This week’s episode of Unbelievable features a debate between Paul Copan and Greg Boyd regarding Boyd’s new book The Crucifixion of the Warrior God. I will not be rehearsing the various arguments here, so I definitely advise you take the time to listen to this excellent exchange (the first of two rounds). Instead, I will offer […]
biblical interpretation
The Biblical Cosmos: A Review
Robin Parry. The Biblical Cosmos: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Weird and Wonderful World of the Bible. (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2014.) Like many conservative Christians of my generation, I was raised as a young earth creationist (YEC). We prided ourselves on taking what we believed to be the most faithful and commonsense reading of the Bible. Other Christians bowed to […]
81. Robin Parry on the Biblical Cosmos
In 1993 I spent a summer teaching English in Japan. It was an unforgettable and somewhat unsettling litany of new discoveries: they drove on the wrong side of the road; they wore slippers indoors; and at night they slept on the floor on futons. For goodness sake, they even slurped their noodles at the table. […]
The Mercy of Hell? A Review of The Skeletons in God’s Closet (Part 1)
Joshua Ryan Butler. The Skeletons in God’s Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War. Thomas Nelson, 2014. The title was the first thing that drew me to this book. One hears a lot about the skeletons in God’s closet, so a book that takes the topic by the proverbial […]
Dancing on the edge of the hermeneutical abyss
I was once in conversation with a Mormon missionary who claimed he had evidence for the Book of Mormon in the Bible. “Oh really?” I said, barely able to conceal my dripping skepticism. “Can you show me?” He opened up a Bible to Ezekiel 37 and began to read: 15 The word of the Lord came […]
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. […]
Reading biblical horrors post-Enlightenment
David P writes: My problem is this: a) Prior to the Enlightenment, everyone pretty much read the Abraham/Isaac passage literally (right?). b) After moral reflection on God’s nature and other things, modern thinkers say the passage should be taken metaphorically. Then they proceed to point out features of the text that support their conclusion. Maybe […]
