Do you remember back in 2003 when the Dixie Chicks were banned from radio and received death threats simply because their lead singer Natalie Maines dared to speak out against George Bush and his pending invasion of Iraq? There’s nothing like nationalism run amok to make the world a dangerous place for moderation and reasoned discourse. […]
heresy
Must a Christian believe in the Trinity?
Jeff is puzzled that I have made the claim that Christians ought to be trinitarian. Let’s hear Jeff in his own words: “Randal, sorry to be a pest, but I’m still surprised that you haven’t stepped back from your statement that adherence to trinitarian doctrine is essential for identification as a Christian. Maybe it’s a […]
Will the real Christian please stand up?
And so the discussion on Christian unity and Christian identity continues. I apologize for my spotty engagement in the discussion. On Friday I drove five hours to another city to teach a Christian worldview course Friday evening and all day Saturday. Too bad y’all weren’t there because one of the points I emphasized is the […]
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. […]
The Shack under Attack? A Response to Mark Driscoll
Back in April of 2009 I offered a response to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s 8 minute response to William Paul Young’s bestselling novel The Shack which has sold over ten million copies. Driscoll’s screed, which was posted on Youtube and viewed hundreds of thousands of times, accused The Shack of four major heresies including modalism and goddess worship. I rebut both of those […]
“Heresy” and Christian Publishing
This week I heard from a very intelligent and respected senior member of the evangelical community in North America. Let’s call this individual Quentin (not the individual’s real name). Quentin has written a manuscript defending a Christian form of universalism, one that upholds the authority of scripture, the atoning work of Christ and all the other essentials. […]
Is God impotent in open theism?
davidstarlingm explains further why he believes open theism is heretical: it replaces the omniscience of God with a deity whose power is more acceptable to humanity. Broadly defined, open theism attempts to solve the problem of evil by declaring that the future does not yet exist in the mind of God; that God is, in […]
What do we mean when we call something “heresy”?
Yesterday Davidstarlingm made the following statement concerning open theism: Open Theism is dangerous because it is very attractive and yet wholly heretical. It is attractive because it offers an explanation for difficult questions without openly contradicting any of the surface components of easy-believism Christianity. It is heretical because it produces a man-centered gospel and a […]
The thin ice of orthodoxy
This post is a sequel (sequel? Is that a proper word for a blog post?) to “Must a Christian believe God exists?” Tory Ninja writes: “But what sort of beliefs should we draw the line at? You have clearly said belief in God is one, what are some others? I’m not asking what beliefs we […]
Must a Christian believe God exists?
In the recent hullabaloo created by the slick marketing arm of HarperOne in which Rob Bell and Justin Taylor were played off against one another like a rousing rendition of “Dueling Banjos” down on the bayou, a number of questions have bubbled to the surface. But be careful, crocodiles lurk in those waters. Some of […]
Rob Bell, the heresy hunters, and the evangelical culture of fear
Apparently there was quite a kerfuffle this week when word got around that Rob Bell’s new (and as yet still unreleased) book Love Wins is, or probably does, or might, support universalism in some way. Apparently it all started when influential blogger Justin Taylor concluded after viewing a two minute promotional video that Bell is a […]
