Cooling Twilight

Category: Theology

  • “These enemy dogs who reject the things of God”

    “These enemy dogs who reject the things of God”

    Conquistadors praying before a battle

    Janie B. Cheaney, in her World Magazine post “How to lose an argument” seems to have just discovered that Mark Driscoll is a “lightning rod.” This is a surprise to her because in her mind Driscoll’s focus has always been on spreading the gospel.

    She links to my piece on Driscoll’s dismissal of careful exegesis of controversial texts, labeling it as “rather creative.” Is that doublespeak for “deliberately manipulative”? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been accused of taking Driscoll’s words out of context, but I have yet to see someone explain exactly how I did so. The most substantive argument against my criticisms has been similar to the one Cheaney employs: that Driscoll is preaching the gospel so we should simply ignore his verbal faux pas.
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  • Are you planting trees or just cutting them down?

    Are you planting trees or just cutting them down?

    Oak tree

    Are you planting trees or just cutting them down? 

    Are you making coffee or just drinking it?

    Are you the main character or part of the supporting cast?

    Are you reading sentences but missing the story?

    Are you talking about Jesus instead of showing who Jesus is?

    Are you teaching the “truth” instead of living love?

    Are you looking to the future and ignoring the present?

    Are you waiting for heaven after death and missing heaven during life?

    Are you trying to save people from going to hell when they die instead of trying to save them from the hell they’re experiencing now?

    Are you praying for what you want instead acting how God wants?

  • Review: God’s Gay Agenda by Sandra Turnbull

    Review: God’s Gay Agenda by Sandra Turnbull

    God's Gay Agenda

    God’s Gay Agenda by Sandra Turnbull is well-written, thoughtful and hopeful examination of, in the words of the subtitle, “Gays and Lesbians in the Bible, Church and Marriage.” Turnbull’s passion for not only full inclusion of LGBT individuals in the church, but also her view of the crucial role they have to play within the Body of Christ is admirable. Her enthusiasm for the mission of the Church shines through on every page and her deep love of God, her awareness of the Holy Spirit’s work in her life and her respect for the Bible are something the church could use much more of. Turnbull’s optimism for further advancements in God’s kingdom is contagious.
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  • Misogyny, Patriarchy and the Church

    Misogyny, Patriarchy and the Church

    Silent Junia

    Elizabeth Esther recently wrote a blog post about “the new misogyny,” highlighting the shift in the church away from blatant misogyny to a more subtle, yet equally toxic attitude towards women. Elizabeth’s post made me simultaneously angry and depressed and disappointed. 

    The anger prompted me to write this post, to vent, to speak out against the status quo. 

    The depression makes me feel like giving up. Because really, what can one person do when the monolithic patriarchy of the institutional church just keeps steamrolling along with megaphone blaring and blinders firmly affixed?
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  • Hauerwas answers: What is a “Christian?” (video)

    Hauerwas answers: What is a “Christian?” (video)

    Stanley Hauerwas defines Christianity and talks about the signs of a baptized life and identity:

  • How should we deal with our differences?

    How should we deal with our differences?

    Merging

    I’ve been thinking a lot lately about differing opinions on important matters — primarily in terms of religious and theological issues, though there are similar discussions to be had when it comes to matters of politics or philosophy or virtually any area of inquiry. By differing opinions, I simply mean that reasonably intelligent people, when presented with the same general information, can still come to drastically different and mutually incompatible understandings of important issues.
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  • N.T. Wright on the Gospel (video)

    N.T. Wright on the Gospel (video)

    Some recent comments on one of my Mark Driscoll posts brought up “the gospel,” essentially saying that despite any perceived shortcomings, Driscoll is still preaching the gospel and should be lauded for that. In light of that sentiment, here’s a great video of N.T. Wright discussing his views on the gospel — what it is and what it isn’t and how one might go about responsibly presenting it:

  • Driscoll on Evolution

    Driscoll on Evolution

    Dino Driscoll

    In response to my previous post about Mark Driscoll, a commenter on reddit referenced Mark Driscoll’s and Gerry Breshears’ book, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe. (Hereafter I’ll simply reference Driscoll as the author).

    About that book, another commenter said “In one chapter it plainly stated that the majority of scientists agree that human beings arose about 10,000 years ago.”

    Not one to simply accept an anonymous comment on the internet as truth, I decided to see for myself what Driscoll said about evolution in his book. Among many questionable assertions and conclusions, these quotes seemed particularly problematic:

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  • Which God do you worship?

    Which God do you worship?

    Christian, Jewish, Muslim

    I recently had a discussion with a friend about whether Muslims worship the same God as Christians. At first glance, one might be tempted to answer “no”: different religions, therefore different Gods. Christians don’t believe in Allah, Muslims don’t believe in Jesus, end of story. But such a snap judgement fails to do justice to theistic belief in general and to the specific beliefs of the major monotheistic faiths.
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  • Mark Driscoll doesn’t want you to study the Bible

    Mark Driscoll doesn’t want you to study the Bible

    Mark Driscoll

    Mark Driscoll recently caused another brouhaha with his views about gender roles. The short version of this latest controversy is that he compared nagging wives to water torture. You can watch the offending segment here.

    But are we really surprised by this sort of thing from Driscoll? By now it should seem par for the course: we know where he stands on these issues, we know that he states his positions in less-than-eloquent ways, we know he characterizes the positions of his opponents in less-than-charitable terms and we know that none of this is likely to change. 

    But in the rush to point out yet another misogynistic statement from Driscoll, a perhaps even more troubling statement from him was overlooked. In the opening of his sermon on Ephesians 5.22−33 and the subject of wives submitting to their husbands, Driscoll says:
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