“All the paths of the Lord are faithfulness and truth to those who comply with his covenant and his testimonies.” – Psalm 25:10 (NASB) In my last post, I reviewed philosophical theories of truth. I concluded that for most everyday purposes the correspondence…
Want to understand Critical Race Theory? Read the Good Samaritan story
This is the third in a series of opinion columns to be published over the next three weeks exploring Critical Race Theory. Critical Race Theory grew out of the work of legal scholars of color who recognized how racism was structured…
Fasting, feasting and the meaning of Advent 2020
My annual Advent tradition is to stand in a pew and choke back tears while trying to sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. This year the location moved to the kitchen table, my trembling hand clutching my red coffee cup….
Loving your global neighbor
This week, the United Nations marks Human Rights Day. But it won’t be much of a celebration, as a pandemic of persecution impacts billions of people around the world. In response, Christians should stand up and meet this challenge, speaking…
The thing with feathers
I put up my 4-foot Christmas tree a few days ago. It took about 15 minutes from box to display. I slid one skinny pole into the other, draped two or three boxes of ornaments over the stiff branches and…
Advent reflection: Holy eruption
BNG is pleased to partner with Baker Publishing Group and Perkins School of Theology at SMU to present a twice-weekly Advent reflection series written by Jack Levison. The reflections will be published every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the season. An…
A Bonhoeffer Moment finale: ‘What Christianity really is’
A research paper recently submitted in my Introduction to Christian History course at the School of Divinity, Wake Forest University, begins with these words: It has become an unavoidable reality that the American Christian church is dying slowly. For many,…
I didn’t understand the Black experience in America but I am learning
Diane Wesh first fled the cultural racism of America by what she called “solo travel,” which was getting away from the forces of racism she experienced every day of her remembered life. This is part of her story: “Being Black…
Is it time for Black Christians to give up on the SBC?
This is the second in a series of opinion columns to be published over the next three weeks exploring Critical Race Theory. The Southern Baptist Convention has managed to do it again! As the nation struggles through a pandemic that…
Advent reflection: The genesis of Jesus
BNG is pleased to partner with Baker Publishing Group and Perkins School of Theology at SMU to present a twice-weekly Advent reflection series written by Jack Levison. The reflections will be published every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the season. The…
Truth Decay: What is truth?
“What is truth?” — Pontius Pilate (John 18:38) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in a famous essay called “What Is Meant by ‘Telling the Truth’” claimed that truth telling is “expressing reality in words.” Bonhoeffer’s shorthand definition reflects the commonsense, most familiar understanding…
SBC seminary presidents are propagating fear to maintain control
This is the first in a series of opinion columns to be published over the next three weeks exploring Critical Race Theory. Earlier this month, all six presidents of the seminaries controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention announced a total…