July 21 marks one hundred years since a jury found John Scopes guilty of violating the Butler Act and fined him $100. I have been thinking about this trial recently and how even though the Fundamentalists won the trial it was ultimately a major loss. I find the Scopes trial is one of those events... Continue Reading →
Recently I was asked to write a response to this question, "Can you point to a turning point in American culture or history where the church started making this dramatic turn away from the teachings of Christ?" This was part of a larger (and ongoing) conversation about how to talk to fellow believers about politics.... Continue Reading →
This morning I am thinking about the book of Revelation and how many people I encounter have interpreted its prophecies. From the outset let me be clear, I disagree with this interpretation of the Bible, my thought is simply to express beliefs of others and then ask one simple question about how this interpretation should... Continue Reading →
Today I saw a pastor post a video in which he said that if Christians are not being called Nazis, racists, antisemitic, misogynistic, bigots they are failing. And this is a man with 25k+ followers on social media (not an insignificant number). He made this claim and defended it by saying that such labels show... Continue Reading →
This post contains some references to sexual assault and some might find it disturbing. Recently, I have been thinking about the story the Roman historian Plutarch tells that the night before he crossed the Rubicon Julius Caesar had a dream in which his mother "submitted" to his sexual penetration. To us this sounds like a... Continue Reading →
The erection and subsequent destruction of a display set up by the Satanic Temple in the Iowa State Capital Building has been major news in the circles I follow. Particularly because it has come on the heels of Rob Reiner announcing a movie project he worked on with the creators of Pure Flix highlighting the... Continue Reading →
Over the last few months Americans have seen the growth in the number of people identifying with a political theory known as Christian Nationalism. There are those who will say Christian Nationalism is nothing more than voting our Christian conscious, but this is untrue. I have been following Stephen Wolfe, a major proponent of Christian... Continue Reading →
One of my favorite podcasts is Biologos' Language of God, I encourage anyone with an interest in sound theology or science to subscribe. On the most recent episode the guests discussed how the majority of people believe that science and religion are at odds in general but when questioned about specific science and theology questions... Continue Reading →
A century ago (May 21, 1922) Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon entitled Shall the Fundamentalists Win. America and the American Church especially at the time was in the midst of significant cultural upheaval with a debate roaring between two factions, the Modernists (or Liberals) and the Fundamentalists. The Fundamentals a series of essays designed... 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 →
Squinting in the Light 