In Prostitutes, Virgins and Mothers: Questioning Teachings About Biblical Women, Dr. Paula Trimble-Familetti sets out to do nothing less than overturn six thousand years of patriarchy, misogyny, and marginalization of women within Judaism and Christianity. Read more …
The death of Foley is deplorable. The actions of ISIS are despicable. But atrocities committed by ISIS are no more representative of Muslim belief than the actions of extremist Christians are representative of mainstream Christianity … Continue reading on Patheos.com →
The ongoing unrest in Ferguson, Missouri is a sobering reminder of the state of racial relations in the United States, and of the out-of-control militarization of our police force. But I fear that the real tragedy of Ferguson is that it’s destined to become … Continue reading on Patheos.com →
Tyler Francke’s new novel “Reoriented” tackles the most divisive issue facing modern Christianity: homosexuality. Through the fictional story of a gay student at a Christian college, Francke offers an engaging and thought-provoking exploration of “faith, scripture and sexual identity.”
I wrote the letter below to the Great Falls Tribune and it ran in today’s issue. It’s not as exciting as a letter in the New Yorker, but I think it’s an important issue that needs greater attention. (more…)
New Testament scholar Candida Moss discusses the current debate surrounding the so-called “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” (GJW) in a recent article for The Daily Beast. (more…)
I’ve been blogging more and more over at Patheos. I don’t know if I’ll start blogging exclusively over there and abandon this little corner of the internet, or if I’ll split my writing between the two locations or if I’ll arrive at some other arrangement. But for now, here’s a round up of my recent posts:
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My review of Darren Aronofsky’s film “Noah” is now up on the Patheos Unfundamentalist Christians blog: “Noah” in a nutshell: Watchers lose, love wins.
In recent art news, the 2014 Whitney Biennial is now in full swing, the New Museum is hosting Laure Prouvost’s first American solo exhibition, MoMA has a major exhibition of Gauguin prints and drawings, the Art Institute of Chicago has a Christopher Wool retrospective and the innocent denizens of Great Falls, Montana, must be subjected to another Western Art Week.
Several years ago, I attended a church discussion group on the topic of women in ministry. The pastor leading the group spent the first forty-five minutes forcefully laying out the “biblical” case for why women aren’t allowed to be pastors.
After his diatribe, I asked him, “if women can’t be pastors, does that mean God withholds gifts of preaching and teaching from them? Or does he bless them with such gifts and then denies them their full use?” He equivocated and rehashed his talking points.
To me, the answers are clear: God doesn’t withhold these gifts from women. There are many women who have been blessed with gifts of preaching and teaching and leadership and who have been called by God to use these gifts to their fullest potential serving the Church. Any church that refuses to acknowledge, accept and celebrate the blessings that God is offering through these women is refusing God himself. Sadly, this rejection and exclusion continues to stymie the Kingdom of God in many churches. (more…)