The theologian's task is to make it difficult to be a Christian. It is also to make it equally difficult to be a non-Christian, that is, to present an account of Christianity that shows the difference that being a Christian makes and how that difference may intrigue...
03843 – God Revealed through God’s Son
Quite an exchange a student had w/theologian, Karl Barth. Student: "Sir, don't you think that God has revealed himself in other religions & not only Christianity?" Barth: "No, God has not revealed himself in any religion, including Christianity. He has revealed...
03354 – Who Sets the Rules?
The great problem with dominant white theologians, especially white men, is their tendency to speak as if they and they alone can set the rules for thinking about God. That is why they seldom turn to the cultures of the poor, especially people of color, for resources...
03237 – We Must All Find a Way to Grieve
How we learn to live with the death of a loved one differs with each one of us. We must all find a way to grieve. As the theologian, Tom Wright said, "Not to grieve, not to lament is to slam the door on the very same place in the innermost heart from which love itself...
02830 – “The Original Sin of the Church”
If America’s original sin is slavery, the original sin of the church is anti-Judaism and antisemitism. Before the New Testament was fully written. we see evidence of it... If you look at the passion accounts in the four Gospels in chronological order, you see Rome...
02452 – What Pain Can Do
Pain has made me a better theologian than any book I've ever read.
02404 – No Gatekeepers to Jesus
The good news is that there are no gatekeepers to Jesus. People try to be. Pastors, theologians, churches, and others police theology, enforce legalism, and criticize people's faith. But God loves everyone even when Christians don't.
01958 – Spectators, Not Victims?
It is hard not to conclude that the main reason [Western] theologians have said little that can be used in the struggle of the oppressed is due to the fact that they have been only spectators and not victims of suffering.
01270 – Did God Suffer?
Years earlier I had read some writings of Jurgen Moltmann, a German theologian who argued that God "experiences" our sufferings and grieves with us. Our soul is so connected with God, he said, that it's impossible for the Divine Being not to share our aguish. Now...
00775 – Worship Dichotomy Not in Scripture
In the modern evangelical church, singing, praying, giving, and other congregational acts of worship are regarded at times as preamble to the sermon. Music, in particular, appears separate from elements of worship that seem to be more spiritual, such as praying and...