Review: Rob Bell Everything Is Spiritual Tour

I saw some of the Nooma videos in the past and have heard about the controversy surrounding some of his books, but apart from this, I haven’t been overly familiar with Rob Bell. I heard he was going to be speaking in Nashville and, after some debate, decided it would probably be interesting enough to go. Unfortunately though, I was disappointed.

I’ll start by saying, from the little I do know about Bell, I imagine his purpose with “Everything is Spiritual” may be to give people who aren’t fond of religion and Christianity but are still interested in the spiritual and open to the supernatural, to give them a way to find space where these could possibly exist within a (somewhat) scientific view of the world.

In any case, the way I Continue reading →

Questions of Interacting With Differing Beliefs

This post is part of the July 2015 synchroblog which invited bloggers to write about “Gay Marriage”.

Due to the “hot topic” nature of this subject, I’ve written quite a few times about homosexuality already. In this post, I want to try briefly and (hopefully) clearly state some of what is important to me in regards to this issue. After this, I will pose some related questions.

I do not care greatly which side of this issue a person is on. What I do care significantly about is how people handle their differing views. No matter which side one is on, it is all too easy to start believing that those who agree with you are the good people, and those whom disagree with you are the bad (if not evil) people. I reject this assumption. I care Continue reading →

Religious Trauma Syndrome

I expect this topic to be controversial. I have observed that at times people confuse a criticism of something done in the name of Christ with a criticism of God himself. But this fails to recognize that we are imperfect, and that we can make mistakes and do the wrong thing even when we are try to do good. This ought to keep us humble.

A came across an article in my news feed recent, “Religious Trama Syndrome“. This article inspired the present post.

I am passionate about this topic. My passion, as I’m coming to recognize, it for a healthy church (collection of those who are in Christ) and healthy Christians. I want to see Jesus displayed in all his majesty on earth. But to the degree the church is un-healthy, we’re pushing people Continue reading →

How Understanding the Gospel Affects One’s View of Homosexuality

I began to respond to a comment my cousin Jeremy made in response to my recent blog “The Surprising Reason I’m Not Celebrating Homosexual Marriage“. He says:

Doug, I really like your approach, but it’s hard to draw a line between what the Bible teaches, and what we think it teaches (i.e. our interpretation). You can too easily take that to the extreme of not acknowledging that it teaches anything, because everything becomes an optional interpretation, so I can make the Bible say whatever I want it to say. Then I’m asked to accept everyone’s interpretation as being just as valid as the words themselves, even when they are practically contradictory. Still, I agree with most of your points.

I certainly feel the tension captured in the Continue reading →

A Christian Nation

Christians’ beliefs understandably inform their views on politics. We passionately believe that if everyone were to be more Christ-like, our country would be a better place. We long for people to be treated equally, compassionately, and healed from their ailments. We long for peace, security, and freedom. We long for the end of injustice and abuse. We believe these are so good that they’re worth fighting for.

When we long for these things, we are longing for “Your [God’s] will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We are longing for God’s country.

I have great news! God has established his nation on earth! Unfortunately, it seems that much of Christendom has lost this understanding at some point in history. We’ve come to believe that Continue reading →

The Surprising Reason I’m Not Celebrating Homosexual Marriage

Friday the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. Many people I know are celebrating. However, I don’t feel like I can join in. I feel that to do so would be to rub in the face of many other people I know. I want be cautious not to become whom I criticize. If I hate others by celebrating their misery1, even if I disagree with them because I perceived them to be hating others, am I any better? In God’s kingdom, I believe victory isn’t defeating ones enemies through force2. That is the way of the world. Victory is bringing peace where there was animosity and making friends with former enemies.

It’s too easy to reduce people and their position to something they’re not. I think this is perhaps the biggest problem Continue reading →

Reflections on Reviewing Church Websites

It is possible you have noticed that I have not posted any new content in a while. There is a reason for this—I have just relocated to Nashville, TN. As you might imagine, I’ve been quite busy both preparing for the move and in working on settling into my new residence. This leads me to catalyst for this post. I’ve just spent a number of hours reviewing forty-some website of churches in the area. This exercise led me to some thoughts which I can imagine some people might find to be of interest.

Most churches have a statement of beliefs, and most of these contain a list of doctrinal affirmations. Why do churches feel the need to do this? My guess is that clergy specifically have had the importance of doctrine impressed upon them by their seminary, training, Continue reading →

Movie Review: Do You Believe?

I recently watched the movie “Do You Believe?”, the most recent release from the Christian film company Pure Flix. The movie follows a dozen people whom are struggling with different life challenges: homelessness, terminal illness, PSTD, neglect, depression, loss, etc. A number of the characters are Christians.

Inspirational Theology

“Do You Believe?” is solidly in the inspirational category for this reason: the movie depicts most of the characters going through some heart-wrenching circumstances (it tugs on one’s sympathetic emotions). *Spoiler alert* Then at the end, one of the characters resurrects, warm music plays, and most of the stories have happy endings including the non-believers becoming Christians themselves. The message is Continue reading →

What the Controversy Over Indiana’s RFRA Was Really About

A couple of weeks ago, Indiana passed a law entitled the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA). (Click here to read the entire text of this short bill.) In a short period between the legislature passing the bill and the governor signing it, the bill became the center of an unprecedented amount of controversy. Since I am from Indiana, I have had a front row seat in witnessing this spectacle. At first, the issue was confusing as one side told one story and the other side told a significantly different one. So who was correct? After some time and review, this controversy has become clearer to me. (In this article, I specifically attempt not to take sides in the overarching controversy. I am merely seeking to figure out what the Continue reading →