The Southern Baptist Convention’s recent vote to further restrict women from pastoral leadership has reopened a debate many Baptists thought was settled long ago. Their denial of the Holy Spirit’s gift of ministry to women equally to men is reminiscent…
The arrogance of Jeffress’ claims about James Talarico
Robert Jeffress says James Talarico “twists Scripture.” The problem here is not Talarico but Jeffress. Of the U.S. Senate candidate from Texas, he said: “He is pleasant in his demeanor; he appears to know the Scripture. Even though he twists…
How to read the Bible in a time of biblical authoritarianism
Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has created a stir with his proposed amendment to the Southern Baptist Convention’s constitution. He claims anyone who takes issue with the amendment is opposing biblical authority. The issue is not biblical…
In conversation with John Fugelsang
John Fugelsang is author of the New York Times bestselling book The Separation of Church and Hate, a comedian, actor and broadcaster who is the child of two parents who were in holy orders — and then, as he writes,…
How Left and Right misuse Scripture in an age of moral confusion
Editor’s note: It is BNG’s practice, when possible, to present diverse viewpoints in our opinion section. The piece below was written at the editor’s request to represent a conservative viewpoint that will resonate with readers who consider themselves centrists and…
In conversation with David Dault
David Dault teaches at Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies and is executive producer and host of “Things Not Seen: Conversations About Culture and Faith.” It was a joy to discuss his new book The Accessorized Bible and to…
The importance of listening anew to holy Scripture
How willing are you to rethink your image of God? How willing are you to hear a different perspective on the divine name than you grew up hearing in church or even studied in seminary? How willing are you to…
Skipping verses: When the Christmas Kranks read Scripture, at Advent and otherwise
John Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas got me laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. It was the same with Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Days, which evoked such uncontrolled laughter that many in the New Year’s Day crowd at the Nassau airport…
Brogdon urges forthright approach to ‘problematic’ biblical texts
While Lewis Brogdon doesn’t describe the Bible as fragile, he wants to help people interpret its content with care. That is one of the reasons Brogdon, associate professor preaching and Black church studies at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, wrote a…
Learning humility together as we read the Bible
Just as the Bible itself was a community project, so also God invites us to interpret Scripture in community. Yet anybody who has been in church for five minutes knows Christians disagree on how to apply the Bible in everyday…
Professor writes book to explain his journey from inerrantist to historicist
Like many Christians, Bill Thomason was raised to view the Bible as the inerrant word of God derived from pristine, original manuscripts penned by the individuals actually credited with authoring them. “I grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist church believing…
Why biblical inerrancy should be a litmus test
Editor’s note: One of the blessings of engaging with a variety of young theologians as writers for BNG is allowing room for differing opinions. Despite the perception of some, our contributors are not all cut from the same cloth. And…