Experience and Expertise Matter
Over the weekend, Cathryn Sloane wrote a post on why every social media manager should be under 25. Seriously, that was the title of her post and it didn’t get better from there. Here’s a little...
View ArticleWhat churches can learn from the Olympics
As the Olympics got underway, the whole world seemed abuzz with excitement. Much of that excitement, though, quickly turned to complaints on the internet. Almost immediately the hashtag #NBCFail had...
View ArticleThe surprising religious makeup of the 2012 presidential race
For the first time in our country’s history the Republican party is set to nominate a presidential ticket that does not include a Protestant. Mitt Romney is a Mormon and his newly announced running...
View ArticleHow to read the New Testament
I have recently put the finishing touches on my syllabus, lectures, discussions, and assignments for my introduction to the New Testament class I will be teaching this semester. Classes start for me...
View ArticleRomney’s faith takes center stage
If you’ve followed the election coverage much over the past year you may have realized how absent Mitt Romney’s faith was from the national conversation. This marked a big shift from his 2008 bid when...
View ArticleGuilty of guilting
Over the years I’ve learned that guilt can be an effective tool. I’ve been on both ends of it too; being guilted into certain things and guilting others. Sadly, most of my experiences with guilt were...
View Article“Biblical” monetary policy
In my New Testament class we are in the midst of going through the gospels. As a result, I assign my students the task of reading each gospel in its entirety in one sitting before we begin covering it...
View ArticleSalvation by works?
Salvation by works. That’s a phrase that is anathema to baptists the world round. Instead, the rallying cry is sola fide, by faith alone. But what if that wasn’t the message of Jesus? We are, I...
View ArticleWhat’s Cyrus have to do with Advent?
As the semester comes to a close for me, I am able to do a bit of reflecting on the work I’ve done and what I’ve read. One line from Xenophon’s Cyropaedia in particular stood out to me: For I think it...
View ArticleDon’t Worry, Gay Scouts, Southern Baptists Still ‘Love’ You
At last week’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, messengers from SBC churches around the country voted on and approved a resolution concerning the recent change in membership policy by...
View ArticleGod of love?
It seems that most every time I write something about God not hating gays or about what early Christians believed about hell, I get a healthy amount of reaction from people who feel that it is their...
View ArticleWhy the DOMA decision is a win for religious liberty
No doubt you’ve heard by now that the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on Wednesday on the basis that it is “a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected...
View ArticleThey are your brothers
The news of late has been enough to depress just about anyone who longs for and fights for justice, fairness, and equality. We have seen states trying to limit a woman’s access to healthcare and limit...
View ArticleCherry picking the Bible
A few weeks ago Neale Donald Walsch had a post on Huffington Posts’s Religion blog entitled “Buffet-Style Bible Believers” to which I’ve wanted to respond, but have had little time until now. The...
View Article“Same Love” and theology at the VMAs
I watched the VMAs Sunday night, in their entirety, and I’m pretty sure that’s a first for me. The show created a significant amount of buzz on social media platforms for a myriad of reasons. There...
View ArticleDuck Dynasty and the Struggle Over Christianity
There is no such thing as Christianity. I’ll repeat myself so you know I really meant to say it: there is no such thing as Christianity. Instead what we have are reifications and definitions. As with...
View ArticleWhat’s in a canon?
When I talk about the canon in my New Testament class, I often have students who are surprised that the current list of 27 books that are in our New Testament have not always comprised canon lists. In...
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