I was listening to a podcast. It is a series called "God After Deconstruction" hosted by Thomas Jay Oord and Tripp Fuller. The two hosts have gone through somewhat of a "deconstruction" of their faith and understanding of God over the years. Oord was raised up and active in the Church of the Nazarene, while …
Month: March 2024
Is the Bible “Perspicuous”?
Reading my posts it should be pretty obvious that I am not a Systematic Theologian. In some sense, I am not much of a theologian at all. But I still try to see how to build a bridge between God's (relatively) unchanging revelation and Man's changing context. As such, theology is really supposed to be …
Holy Week 2024
Yesterday was Palm Sunday, so we are now in the Middle of Holy Week. Soon it will be Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday, and then Easter (or Resurrection) Sunday. Easter is the other holiday (along with Christmas) that exists as two holidays in one--- a Religious Holiday for Christians, and a Secular Holiday for …
Does the “Infinite Offense” Argument Make Sense?
I was at church Sunday. The preacher was doing an explicitly evangelistic sermon. Overall, I thought the message and delivery was solid. However, in the middle of it, he shared an argument that I have heard many times, but never really struck me as particularly compelling. Perhaps it is just me. I will completely paraphrase …
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Review of “Character Theology: Engaging God through His Cast of Characters” by Steffen and Neu
The book “Character Theology: Engaging God through His Cast of Characters” by Tom Steffen and Ray Neu, published 2024, is a book that I highly recommend to missionaries, church leaders, and theologians alike, despite the frank admission that the book is not really written for me. I think I need to explain this. If it …
Is Logic and Science the Best Background for Bible Interpretation?
"Bernard Ramm helped lead the way in this theoretical experiment when he made two claims in his classic The Christian View of Science and Scripture. These theorems influenced generations of exegetes, including today’s. They include: “Training in logic and science forms excellent background for exegesis. . . . Systematic teaching of Scripture is the Scriptures’ final intention.” <Steffen, …
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Sympathizing With Religious People To Whom You Can’t (Fully) Relate
I am going to be talking about sympathizing with people who are going through religious or moral crises that I cannot fully relate to. There are many other parallels that relate to gender, race, nationality, and more. These others are important... perhaps more important. But I am teaching a class in inter-religious dialogue right now …
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(These are my own reflection on a topic that is not my specialty. But since it is quite possible that I don't have a specialty, this seems all right. I may change my mind in a year or two.) I was raised up in an Evangelical or perhaps Fundamentalist Church. There I learned that the …
What is the Best Way to Teach Theology in Church?
I have been reading "Character Theology: Engaging God Through His Cast of Characters," by Tom Steffen and Ray Neu. I hope to have a review done in a couple of weeks. However, I was reading a passage that got me thinking: "Recall Charles Hodge’s perspective that the Bible is a “store-house of facts” and “the …
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It is Truly Okay to Struggle
I preached a sermon, "It's Okay to STruggle." It is inspired by a chapter in a book by Federico Villanueva "It's OK to Be Not Ok: Preaching the Lament Psalms." I like to preach the somewhat "Downer" sermons--- sermons on struggling, suffering, and sorrowing. I thank there is great power in these types of sermons …