All of this is interesting in itself, but I would propose that the most important fact here (only alluded to in the RNS article) is this: Compared with North America and Europe, most Christians in the non-Western World (now commonly referred to as the Global South) are much more conservative, both theologically and morally.  ... Continue Reading

To put flesh and blood on those statistics, all one has to do is look around. In Baghdad, Islamic militants stormed the Syriac Catholic cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation on 31 October 2010, killing the two priests celebrating Mass and leaving a total of 58 people dead. Though shocking, the assault was far from... Continue Reading

“He led a movement that translated traditional conservative Bible-based Christianity to a large segment of the baby boom generation’s counterculture,” says Brad Christerson, a Biola University sociologist who studies charismatic churches in California. “His impact can be seen in every church service that has electric guitar-driven worship, hip casually-dressed pastors, and 40-minute sermons consisting of... Continue Reading

With that qualifier, “Why me, Lord?” is impregnated with pride.  It shakes its fist at God.  That fist can be raised high in outright rebellion, such as in Psalm 139:20, or it can be more subdued, like fingers crossed behind the back.  The subdued version conveys a degree of protest often fostered by doubt or... Continue Reading

The most common knock against the M.Div, along with most academic degrees (the M.Div is technically a vocational degree), is that it is not practical. It does not prepare you for “the real world.” And there’s some truth to this.   James Miller is hardly the first to call into question the future viability of... Continue Reading

“We didn’t pick the fight,” Green explained. “We never imagined we’d sue our own government. We love our country. But the mandate requires us to become abortion providers, which goes against our conscience.” Green said his firm would “not provide abortive drugs for free and won’t prevent employees from accessing those drugs.”   Hobby Lobby... Continue Reading

As Christians find themselves more and more on the margins in American society, people are beginning to count the cost. While it used to serve Americans well to carry the label “Christian” in most circumstances (think about running for public office, for instance), it can actually be polarizing or considered intolerant now. So for those... Continue Reading

Feminism has also had a poisonous effect on Christian theology. Does the church really “need” the feminism of Virginia Mollenkott, whose Christology contends for “The Androgynous Jesus”? Can we really claim that the world “needs” the feminism of Mary Daly, who argues that we must cast aside any notion of God as Father? Daly also argues that... Continue Reading

I heard the story again last week. A pastor I know announced his resignation. No moral failure. No severe crisis at the church. No major family problems. No sickness. He was simply burned out. That’s how he described it. He said he had gotten to the point that he was having trouble putting one foot... Continue Reading

The first step is to get our expectations clear.  We should not expect that Matthew would say something like, “I, Matthew, am writing Scripture as I write this book.” Gospels are a very different genre than epistles, and we would not expect the authors to provide the same type of direct and explicit statements about... Continue Reading