Is there such a thing as a ‘Pentecostal philosophy’? James K. A. Smith says there is. They don’t necessarily talk about it in ways we are accustomed to, but he says they have one. And here are its major elements […]
Theology
Heterosexual Cohabitation and The Church – After Obergefell
The historic church, evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox, has taken a dim view of ‘cohabitation,’ which used to be called ‘shacking up’ or ‘living in sin.’ The faithful churches in fact generally try to deny the Sacrament to those in cohabitation. […]
Some Things People Can’t See or Understand Anymore
In my last post I wrote about how the secular mind can no longer understand the difference between ‘forgiveness’ and ‘tolerance-acceptance-inclusion’. Things like this are not a surprise; in 1Corinthians 2:14, Paul informs us that “The natural person does not […]
“Shared Intentionality” and its Implications
The ‘developmental and comparative psychologist’ Michael Tomasello, an American who now works at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, has come up with a concept called “shared intentionality” as a mark that separates humans from chimpanzees and bonobos [asserted in […]
Christians Creating Culture: Charles Schulz Did It
The last couple of nights I happened to watch two famous television specials on DVD: A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I pity any members of younger generations who have not seen them. Today people […]
The H-word, and the Other H-word
In the ‘60s we had a lot of slang phrases using the word “head” – “head trip” “got a crazy idea in his head” “feed your head” (Jefferson Airplane) “we’d like to change your head” (The Beatles) “out of my […]
Representing our Jesus to Their Jesus, A Book Notice
Todd D. Hunter, Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others . 2009: IVP Press. Author’s website: 3isenough.org. At first I think I had Todd Hunter mixed up with Joel Hunter of Florida, but Todd Hunter is a […]
Jesus’ Theology of Earthquakes
It has been more than a week since the Easter Sunday Mexicali earthquake, but better late than never. Many of us have thought, or, frankly, even hoped, that natural calamities would mainly fall on sinners. A famous verse came out […]
A Theology of Earthquakes and Culture
After the Haiti earthquake, Pat Robertson declared that the earthquake was punishment for Haiti’s voodoo culture. How does he know? And is it any of his business? Pronouncements of this sort, I believe, fall into the category of “taking the […]
Are “Big Corporations” People? And Can Everything Be Blamed on Them?
The recent decision that corporations and unions are free to make independent expenditures and public commentary on elections frightened a lot of people. It did not empower these organizations to contribute directly to campaigns in unlimited qualities, only to engage […]