So, I was pretty excited to see that the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up matters related to intellectual disability. Then I realized what was going on. Lawmakers are trying to decide whom we can and cannot execute. According to an article on disabilityscoop.com: In its 6-3 decision in Atkins v. Virginia, authored by Justice…

For decades, process theology dominated United Methodist theological education, and was prominent more broadly in mainline Protestant theological education. It involves a complicated metaphysical system based upon the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (pictured left). Thinkers such as Marcus Borg demonstrate extensive dependence on process thought (see his book, The God I Never Knew). In this…

A reflection taken from a sermon I’m preaching this Sunday:  Sometimes Christians, with all of the best of intentions, tell us that if we are sad, if we lose our joy, it is somehow a lack of faith. This claim is wrong. Sometimes we are sad, angry, or hurting because we are Christians, because we…

Today I’m grateful for the faith of the Church.  I’m grateful for this narrative of salvation in which the God of all creation became human out of love for us, was born of a virgin, and taught us how to live. This very God died on the cross in an act of atonement for the…

I‘m not the first person to observe that in the UMC our church politics looks very much like secular politics. In both worlds, it is the most extreme positions that grab headlines. Yet most people in the UMC don’t fit neatly into the ideological polarities. As they think through the vast array of issues that…

I’ve been thinking about and praying for Bishop Johnson lately as she has dealt with church trials in the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference. I have worked with Bishop Johnson on a number of occasions. She is perhaps the most visible advocate for people with disabilities in the United Methodist Church. I can’t say enough about the…

A couple of days ago I was invited by my former student Joel Watts to participate in a conversation with N. T. Wright and a few bloggers.  The event was, in part, to promote Wright’s new book, Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Wright was on his game as usual. He commands an incredible range…

United Theological Seminary President Wendy Deichmann reflects in Catalyst on the virtues of Christian orthodoxy. This is definitely worth a read. You can find the article here. 

Maybe I just don’t get it.  It really could be that I don’t get it.  But I just can’t see how the Wesleyan Quadrilateral is particularly useful for resolving theological questions. I can’t see, moreover, why we hold on to this concept as Wesleyans. Bear with me in a bit of foolishness.  It is fairly…