Pope Francis, aka Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has died. As to the man and his present status, the most I can say is “who am I to judge?” My hope is that the Bishop of Rome lived out his personal life in close communion with Christ, having trusted in Jesus for the salvation of his soul. If that is the case, which I have little reason to doubt, then, as is likely the case with his two predecessors, I may... Read more
In my previous post, The ‘Gods’ of Left and Right, I started my analysis of the ancient practice of expressing theology in political terms, and for civic utility, by demonstrating how liberal theology constructs a political “God” of the Left. In that post, I focused on the God modern philosophers like Hegel, and later A.N. Whitehead, envisioned. This is a God who is himself in a historical process of becoming. As such, this God is not maximally perfect in Being.... Read more
Ever since Panaetius of Rhodes (185-110/109 BC) philosophers have recognized three modes of theological expression. These are: the poetic, the philosophic and the political. I have written in detail about each here. In brief, the poetic relates to the imaginative aspect of man’s thoughts about god, those that speak most powerfully to man’s existential concerns: meaning, purpose, and value. Consider Jordan Peterson as an example of someone who thinks about God, or god, in this mode. The philosophic mode deals... Read more
Recently Mariann Edgar Budde, an Episcopalian bishop who preached at Donald Trump during a National Cathedral prayer service, pleaded with the newly re-elected Trump “in the name of our god.” When I heard this, I was not so naive to assume that the deity Budde referenced was necessarily the same God that I, or many fellow Evangelicals, believe in and to whom we offer our worship. Only the spiritually undiscerning, or theologically unaware, would assume that because someone stands at... Read more
This episode of the Theology and Ethics podcast takes a deep dive into theology and metaphysics with Dr. Joshua Ryan Farris, who contributed to and co-edited a recent book “The Origins of the Soul” (Routledge) which lays out five competing views on the origin and nature of the human soul from a Christian worldview. This book was discussed by the authors (Joshua Ryan Farris, J.T. Turner, Bruce Gordon, Joanna Leidenhag, and William Hasker) at the 2024 Evangelical Philosophical Society Annual... Read more
I am not saying with this article that there are only two great Christmas songs. Nor that these two songs are objectively the greatest (although I do believe that beauty is objective). Rather my claim is that theologically and historically-speaking, these two songs are always consider among the great hymns of Christmas. And while I cannot analyze their melody in the form of an essay, which obviously is one half of what contributes to their greatness, I can analyze the... Read more
Before I begin, Happy St. Nicholas Day! Let’s just get that out there first. Second, are demons using artificial intelligence to try to kill us? That may have appeared to be a rather stark non-sequitur. Probably because it was. However, there is evidence to suggest that both of these are true statements: December 6th is the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra and demons are using AI to try to kill us. Or, at least to harm us in some... Read more
Okay, let’s get to it: the takeaways for Evangelical Christians regarding the Trump victory. To be fair and balanced, let’s look at the positives and the negatives. 6 Positive Takeaways from Trump’s Victory Takeaway #1: The Cultural Elite Lost and The Common Man Won This is perhaps the most obvious of all. While ethnicity and gender still divide us, what became clear over the course of this campaign, and last night’s results, was that the one, social factor that divides Democrats... Read more
In this episode of the Theology and Ethics Podcast, The Kirkwood Center interviews Christian author, cultural commentator, and Patheos blogger, Bethel McGrew (Young Fogey) about a recent book: Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded Truth for a Leftist Agenda, by journalist Megan Basham. In part #1 of this two-part discussion, we tackle various aspects of Basham’s book, to include responses by her critics and whether or not Basham successfully makes the case that leftist politics has corrupted Evangelical teaching... Read more
Yet another group of evangelical “leaders” (whoever anointed them as such, we know not), has decided to release a document that claims to be a non-partisan statement of Christian theological conviction. The goal of this “Confession of Conviction” appears to be to unite Christians around some generic theological commitments that, if affirmed, would offset any political commitments the authors and signatories claim border on political idolatry. If, or so it seems, Christians can affirm with one voice the truth of... Read more
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