I have been thinking a lot about "the hardening of Pharaoh's heart" in Exodus and how it relates to the Signs (or Plagues). It is easy to think of Pharaoh as God's puppet and that God's plan is to so callous Pharaoh's will that Pharaoh will play into God's trap. With this reading God is... Continue Reading →
President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan certainly has gotten people talking, especially on social media. Among this chatter many are using the Bible both to defend and to decry this policy, but I do not think this is the right approach. Let me begin by saying I am in favor of some form of student... Continue Reading →
Warning: this week I am taking on what I consider to be a sensitive issue which requires discussing assault. Recently I have seen a controversy brewing on Twitter around the nature of David’s sin with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. There are any number of people who are extremely upset about the idea that some... Continue Reading →
In the wake of the Highland Park shooting last Monday, I have felt it necessary to reflect on my spiritual roots. Normally when I say this, I am referring to those authors who have most impacted my personal theology, however this time my reflections were on those individuals who personally impacted my spiritual development in... Continue Reading →
My last post was a reaction to the current news cycle and how abortion has dominated in the headlines (here) and one insightful individual asked about the Christian theology of life that should ultimately guide us as we deal with topics like abortion. I have decided to take on this challenge, in this post I... Continue Reading →
Last week I asked the question "what would it look like if America was a Christian nation?" This is a part of a larger series I have titled America The Christian Nation, you can read last week's post here. In various conversations about that post I have realized I did not go far enough in... Continue Reading →
This is the second in a series of posts on the idea of America as a Christian nation you can read the first post here. Understanding some of the difficulties we face with the notion of America being a Christian nation requires understanding where this idea began. The concept that America is a Christian nation... Continue Reading →
This past week I saw a video clip from John Hagee's Cornerstone church which showed people on stage exhorting individual's to chant "Let's go Brandon." [(So no one can accuse me of left-wing bias) here is the Christian Post article which also discusses the meaning behind the phrase for those who do not know.] Admittedly... Continue Reading →
In preparing for my upcoming lecture on the Story of Christianity I ran across a line that stopped me cold. What we often study in isolated detail as so many examples of literary, legal, and iconographic borrowings from the secular world, if taken altogether add up in themselves to a clue to the success of... Continue Reading →
I recently saw an article which I did not have time in the moment to read and have not found since, but the head line was to the effect "Columbus is a Part of Our Heritage". I have since been thinking about Christopher Columbus and our celebration of the "discovery of America". I do think... Continue Reading →
Saints & Idiots 