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…
Why are evangelicals freaking out over James Talarico?
He’s being called “Pastor Pornhub” and “the living embodiment of Satan on earth” by Christians on the religious and political right. So who is this terrifying figure? Is he a Dallas megachurch pastor who had to step aside for a…
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…
There are better ways to read the Bible
“Your son is disruptive, disrespectful and dishonoring to God. He asks too many questions during Bible study, and it’s causing the other students to doubt their faith. I’m sorry, but he’s not welcome here anymore.” My youth pastor said this…
‘Somebody get me my walking shoes’
“Speak up for the voiceless. …. Defend the rights of the poor.” Those words from Proverbs 31:8-9 are among the many in Scripture that call the people of God to a life of empathy and advocacy— a wide stream of…
Review: In Accordance With the Scriptures
When we do theology, many people start with the “Bible.” Since it is considered the primary source for doing theology, it seems prudent to define what makes the Bible the authoritative source for doing theology.
Scholarly and artistic swerves from Scripture don’t change the truth of the cross
At the beginning of Holy Week, Christianity Today published an article on the crucifixion that caused a firestorm.
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…
What my grandparents would think of the Southern Baptist Convention today
In 1998, I spent the spring and summer in Rogers, Ark., with my grandparents. I had graduated from college the year before and was floundering, so hanging out for five months with my three living grandparents was a blessing even…
Schiess shows how politicians use and abuse Scripture to shape history and hermeneutics
“Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. … That’s my worldview,” said newly elected U.S. speaker of the House Mike Johnson when asked how he would weigh the many issues he confronts. Johnson joins a long…
For the Bible tells me so: The Bible and the Civil Rights movement
Many chapters in the story of the Civil Rights movement have been forgotten, modified or intentionally misrepresented. White Americans tend to imagine the movement as less controversial than it was, white resistance as less violent than it was, and the…