been unhelpful …
Continue reading "What Working for the Church of God Taught Me About Race"
It's everywhere: Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has gone to jail for refusing to sign off on same-sex civil marriages. The usual people are taking the usual positions; it's time for something a little different. First: it isn't a "rule of law" issue. Meaningful rule of law went out the window in this country …
Another milestone on the blog: the fortieth anniversary of the recording of the Answer Coffeehouse Rehearsal in College Station, Texas. It's primitive in many ways but for those of us who were involved in it it's the only recording out there. There aren't many Christian coffee-house recordings from the day around in general; this is …
Continue reading "An Aggie Throwback: Answer Coffeehouse Rehearsal, Forty Years Out"
They talk a good game, but as a recent Pew report notes, those purveyors of same-sex marriage bomb in the racial diversity department. Â Even with the choice of Presiding Bishop Curry, the Episcopal Church is whiter than--horrors--the Southern Baptist Convention! It's hard to blame non-white people from avoiding the Episcopal Church; in fact, it's …
Continue reading "Those Undiverse Episcopalians, and Others"
This is the first in a series inspired (somewhat) by Noel Barber's The Sultans. Although it's largely forgotten these days (along with most important history, especially by Americans) for five centuries the Ottoman Empire loomed large in every sense of the word. In its highest days (under Suleiman the Magnificent/Lawgiver) it threatened Christian Europe, a …
Continue reading "The Ottoman Tales I: The Hem of His Garment"
Anyone who works in a university environment these days--especially in a public university whose state support continually evaporates--has heard about the concept of "safe space". It's an idea promoted by LGBT advocates where parts of the campus are designated as safe for such people to be without fear of opposition. The problem with that is …
Continue reading "An Important Way Church Needs to Be a Safe Space"
Well, we're up against it: we're starting to see Evangelicals, generally thought reliable adherents to Scriptural Christianity, defect to the other side over the LGBT business. Â For people raised in the system, this is a shock they are not mentally prepared for. Â For those of us who came out of liberal churches of long ago, …
Continue reading "Some Advice to Evangelicals on Major Division from Anglican/Episcopal Experience"
Positive Infinity 