When I was a grad student, I wrote to a couple of different biblical scholars for some additional information on pieces they had written. One–whose name I won’t mention– responded with a dismissive one-sentence reply, as if he could hardly be bothered to spend another second dealing with someone as unimportant as me. The second…
Some time back I published an article suggesting that evangelicals should not support Donald Trump. One of the most common responses I received was, “He’s better than Hillary Clinton!” Whether or not that’s true, the Republican primary was still ongoing at the time, so it was not a foregone conclusion that Trump would be his…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working with mainline Protestants over the years, it’s that we’re really good at identifying what we don’t believe about scripture. Basically, the claim I have heard over and over again is that we don’t read it the way “fundamentalists” read it. Okay…. Fair enough. That, however, is a very uninteresting statement.…
I’ve always thought it significant that the great creeds of the church are statements of doctrine, rather than statements of ethics. The teachers of the faith who handed on to us our doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection knew that without a clear sense of who God is and how God has…
“In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us” (2 Cor 5:19). This is one of the most well known passages of Christian scripture. It is also one of the most puzzled-over. Atonement is a particularly knotty theological matter. While the…
When I was interviewing with the Board of Ordained Ministry to be commissioned as an elder, one member of the committee asked me about the resurrection of Jesus. She asked, “How do you see resurrections in your own life?” I’ve long reflected on that question because the way in which we answer it has implications…
That’s why I don’t believe that dividing the church is a good idea. Here are some biblical passages that underscore the importance of unity in the church: John 17:20-23 ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all…
After publishing some thoughts this morning on Adam Hamilton’s recent post, “Homosexuality, the Bible, and the United Methodist Church,” I received a note from Rev. Hamilton. (Apparently he had tried to leave a comment, but they didn’t come through. C’mon, Blogger! Don’t make me switch to WordPress!) He offered this gracious response to my comments. I…
Look, I really admire Adam Hamilton. He has led thousands of people to Christ and provided invaluable leadership in the UMC. His church has launched incredible ministries. He’s an amazing person, and I have no doubt that he is utterly committed to serving Christ. Rev. Hamilton recently published a blog post called “Homosexuality, the Bible,…
I’ve been thinking about the framing of the so-called Wesleyan Quadrilateral in the Book of Discipline. Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason. Scripture is primary, revealing the Word of God “so far as it is necessary…