Archive: September, 2011
Should you marry your theology to the latest science?
I’ve been slowly reading through Michael Shermer’s How We Believe in my spare time. It is a pleasant enough read, but has many noticeable weaknesses. Perhaps the biggest weakness is that Shermer is an advocate of the separation or two worlds model of theology and science (what Stephen Jay Gould called the “NOMA” or non-overlapping [...]
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As long as you teach the Bible, I have no problem with you.
An observation from Rob Bell: Somebody recently told me, ‘As long as you teach the Bible, I have no problem with you.’ Think about that for a moment. What that person was really saying is, ‘As long as you teach my version of the Bible, I’ll have no problem with you.‘ (Velvet Elvis, 44). Sigh. [...]
Read moreIs the church supposed to be “a place for you”?
In the late 1970s a young preacher named Rick Warren started going door to door asking people why they didn’t attend church. He then took that data and used it as a basis to start his church. And the rest, as they say, is history. I’m sure you could learn a lot of value from an [...]
Read moreDamned if you do and damned if you don’t. But which leaves you more damned?
I take anything ethicist J. Budziszewski writes with the utmost seriousness. He is a first-rate Christian philosopher and a retro-Thomist in a world of ethical relativists. I can relate, for as the world turned to hip hop I faithfully kept playing my Steve Miller. Like Budziszewski, I appreciate the wisdom of “an oldie but a goodie”. [...]
Read moreWhy won’t Paul Copan respond to Thom Stark?
They say it is better for a book to be reviled or attacked than ignored. If ever there was a case to challenge that common wisdom, it is found with Thom Stark’s book-length review of Paul Copan’s book Is God a Moral Monster? (Baker, 2011). Stark’s review is called Is God a Moral Compromiser? It [...]
Read moreHas Freddie Mercury been resurrected for our age?
In case you didn’t know, Freddie Mercury of Queen (d. 1991) was the greatest and most iconic male rock singer this side of Elvis. I have blogged on Freddie before in an article where I established beyond a doubt that I am a big fan. So it was with great interest that I began to follow [...]
Read moreThe moral confusion of Steve Hays
I was happy to see Steve Hays provide some explanation at Triablogue for how I got labeled an “ethical subjectivist”. Unfortunately by offering an explanation he ended up typing himself into a deeper hole. Let’s look at his comments and then consider how deep the hole is: i) For the record, I think I’m the one, not Patrick [...]
Read moreOuranophobia and its treatment
The world is full of bizarre phobias. One of the strangest is arachibutyrophobia, the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. (If you’re that scared then why are you eating a Reese Peanut butter cup to begin with?!) As a theologian, my pick for the weirdest phobia (at least on the [...]
Read moreDoes the legal system produce knowledge of guilt? A response to Clamat’s confusion
Clamat wrote: “The law has never aimed to establish the truth – that’s the province of scientists and philosophers.” I responded directly as follows: “That’s a ridiculous statement!” And if that seemed rather strong I then went on to explain: “Of course the legal system is designed to get at the truth. The aim is that [...]
Read moreWhy You Should Use Humor When Trying to Dialogue with Triablogue
As you know, in the last few days I’ve mixed it up with Patrick Chan of Triablogue. Some of my readers appreciated the efforts. Apparently not all did however. Kor wrote: “I was saddened to see this string of posts on your own blog, as they seem to run counter to the message of the [...]
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