Via Jonathan at The Ivy Bush comes this interesting article on a discussion between two Methodist theologians arguing that the UMC needs a greater emphasis on doctrine. Though I don’t know much about John Wesley, what struck me in the article’s description of his theology was how much he drew on other Christian traditions, and…

Anyone else seen the ads for this? It looks kind of like Left Behind meets the Da Vinci Code if you can believe that (crossing the red/blue divide!). The one thing that puzzles me is that based on the TV spots, it seems to be implying that the Second Coming involves Jesus coming back ……

This post on Anglican theologian R.R. Reno’s recent conversion to Catholicism got me to thinking about what it means to seek (and possibly find) the “true church.” Arguments about the claims and counter-claims of various churches can involve a complex set of interlocking historical and theological considerations (see, for instance, any number of comments threads…

The bottom line is this: Our personal commitment to Jesus is a poor substitute for His personal commitment to us. The gospel is not an exhortation to take Jesus as our personal savior. It is the stunning proclamation that in the gospel events, He has taken us as His personal sinners. It is that proclamation…

Here’s a pretty snide article on Jim Wallis from the Weekly Standard (well, what did you expect?). One interesting thing that comes through is that Wallis seems to have become less radical over the years. I mean, if you go from being an outspoken pacifist writing for a journal called the Post-American (the predecessor to…

Here’s a fine piece of criticism by Marc Cooper taking on the theories of Berkeley linguist George Lakoff, who has become something of post-election guru for dispirited Democrats. Lakoff argues that the Dems simply need to “re-frame” the terms of the debate so that their policies will be more appealing (e.g. Republicans say “tax relief,”…

Not, of course, that future popes (including the next one) may not be Europeans, but that the concerns of the papacy will tend to shift away from Europe, the USA, and our “culture wars” and toward issues of pressing concern in the “2/3rds world,” where global Christianity’s center of gravity is shifting to. That, at…

Inevitably, folks want to claim as renowned a personage as John Paul II as one of their own – as favoring their own particular political program. With that caveat in mind, here are a couple of interesting pieces on John Paul and his relation to American politics: Justin Raimondo, “In Defense of John Paul II,…

A great man and an inspiration to Christians of all denominations. He will be missed. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die,…

Whenever one discusses the soul and life after death, sooner or later someone will point out that “Christians don’t believe in the immortality of the soul, they believe in the resurrection of the body.” I think any objective observer would concede that biblical studies and theology are no more immune to fads and trends than…