Category Archives: Religion

The psychology of evil and the confluence of sin and death (or) The orthodox theology of Tolkien, part I

Posted on March 10, 2011 by admin

I have never entirely understood the connection(?) between sin and death. Let me confess that I am not much of a Satanologist. What do I mean by that? That in my understanding and teaching of the Christian faith do not … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Hebrew Bible, Judaism, Literature, Orthodoxy, Theology | 1 Comment

Late Lent and Pascha and unexpected variations in liturgical calendar

Posted on February 15, 2011 by admin

Since seminary have used the lectionary and followed the Christian liturgical calendar. The two are related but distinct. Theoretically one can observe the liturgical calendar without following the lectionary. In fact back in 2000(?) when Keith Putt led University Baptist … Continue reading →

Posted in Baptists, Christian Practice, Orthodoxy, Worship and Liturgy | Comments Off

A few rejoinders to recent On Faith articles on sex and marriage in the Bible

Posted on February 11, 2011 by admin

Jennifer Wright Knust is a professor of New Testament and Christian origins at Boston University. She has attracted some attention lately for her series of articles on sexuality and marriage in the Bible. These have appeared in the “On Faith” … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christian Practice, Hebrew Bible, Judaism, New Testament, Sexuality, Song of Songs | 8 Comments

Alas – less not more freedom for Christians in China?

Posted on February 8, 2011 by admin

One of the three goals for my journey through China back in May-June was to observe directly what is happening with the Christian church in the People’s Republic of China. I visited both registered churches and house churches. And had … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Internationals, Missiology, News, Religion, Travel | 3 Comments

President Obama’s exceptional speech in Tucson

Posted on January 12, 2011 by admin

I admit not looking forward to hearing/reading the President’s speech at the memorial service in Arizona. Ace of Spades HQ had mixed reactions. My excellent friend Jonathan called it the “best speech of his life”. So grit my teeth and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Hebrew Bible, News, Politics, Religion, Rhetoric, Society and Culture, Theology | Comments Off

NFL player Troy Polamalu and liturgy of the heart

Posted on January 11, 2011 by admin

The excellent Opinionated Catholic – your one stop portal for Catholic and Football news – recently had an interesting post about Pittsburgh Steelers player Troy Polamalu and his Orthodox Christian faith. I wanted to follow up by focusing on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Practice, Orthodoxy, Sports, Theology, Worship and Liturgy | 1 Comment

Academia recognizes complexity of evangelicalism

Posted on December 14, 2010 by admin

Interesting article at Chronicle of Higher Education by Timothy Beal entitled “Among the Evangelicals”. Yet as soon as evangelicalism becomes a subject, it splinters and splits. Indeed, taken together, recent studies by more-or-less outsiders show there is no such thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Ethnicity and race, Religion, Society and Culture | Comments Off

Tired of the worship wars (or) Why would they leave?

Posted on December 13, 2010 by admin

Perhaps no issue has generated more controversy at University Baptist Church than worship. By which one means worship style.* Twelve years ago when I began serving here we had two Sunday morning services. One early more contemporary and supposedly the … Continue reading →

Posted in Baptists, Ecclesiology, Ministry, Music, Society and Culture, Worship and Liturgy | 5 Comments

Hopko on the Old Testament (or) I just wasted fifty bucks on a lousy Bible translation?!?

Posted on December 13, 2010 by admin

Needed to get by this weekend a Bible to present to my fellow minister on the occasion of her ordination this evening. She recently said something about “really need to read the Apocrypha” so found a nice New Revised Standard … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Hebrew Bible, Orthodoxy, Personal, Septuagint | Comments Off

Who leaves and who keeps the house? (or) When denominations undergo radical change

Posted on November 30, 2010 by admin

Was perusing Lectionary Homiletics for December as part of my weekly sermon preparation. Noticed how many contributions are from Ed McNulty. Wonder who that is? Do a search. Come across a website that might tell me more. Turns out to … Continue reading →

Posted in Baptists, Christianity, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Culture, Logic and Reason, Ministry, Same-sex, Southern Baptist Convention | 3 Comments