I recently highlighted the Jesus-Joshua problem: Jesus wants us to love our enemies. Joshua wants us to slaughter them. Both can’t be right. But what about the demand for justice that reverberates throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation? If we…
What I witnessed this week at the Asbury revival
Not every experience of God occurs in a revival. But revivals are perennial in American Christianity. In the past, they have made their mark upon the social landscape and changed daily Christian habits. There is the “Burned Over District” in…
Crash-course in Bible history: How the Bible came to be
What is the Bible? Christians may think of the Bible as the “word of God,” a guidebook for life, a book of stories or sayings that teach spiritual lessons about what it means to be a human. As kids, we…
Why Women Talking has women talking and complementarian men fuming
As much as conservative evangelicals love to hate Hollywood, sometimes Hollywood plays the role of the prophet, exposing the brutal power dynamics of complementarianism’s “male headship.” Such is the case with Brett McCracken, senior editor and director of communications at…
How to pick a Bible that’s right for you
Everyone has a version of the Bible they prefer reading. Some were given a Bible during childhood and never thought about finding a different translation, while others have spent hundreds of hours considering what feels right to them. If you…
The gospel of fear as told by Al Mohler and Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Al Mohler wants us to believe there was devil worship at the Grammys last Sunday. Two days later, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders painted a dark and dismal picture of an American democracy being destroyed by Democrats who sound suspiciously…
Two years after Myanmar coup, human suffering goes unnoticed
The brutal military coup that murdered Myanmar’s infant democracy two years ago continues to deliver death and destruction upon the civilian population, with no end in sight. Is anyone paying attention? Bombings and the burning of entire villages increasingly mark…
Spurred on by conservatives’ fears, Tennessee turns down federal funds to fight HIV/AIDS
June 27 is National HIV Testing Day, but beginning June 1, testing and treating HIV/AIDS in Tennessee will become more challenging for residents. Gov. Bill Lee has rejected a multi-million-dollar federal grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a…
The historical significance of ETBU acquiring B.H. Carroll Institute
The landscape of Baptist theological education is changing yet again, with news that one of the freestanding seminaries created out of the Southern Baptist Convention schism of the late 20th century is merging with one of the oldest Baptist schools…