What is a Sword?
In my last post, I showed how Christian supporters and critics of gun control read the Bible with a common assumption: that wherever it speaks about ‘swords,’ it teaches us about weapons in general, and therefore about guns. Swords are equivalent to guns. This arises from a commendable desire to make the Bible applicable in [...]
Swords, Guns, and Evangelical Allegory
Right after the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, I Googled ‘Christian gun control’ and ‘Christian gun rights,’ and found, not surprisingly, some spirited Biblical defenses of the right to bear arms. Today, I’m happy to report, these pages are mostly drowned out by evangelical voices, whether conservative evangelicals or former conservatives, who are increasingly willing to challenge the doctrines [...]
What is Holy to Others
I do not pretend to understand how an asinine video like “The Innocence of Muslims” can drive crowds to violent and even murderous anger. Many commentators insist that the ultimate cause is not religion, but, perhaps, local politics, Western imperialism, or other political grievances. Without denying the truth in these claims, my own suspicion is [...]
In Defense of an Undergraduate Education
Bill Bonner’s diatribe against undergraduate education at UVA in the name of Thomas Jefferson and Rabbi HIllel demonstrates the same lazy habits of thinking and writing that I try to drill out of my first year undergraduates. Here’s what he could learn from reading R. Hillel more closely.
What the Bible Clearly Teaches
The inauguration of the Center for Christian Thought at Biola University reminds us that evangelicals remain entangled with the intellectual habits of fundamentalism, particularly the assumption that the Bible delivers obvious content to a passive receiver.
The Post-Evangelicals, Part II
In my last post, I characterized post-evangelicals as those whose evangelical heritage has become questionable and problematic. In this post, I discuss some of the particular questions we post-evangelicals discuss when we gather for a drink or a smoke: the questions of authority, evil, individual choice, and ethics & politics.
The Post-Evangelicals, Part I
Evangelicalism is changing: just look at the rise of the post-evangelicals.
Sing the Third Verse!
The spirit of Advent is one of sensitivity to oppression and suffering, to hunger and need. Under the weight of such sorrows, Advent finds in the prophets of Israel a hope that gives voice to these evils and stirs up longing for redemption. The New Testament presents the spirit of Advent perhaps most profoundly in [...]
Seven Types of Scholarship
What are scholars for? I offer for your consideration seven types of religious scholarship: priest, scribe, gnostic, revolutionary, rabbi, scientist, and contemplative.
The Anxiety of Inerrancy
As a recent Baylor University study shows, it is one thing to say the Bible is inspired; it is quite another actually to read it.
Mark Randall James
Mark Randall James is a PhD student in religious studies at the University of Virginia. His work focuses on Jewish and Christian interpretation of Scripture and the distinctive rationalities of scriptural religious traditions.
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Contributing Scholars
Funlayo WoodFunlayo is an initiated Orisa priestess dedicated to contributing her voice as a scholar-practitioner of her tradtion. A writer, public speaker, avid traveler and lover of life, she is currenlty pursuing a PhD in African Studies and Religion at Harvard University where she is a Junior Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions. Visit her at www.AseIre.com.
Madison McClendonMadison McClendon grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, where he fell in love with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien at a young age. Growing up, he attended First Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina, and continues to find his religious home in the Alliance of Baptists and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, though his Chicago context is encouraging him to make connections with the American Baptist Churches. He graduated magna cum laude from Furman University with a degree in Religion and Political Science in 2009, and continued his education by pursuing a Master of Divinity Degree at the University of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, Madison was a Schloerb Fellow and a Fund for Theological Education Congregational Fellow, and he graduated in 2012. Madison pursued academic work in religion and literature, specifically examining how fantasy texts and religious texts might illuminate each other. In addition to these studies, Madison also took classes on preaching and pastoral arts, and is interested in how the fruits of the academy can be applied carefully to the building of productive, healthy religious communities.
Jason TippittTennessee native Jason R. Tippitt is pursuing a master of arts in theological studies at Andover Newton Theological School in the Boston area. He is a "religious independent" with an interest in collaborative efforts within, between, and beyond religious communities for the common good. Follow him on Twitter: @TippittJason