Tell somebody you’re going to Theology Beer Camp and you will be met with either a delighted giggle or a wrinkled brow. In the churches of my youth, the words “theology” and “beer” never occupied the same sentence — “for…
Should Christians curse?
I’m sure you’ve noticed the proliferation of profanity on television. The ubiquity of the f-word on dramas like Succession is stunning. The queen of all cuss words crops up so frequently that I started counting. I shouldn’t have bothered, somebody…
The logic of love or the logic of perfection? It can’t be both
In 2018, Kaitlin Flanagan wrote an article for The Atlantic that referred to Donald Trump as “the porn president.” Flanagan featured Anderson Cooper’s interview with former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cooper asked his guest about the time back in 2006…
What explains the abiding appeal of biblical inerrancy?
It was the fall of 1975, in my class in Old Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Gentle and soft-spoken, Page Kelley was explaining the plight of the biblical translator. We have the Septuagint, a Greek translation…
Old men dreaming dreams: Paul Simon and Bruce Cockburn reflect on life, death and God
When my two favorite singer-songwriters both released albums within a single week, I was reminded of the prophet Joel’s promise that “your old men will dream dreams.” Paul Simon will be 82 in October, and Bruce Cockburn just turned 78,…
Stuck in the middle with Jesus: The future of C.S. Lewis evangelicalism
Since the 2016 election, pundits, preachers and politicians have been asking why more than 80% of white evangelical voters threw their support behind the most corrupt, ill-informed, vulgar and intentionally divisive politician in American history. Gradually, a consensus emerged. Donald…
Shelter from the storm: The Asbury revival as Woodstock 2.0
The Baptist church of my youth didn’t have a revival until we called a Southern Baptist pastor from Texas. Then we had a revival whether we liked it or not. I walked the aisle on the final night. At 20…
If Jesus wants us to forgive everybody, why is he always talking about hell?
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…
Solving the Jesus-Joshua Problem
When I was an early adolescent, I decided to read the Bible straight through. I had been exposed to carefully curated snippets of Joshua, but the full genocidal thrust of the narrative was a revelation. I couldn’t help feeling sorry…