Posts
Does the Bible forbid interracial marriages?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Church, Diversity, Q&A, Racism, Relationships, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Relationships
Absolutely not! Racist Christians used to argue against interracial marriage by quoting Old Testament passages that prohibited Jews from marrying non-Jews. This prohibition had nothing to do with race, however. In fact, there was no…
Is the Bible against body piercing and tattoos?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Q&A, Sin
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Some Christians argue against body piercing and tattoos on the basis of a couple of Old Testament verses that prohibit them (Lev. 19:28). Several years back an aggravated lady tried to get me to preach…
Is it true you’re an “Open Theist” and that you don’t think God knows the future perfectly?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism What it is and is not
I am an “Open Theist” – though I honestly don’t care for the label, because as I’ll show, the uniqueness of this view isn’t in what it says about God but in what it says…
A Call to Christian Anarchy
Category: General
I’m ALIVE!!! Not 100% for sure, but compared to Wednesday, I’m the epitome of health. Thanks for your prayers. Well, obviously the last five days haven’t been the most productive in my life. But when…
Isn’t Open Theism outside of historic orthodoxy?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism What it is and is not
The Church has never used one’s view of divine foreknowledge as a test for orthodoxy. And while the open view has always been a very minor perspective, it has had its defenders throughout Church history…
What is the right way to interpret Revelation?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, End Times, New Testament, Q&A, Revelation
Topics: Biblical Interpretation, End Times
Few biblical topics have captured the imagination of contemporary evangelicals like the book of Revelation. The recent unprecedented success of the Left Behind series is evidence of this popular fascination. Many evangelicals don’t realize that…
Why the 35W Bridge Collapsed – blog post 8/09/2007
Category: General
Tags: Current Events, Free Will, Open Theism, Predestination
Topics: Open Theism, The Problem of Evil
As all of you know, I’m sure, a little over a week ago the 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed. This is the most traveled bridge in Minnesota. It was a tragedy, though the fact that…
Washing Osama’s Feet – blog post 8/28/07
Category: General
Tags: Non-Violence
(This post was written by Greg on Sunday, October 28, 2007. It was such a controversial entry that he had to write a follow-up post which you can read here) Brad Cole is a friend…
Isn’t it true that God doesn’t know the future in the open view?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism What it is and is not
This is the single most common misconception people have about the open view. Open Theists and Classical Theists disagree about the nature of the future, not about how much God knows about it. Both sides…
Why do you argue that discipleship and politics are rooted in opposite attitudes?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question. At a recent conference I heard you argue against the idea that there could ever be a distinctly “Christian” political position by contending that political disputes are premised on a claim to superiority while…
The “Kingdom Now”: Reflections on Magical American Christianity
Category: General
Tags: Discipleship, Kingdom Living
Topics: Following Jesus
One major problem American Christians face is that we tend to embrace a magical view of the Christian faith. We assume that if a person “prays the sinners prayer,” “surrenders their life to Christ,” and…
Don’t Wilberforce’s achievements refute your stance on the separation of faith and politics?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues, Wilberforce
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: William Wilberforce was a Christian whose passionate involvement in politics almost single-handedly brought an end to the slave trade in 19th century England. Don’t his achievements show the importance of Christians being involved in…
Twenty Arguments Against Cameron’s “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
Category: Essays
Tags: Apologetics, Essay, Gospels, Jesus, New Testament
Topics: Jesus: Lord or Legend
On March 4th, 2007, the Discovery Channel aired James Cameron’s much celebrated documentary, “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” The documentary basically gives a new spin on an old discovery. In 1980, a first century tomb…
Reflections on the Influence, and Damage, of Plato’s Timaeus 28a
Category: General
Tags: Classical Theism, God, Philosophy
Topics: Apologetics
The Timaeus is Plato’s account of the creation of the world. Ancient philosophers were divided as to whether Plato meant the work to be taken literally or mythically, as are modern scholars. The work was…
Living Jesus’ Prayer for Forgiveness
Category: General
Tags: Forgiveness, Judgement, Kingdom Living
Topics: Following Jesus
Luke 23:34: Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Could anything be more shocking and yet more beautiful than this prayer? After being whipped, beaten, crowned with thorns,…
Are you a pietist?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: Soon after the publication of your book The Myth of a Christian Nation, I heard Chuck Colson charge you with being a “pietist.” Since then, others have repeated the charge. They all claim you…
Everybody’s Got a Prequel
Category: General
Tags: Forgiveness, Judgement, Kingdom Living
My wife and I, along with some friends, recently attended the Broadway Play Wicked. Without giving too much away, I’ll tell you the play attempts to answer the question: What could have possibly made the…
Review of Claiborne’s “The Irresistible Revolution”
Category: General
Tags: Book Reviews, Reviews
One of the best books on Kingdom living I’ve read in the last year’s is Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. I heartily recommend reading it. This young man has got…
If every effect has a cause, how can there be free choice?
Category: General
Tags: Free Will, Predestination
The most common argument given in defense of determinism is that it’s implied in the nature of causation. Every event has a cause, and this cause accounts for the event being the way it is….
Shouldn’t preachers rally Christians to fight political injustice?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: My pastor has publicly supported your book The Myth of a Christian Nation. But he’s recently called on the church to take a stand against the injustice of our local government cutting funding for…