Nothing can provoke anger quicker than mercy, when it’s directed to the wrong kind of people.
The Bible Says ‘Don’t Work, Don’t Eat.’ But Does That Hold Up in the Data?
So, there’s this verse you sometimes hear in an evangelical worship service. It’s from 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” From my experience,…
The gays who put out a fleece
How far would you go to let God direct your steps? Two young adults met in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in fall 2019. Both were American; both from conservative evangelical Christian stock. They had been introduced because they both worked in…
A massive catechesis failure
A few days ago, I was listening to an audiobook while I drove my 5-year-old grandson, Micah, home from kindergarten. The narrator was talking about A. Philip Randolf, Bayard Rustin and the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom…
Christian nationalism is a power grab, Kaylor says in new book
There’s a simple reason Christian nationalists are willing to abandon long-held values and rewrite, redact and reinterpret the Bible as needed to support Donald Trump, Brian Kaylor says. “They want power,” said Kaylor, a Baptist minister, editor-in-chief of Word&Way and…
The oppressor-oppressed lenses offer a truncated view of the world
The experience of injustice is powerful. It leaves an indelible imprint on many parts of our personalities and communities. This is bound to influence significantly how we experience and think about life. And, of course, it has a major impact…
The Bible Is About Jesus—but Not Jesus Without His Bride
If the Bible is the most-published book in world history, books about the Bible sometimes feel like a close second. That’s not a bad thing. I’ve written a couple of them myself and may have more in me. Books about the Bible…
In conversation with Zach Lambert
Zach Lambert is a writer, public theologian and the founding pastor of Restore Austin. His new book, Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm into a Tool of Healing, catalogs the ways the Bible has been…
The Book of Psalms Is the Bible’s ‘Little Bible’
Late in the fourth century, a man named Palladius of Galatia left his home (somewhere in present-day Turkey) and journeyed into the Egyptian desert, intent on meeting the ancient monks we now remember as the Desert Fathers.
As one born among us
“When an immigrant resides with you, you shall not oppress the immigrant. The immigrant shall be to you as one who was born among you; you shall love the immigrant as yourself.” Those words from Leviticus 19:33-34 belong to…
So you say you want a biblical worldview?
Conservative evangelicals were right: Worldview matters — a lot. Only problem is, we now see their preferred worldview is rotten to the core. And there’s about as much Bible in their “biblical” worldview as there is grapes in Grape Nuts….
10 Bible verses Christian nationalists take out of context to seize power
Christian nationalists are world-class experts in seizing power by taking Bible verses out of context. Growing up, my independent Baptist high school constantly used Philippians 4:13 as proof we could win the state championship, Jeremiah 29:11 as proof God would…