“The judge has not shown much regard for the legal merits of Davis’s claims, and it’s far from clear that she’s chosen the right venue for her complaints. But this is a political fight as much as it is a legal one. Increasingly, religious conservatives fear there will not be space in public life for... Continue Reading

“Pastor-theologians in the early church used the ancient Rule of Faith to provide the parameters for understanding the theological realities that are part and parcel of the gospel, and to identify the God of Israel with the Father of Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things with the Redeemer of the church.”   Kevin Vanhoozer:... Continue Reading

“Kinnersley was born in Gloucester, England, the same hometown as Franklin’s friend George Whitefield, the greatest evangelist of the eighteenth-century revivals. As a three-year-old, Kinnersley came with his family to Pennsylvania the same year, 1714, that Whitefield was born.”   James Delbourgo’s A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders: Electricity and Enlightenment in Early America offers a remarkable... Continue Reading

Colbert’s reasons for believing are actually quite logical. He loves the world and feels grateful toward it (these are the same premises he mentioned in the GQ article from a couple of weeks ago), and as a result he chooses to direct that gratitude toward an entity he calls God.   Stephen Colbert is talking about his... Continue Reading

Throw out the word “secret.”
Explain the difference between a secret and a surprise. Surprises are joyful and generate excitement, because in just a little while something will be unveiled that will bring great delight. Secrets, in contrast, cause isolation and exclusion. When it becomes customary to keep secrets with just one individual, children are more... Continue Reading

Samuel Rodriguez founded the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which claims more than 40,000 Latino evangelical churches as members. He’s also on the board of the National Association for Evangelicals and a fierce advocate for immigration reform…. To me, immigration reform is not a political issue. It’s the very future of American evangelical Christendom, so... Continue Reading

If the Lord grants me mercy, I can reasonably expect another ten years of honest labor. I know theologians who have taught longer than that, and so will I if I can. But that is in the Lord’s hands, and anything more than threescore and ten will be a pure gift (not that the threescore... Continue Reading

“I am relieved the Navy sided with me,” Modder said in a statement released by Liberty Institute, which represented him. “I have served honorably for 20 years in diverse units in the Marine Corps and Navy.”   The Navy has exonerated a highly decorated and respected chaplain, denying a formal request by his commanding officer... Continue Reading

“The seminary cannot be successful unless it becomes much more diverse not only racially but also theological,” he said. He envisions “a seminary as broad as the church of Jesus Christ, rooted in the Reformed tradition,” he said, referring to the theological heritage of Presbyterianism. “That rootedness in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has got to... Continue Reading

Don’t hold him to unreasonable expectations. I’ve seen people who want to be a pastor’s friend get upset when the pastor didn’t tell them everything going on in the church. They get their feelings hurt. Every pastor walks on a certain amount of “eggshells” wondering who will respond and how to things the pastor does. We... Continue Reading