When the earliest Christians began to circulate writings expressing their unique faith, they made no concerted effort to tie the message of those writings in any essential way to the Greek language in which they were written. After all, the…
Remembering a sign for the times: The serpent and the seminary
By nature, I’m something of a skeptic, perhaps by this point in my life even a cynic, and I’ve never been a person who puts much stock in seeking signs from God. My rational disposition, as well as my training…
After 30 years, the NRSV gets an update: Here’s what that means
In a nation where the 1611 King James Version of the Bible still holds tremendous sway, imagine the challenges of updating one of the modern English translations of the Good Book. That’s why Friendship Press, the National Council of Churches…
About disfellowshipping churches based on the ‘clear’ teaching of Scripture
Two churches were disfellowshipped this week by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee for “affirming homosexuality within their memberships.” I have ties to at least one of the churches — friends, colleagues and former students and seminary and Sunday school…