Asking if Jesus was “nice” or “mean”, whether he mocked his opponents or was winsome, is a proxy war. We are trafficking in baptized concepts of male domination and female domestication which themselves must be dismantled and reimagined in light of the gospel. In an interview this week Ken Harrison, who is the CEO ofContinue reading ““Was Jesus Nice?” Is The Wrong Question”
Category Archives: Church
A (New) Lost Generation
In the classic World War I novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque described the effect of the Great War on the men who fought it: “It is the common fate of our generation…We’ve been cut off from real action, from getting on, from progress. We don’t believe in those things any more;Continue reading “A (New) Lost Generation”
5 Great Quotes: Benjamin Lay
Benjamin Lay (1681-1759) was a Quaker activist who practiced a radical form of abolitionism drawn from his Christian convictions in the Quaker tradition. He wrote one book, published by Benjamin Franklin, which was titled: “All Slave-Keepers That Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates.” Today, it’s common to hear “he was a man of his times”Continue reading “5 Great Quotes: Benjamin Lay”
What Bonhoeffer Said When Hitler Survived
Today marks 78 years since the failed 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler. 78 years ago, and nearly 500 miles away, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sat in Tegal prison. He was waiting for news. He knew his suspicious associations (which had landed him in prison) would turn treasonous if the plot failed. When no news came, BonhoefferContinue reading “What Bonhoeffer Said When Hitler Survived”
Evangelical: Leave It or Love It?
There’s not one verse in the Bible where God says to the church: “and you shall call yourselves, “evangelicals”. Not one. There’s not even a verse for “Christian”. That ancient label was something given to followers of Jesus by their neighbors. (Acts 11.26) This should at least give us pause as we consider what itContinue reading “Evangelical: Leave It or Love It?”
A House Built On Sand
More has been stolen from survivors by the SBC than I gave to the SBC as a pastor. I spent a decade in the SBC. I studied in its seminaries, joined its church plant pipeline, and served in its churches. Some have been traumatized for nearly their entire lives. I cannot, will not, forget theContinue reading “A House Built On Sand”
Spilling The Tea On Evangelicalism
I’ve been wanting to write this article for awhile. There’s something about tea that makes for a really good analogy to explain the wild theological ethics coming out of American evangelicalism over issues likes race, gender, politics, and public health. First things first: Brits like their tea. The British commitment to tea impacts the wayContinue reading “Spilling The Tea On Evangelicalism”
Better Talk On Deconstruction
I hesitate to wade into these waters. But it’s a risk worth taking. Plus there’s a Disney analogy ahead, so there’s that. Some see a threat to evangelicalism in the trend of “deconstruction”. I use quotes because the term has been appropriated by so many people to describe so many different reactions. Ironically just likeContinue reading “Better Talk On Deconstruction”
The Moral Problem Of Seeing Nazi Germany Everywhere
The Third Reich is everywhere in today’s political pandemic rhetoric. This rhetoric warns that the pandemic is turning America into Hitler’s Germany. A constant comparison to Nazi Germany is a dangerous theological ethical move, not because the Holocaust didn’t happen, but precisely because it did. Today we are more influenced by Hollywood in our moralContinue reading “The Moral Problem Of Seeing Nazi Germany Everywhere”
Masks, Tyranny, and Our Evangelical Inheritance
Why do some white American evangelicals default to tyranny when it comes to masks, and not responsibility to our neighbor? Why, in these churches, is racism a spiritual issue only, not physical & systemic? Both point to the Christianity we’ve inherited. Today, pockets of US evangelicalism label health directives as tyrannical, racism as solely spiritual,Continue reading “Masks, Tyranny, and Our Evangelical Inheritance”
Jared Stacy 