Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
What is the Bible, and how do you read it?
Imagine that someone who’d never read the Bible opened it up to Deuteronomy 21-22. They would read instructions such as: “Stone until [dead]” a rebellious child…an adulterous couple…a woman who had sex before marriage. And if a man mistreats his wife, he’s forbidden to divorce her, a rule that ensures a lifetime of misery for …
Standing behind him at his feet and crying, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured the oil on them. — Luke 7:38 I’m writing this having just awakened. For some reason this was the question that was knocking at the door of my brain …
Up until the last verse, the conclusion of Isaiah is breathtakingly beautiful. It paints a picture of a new heaven and earth, foreshadowing the triumphant vision at the end of Revelation. “All nations and cultures” will finally recognize God’s love and power. “All humanity” will gather in Jerusalem, the place symbolizing the Lord’s immediate presence. …
“Go in through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to destruction is broad and the road wide, so many people enter through it. But the gate that leads to life is narrow and the road difficult, so few people find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14 In my Bible-belt-pious years as a young Christian, I knew exactly …
I was taught in seminary to always determine the original meaning behind a text. Study the Greek or Hebrew. The literary, cultural, and historical contexts. Comparative passages and themes. That way I would get to know what the author meant. Good work that must be done. However, what happens when I discover that what the …
I’m intrigued by something Father Richard Rohr wrote in his The Wisdom Pattern: Order-Disorder-Reorder. “It seems to me we must begin conservatively—with clear boundaries, identity, and a sense of respect for our reality. Then, and only then, can we move out from that strong center, according to our education and experience.” (p. 61) The trick, …
The biblical writers believed in a flat earth. It was the stationary foundation of their world view. Under the flat earth was Sheol, the place of the dead. The sky was the domed firmament that held back water. Above it all was heaven. This sounds so, well, ancient. Good science at the time, but bad …
As I was doing research for Addressing Atheism, I connected with Hemant Mehta. He runs the Friendly Atheist blogsite. He’s also the author of several books, one of which is the delightful I Sold My Soul on Ebay. Hemant reviewed a rough draft of my book from the atheistic perspective. He was generous with his …
According to an article in the Christian Post, the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church recently passed a resolution affirming belief that God created the world “in six natural days.” This might come as a surprise to the Creator, since we know earth to be over four billion years old. There’s irrefutable proof of that, as Bill …
Early in Mark’s Gospel (3:1-6, CEB), Jesus loses his temper. Since Mark writes in a compact and impatient manner, it’s easy to overlook this story. When you linger a bit with it, though, you discover it’s a watershed point in Jesus’ ministry. It changes his trajectory. It may for us as well. The Incident The …