Sola Fide? Yeah, Whatever.

UPDATE: 11:13:08 Open commenting is now over, and moderated commenting will be the norm for the foreseeable future. Expect ACTIVE moderation.

Several years ago I wrote an essay on sola fide- salvation by faith alone- that I really liked, but no one else seemed to like.

At the time, when I was just starting to get a little attention for my writing, I thought that it was simply overlooked. Today, I have another theory.

Evangelicals have gone pretty soft on salvation by faith ALONE.

Sola fide doesn’t sit very well with a lot of evangelicals. In fact, I’m not sure they believe it. I’m quite sure that a sizable group has thought it over and they don’t believe it.Continue reading “Sola Fide? Yeah, Whatever.”

What Just Can’t Be, But Is

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

I remember coming home from college as a freshman, and bringing my Greek New Testament to show my dad what I was learning at school.Continue reading “What Just Can’t Be, But Is”

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews

I’m getting interviewed all over the place. Must be a very slow time of year.

I’m interviewed in the current issue of Modern Reformation magazine’s issue on “Evangelicalism’s Winter.” I’m really proud of this interview. It answers a lot of questions about post-evangelicalism. Special thanks to Eric Landry at MR to be in the same pages with some of my heroes.

Tony Kummer at the Said At Southern Podcast interviewed me about blogging, the SBC and Jesus Shaped Evangelicalism. This podcast should be up in a day or two. I’ll update here when it does.

One of my dreams has been to make contact with Drew Marshall and to be on his radio program. Thanks to Bill Kinnon for hooking me up with Canada’s own post-evangelical wild man. Drew Marshall has a program that everyone who reads IM will want to make a regular part of your week. I’ll be on this Saturday, along with Daryl Dash and Bill Kinnon, about 2:30 EST.

The Drew Marshall program archive is here.

My most recent interview with Steve Brown has already been posted.

I’ve not yet been interviewed by the ladies on The View, but I’m available.

Alone, and Not Alone: Meditations From the Evangelical Wilderness

We talk about the evangelical wilderness around here a lot. It’s sometimes academic, and sometimes it’s very personal to all of us. These are some of my thoughts from there today. If God has taught me anything, it’s that you (yes YOU) are out there, and I’m not the only one.

This post is for a particular group of people.

People who really don’t have any choices about what church you attend. Through circumstance or choice, you are a church monogamist, not a church shopper.

You may be a person in a rural area, and your church choices are extremely limited. Maybe, if you are conscientious about your use of fuel and time, your choices are non-existent.Continue reading “Alone, and Not Alone: Meditations From the Evangelical Wilderness”

Riffs: The Creation Museum in Kentucky, reviewed in the New Yorker (June 2007)

Since we’ve been discussing Adam and Eve, I thought this article on the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky would be a good follow-up. The picture is the Adam and Eve display in the museum, which is a multi-million dollar facility with state of the art exhibits. It is sponsored by the Answers in Genesis ministry of Australian educator Ken Ham.Continue reading “Riffs: The Creation Museum in Kentucky, reviewed in the New Yorker (June 2007)”

Open Thread: Are You Offended?

Here’s an issue that’s bound to have come up in some of your settings, especially if you’ve ever been in an art class or used Biblical art as illustration.

Look at this painting of Adam and Eve. (Titian, later Reubens.) It’s a very common illustration of the Adam and Eve story.

Are you offended? Why or why not?
Would you show this painting to your congregation (including children and young people) or Bible class as an illustration? Explain.
If someone said this was offensive to them as a illustration, what would you do?

The IM Weekend File: 11:08:08

Weekend file time! No politics allowed!

I’m fascinated by the tendency of a lot of evangelicals to pass the pulpit down father to son. Biblically, it’s nonsensical, but practically it can be the difference between staying afloat or sinking as a ministry.

I recently listened to Matt Haggee, John Haggee’s son. Haggee himself has always fascinated me. Where else in the world of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity do you have fundamentalists reading their sermons from manuscripts with applause cues throughout, just like a political speech. Matt is a clone, with the exception that he’s dropped about 120 pounds at least. As this sort of preaching goes, he was pretty good. It’s prosperity gospel lite, with a better than most presentation of the Gospel. (Osteen should take a note, especially from Daddy John. When he’s not being apocalyptic, he can preach the evangelical Gospel dead on.)

I want to train my students to applaud on cue. Any hints, Matt?
___________________________Continue reading “The IM Weekend File: 11:08:08”

Review: Economic Parables by David Cowan

David Cowan is a Lutheran pastor with a background in journalism and the world of banking and finance. In Economic Parables he brings these life experiences together to write a series of Bible studies built off of the monetary teachings of Jesus found in his parables.

Each chapter contains the parable and an extended reflection, as well as excellent discussion questions and in-depth Biblical references for deeper study. This book is really ideal for a study in a church or small group. The topics are interesting and the materials for leader use are outstanding and suggestive of many applications.Continue reading “Review: Economic Parables by David Cowan”

Riffs: 11:07:08: Patrol Magazine’s Commentary on The Family Research Council’s Scare Tactics

It seems that politics and the culture war have dominated posting here at IM recently, which is understandable given recent events. I was ready to go back to talking about something more related to the broader interests of this blog, when I ran across this piece at Patrol Magazine.

By the way, if you aren’t a reader of Patrol, you’re missing out on a great magazine that’s evolving into something special right in front of your eyes. Don’t miss anything going on there.

Patrol editor David Sessions brings to our attention a recent letter from the “Family Research Council,” the political arm of what was once a Christian ministry giving advice to parents and families, It was called Focus on the Family. Maybe you remember it. They used to do some good work until fear of homosexuals drove them over the cliff with most of their constituency in the car.Continue reading “Riffs: 11:07:08: Patrol Magazine’s Commentary on The Family Research Council’s Scare Tactics”