For someone who blogs a LOT on Christian missions and Missions Theology I don't really immerse myself that much in the "Missions Scene." There is a pretty good reason for this. My wife is a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) supervisor and we have a pastoral counseling center. I end up doing a fair amount of …
Continue reading Christian Missions Books I am Reading Right Now
I teach Cultural Anthropology, Inter-religious Dialogue, and Contemporary Issues in Missions. Note that none of these are standard theology courses. So you would be right to think that I am not the most meticulous and studied Christian theologian out there. That being said, those three courses keep bringing up certain questions... and these questions are …
“Ridiculous!” growled General Naaman to his entourage. “I was telling myself: He will SURELY come out, stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and will wave his hand over the spot and cure this disease,” motioning to the area he kept carefully concealed from view. “Ridiculous indeed,” said one servant. “I know …
This is the final part of a three-part series. to start earlier, you can go to PART ONE or PART TWO. Those of the Abrahamic Faiths have often struggled in their visualization of God. I will not pretend to have expertise of other faiths (including my own). With the Abrahamic Faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) …
Continue reading Reflections on Sci-fi Aliens and the Incarnation (Part 3)
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 …
Continue reading What is the Best Way to Teach Theology in Church?
I have heard the question posed to the effect of, "What should we be doing if Christ returns today?" Or sometimes it is worded regarding tomorrow. There seem to be different things that come up. Usually suggestions come along like: We should be REALLY HOLY for the next few hours. We should be rather frantic …
Continue reading But What If Jesus Is Coming Two Millennia From Now?
One of my favorite verses in the Bible to meditate on is Mark 9:24. Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” The context is a father of a boy who is described as demon-possessed. The disciples of Jesus have been unable to provide help. Jesus questions the father, …
Sometimes I put answers on "Answers.com". I saw the following question: How do Thinking Christians persuade modern men that it is necessary to shed blood to atone for sin that it is necessary for Jesus to die in order to reconcile men to God? It is possible that this is a loaded question... implying that …
Continue reading Answering the Wrong Question to the Wrong Person
When I was in High School and College, there was Barney the Dinosaur. Big purple plush costume and a silly voice. Little children loved Barney. But I was not a little child. I was like many others who found the silly songs and overacting annoying. “I Love You... You Love Me... We're a Happy Family. …
So I saw the following quote once or twice, Little faith says, “God can do it.” Big faith says, "God will do it.” But great faith says, “It is done, for nothing is impossible with God.” What should my response be? Being a navy officer in the past, as well as a mechanical design engineer, …