By Bob Allen A recent Wall Street Journal story profiling twin brothers who followed separate spiritual paths — one to become an Anglican bishop, the other a Catholic priest — represents failure by the Southern Baptist church in which they were raised,…
We still can’t handle the truth: ‘American Sniper’ and the religion of empire
Chris Kyle is widely regarded as a war hero in Stephenville, the Texas town where Eddie Ray Routh was recently convicted of murdering the most celebrated veteran of the Iraq war. Several jurors had recently seen American Sniper, a Clint…
Christians for socialism
“Socialism” is a word with a very negative connotation for most Americans. And yet perhaps socialism, especially democratic socialism, deserves to be much more highly evaluated by the public at large and by Christians in particular. Last month I read…
The Christian university is a home, however imperfect, for pilgrims of the Way
As nations require a constitution to establish jurisdiction, so religions depend upon a canon to provide jurisprudence. A nation which nullifies its constitution will descend into chaos, as will a religion which annuls its authoritative verse. Sadly, in some quarters…
Don’t just tell me what you believe: Evangelical worship, part 2
A biblical perspective of lex orandi, lex credendi can be found in Isaiah 6. The first eight verses are referred to as Isaiah’s call and are commonly used as a biblical structure for planning worship.
Labeling moderates
A few days ago there was a news piece posted here reporting on an interview with Dr. Roger Olson in which he argued that what he sees as the leftward theological drift of some in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (no…
A progressive Baptist response to Roger Olson (and a word about heresy)
Roger Olson, a professor at Truett Theological Seminary and a blogger at Patheos Evangelical recently wrote a piece titled, A Word from a Founder to All My “Moderate Baptist” Friends. His basic argument is that the founder of the Cooperative…
What Ash Wednesday taught me about drones
Ashes Unveil What’s Inside of Me From ashes I come, and to ashes I will return. Last week, like many, I participated in an Ash Wednesday service. A time to stop. A time to recognize like all those who have…
Choosing sides, teams or labels in the CBF serves no purpose
A recent BNG article reported a seminary professor’s comments on the “moderate” label for some in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. In the 1990s I was a student at Southern Seminary in Louisville. The Southern Baptist Convention decided to create a…