Ecclesia and Ethics: Day One May21

Ecclesia and Ethics: Day One

This past Saturday was Day One of the online conference that I had been co-organizing with some of my officemates from St Andrews. It was both exhausting and exhilarating. Because it was designed to be an international conference, my day began at 6am local time in California and ended at 4pm local time. During this time period I heard papers presented live from South Korea, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Arizona, Michigan, Maryland and Texas. And all of this transpired while I was casually sitting in the living room of an apartment. The convenience was off the charts; I didn’t have to pay for airfare or hotel fees, nor did I need a...

On Sinkholes and Sus...

In my last post I talked about the reality of sinkholes, the absolutely terrifying natural phenomenon in which what was once stable ground gives way and forms gaping chasms. Reports of sinkholes swallowing people from the face of the earth have been regular fare for news coverage recently. And...

Same sex marriage: the argument from inevitability Mar27

Same sex marriage: t...

Alex Lundry, Mitt Romney’s data analyst, recently reported that over 60% of evangelical youth support the legalization of same sex marriage (SSM). This number is in stark contrast to the responses of older evangelical Christians to poll on the issue. Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen cited...

Objections to the Trinity Mar22

Objections to the Tr...

Here in Sydney I’m currently co-teaching a seminary class on the doctrine of the Trinity. We’ve spent the first few weeks of the course reading and discussing some sermons by Gregory of Nazianzus. The next section will focus on parts of Augustine’s De Trinitate. In the...

Reflections on Uncon...

The concept of unconditional love is among the best-known and most-beloved of all Christian doctrines, and for good reason. God’s love for his children is unmerited; there is nothing that we can do to earn God’s love so there is nothing that we can do to be separated from it...

Thinking Carefully . . . Feb28

Thinking Carefully ....

For those of you who dabble in the circles of theology and modern celebrity pastor culture, you quickly find out how it’s “circles” work. First, after learning about all the major teachers, pastor’s or theologians who are heroes in your circles, you start learning about which leaders...

Shane Claiborne Interview: Ecclesia and Ethics Feb09

Shane Claiborne Inte...

In preparation for our Ecclesia and Ethics conference (ecclesiaethics.com), we’re putting together a few video interviews to raise interest and excitement. Check out this short interview we did with Shane Claiborne. For some reason the video didn’t record, but the audio is great....

Christianity  Today?  Redeeming  Evangelical Relevancy Feb01

Christianity Today?...

This week Christianity Today ran a short article commemorating the 100th birthday of its deceased founder, Carl F.H. Henry. Henry is worthy of memory; aside from the aforementioned magazine, he gave us Fuller Theological Seminary and he was a key signatory on the Chicago Statement of Biblical...

Ecclesia and Ethics Conference Jan29

Ecclesia and Ethics ...

Nothing gets me giddy like going to an academic conference. For those who are involved in the academic study of the bible/theology/religion like myself, the big event – “conference time” – takes place in mid-November with the annual meetings of ETS/IBR/SBL/AAR. It is always a...

Theologian Trading C...

First there was Baseball cards. Then there was Pokémon. Now, thanks to Norman Jeune III and Zondervan, we have Theologian Trading Cards! Functioning more as a dictionary than as a true “trading card” set – there isn’t actually any ‘trading’ involved – the...