Category Archives: Christianity

Will young Americans truly turn toward liberal Christianity?

Posted on August 2, 2010 by admin

(ed – I almost did not publish this. Do not like to “pick an argument” with such a public figure and that is not my intent.) Normally I do not pay much attention to what American religion scholar Diana Butler … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Practice, Christianity, Issues, Logic and Reason, Religion, Roman Catholicism, Society and Culture | 4 Comments

Christianity and religious freedom in China (or) Reflections on journey through China, part IV

Posted on July 7, 2010 by admin

Complicated. Changing. Encouraging. Those three words encapsulate what Chinese Christians shared with me concerning religious freedom and the state of the Christian church in China. The third of my three goals for the trip through China was to observe first … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Practice, Christianity, Ministry, Religion, Travel | 4 Comments

Is Christianity about faith or *reverence*?

Posted on May 8, 2010 by admin

Generally, faith-based religion defends the goodness of the divine, while religion that is centered on reverence is not afraid to face the idea that the divine may seem evil in human terms. (Paul Woodruff, Reverence, 69) That parenthetical comment sure … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Religion, Theology | 1 Comment

SERMON – “All the Flower’s in God’s Swamp” (Revelation 7)

Posted on May 2, 2010 by admin

Forgive my lack of humility but I felt good about this one. It is something I have been wanting to say for years. It is so short because we had Communion that day. “All the Flowers in God’s Swamp” Revelation … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Culture, Internationals, New Testament | 1 Comment

Father Moses and cross-cultural ministry

Posted on April 13, 2010 by admin

Stories do not come much more beautiful than this. The New York Times deserves profound gratitude for a magnificent article on Father Moses Berry who is an Orthodox priest in a small rural village in Missouri. Like most Orthodox priests … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Culture, Ethnicity and race, Missiology, Orthodoxy, Worship and Liturgy | Comments Off

Joshua Villines on “What do the Christians believe?”

Posted on April 6, 2010 by admin

Joshua Villines is a pastor as well as a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University in liturgics and homiletics. He lives with his family in Decatur just outside Atlanta. Thanks be to God I know him personally and have had to … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Theology | 2 Comments

What I almost said at Maundy Thursday service (or) Tolkien and Heilsgeschichte

Posted on April 2, 2010 by admin

Our excellent minister of music and senior adults asked me to begin our Maundy Thursday worship gathering last night with an “overview of the story of salvation”. The idea being to set the events of Holy Week in the context … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Literature, Tolkien | Comments Off

Targuman on Why do Christians need a body?

Posted on March 26, 2010 by admin

Everything my friend Chris Brady writes is intelligent and well worth reading. But the spiritual amplifier gets turned up to eleven by his current post “Why do Christians seem to need a body?” Chris aka Dean Brady focuses on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, New Testament, Theology | Comments Off

They ask the questions we avoid (or) Why does God save yet not prevent?

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Rick

I have one of the best jobs on the planet. Pastoring a small church whose primary ministry is with international students and scholars. Most of whom are here for a limited period of time. Many of whom are studying the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Hebrew Bible, Internationals, Personal, Theology, Tolkien | 2 Comments

The need for theological identity

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Rick

Been reading Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister McGrath. In the chapter on “The Modern Period” McGrath surveys and summarizes a grocery list of “major theological movements” during the “Modern” period. Romanticism, Marxism, Liberal Protestantism, Modernism (found this one hard … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Personal, Theology | Comments Off