By: David Toth on February 20, 2014
Real theology can be real messy. A few days ago I traveled from Kyiv, Ukraine to Odessa, Ukraine by van with three others. We drove for over nine hours in fog, sometimes so dense that it was really difficult to see the white line in the road in the middle of the afternoon! Since I…
By: Deve Persad on February 20, 2014
I greatly dislike ordering a pop or soda from a restaurant. (I refrain from using the word “hate” because good Christian people might be reading this, but I lean strongly in that direction). Certainly the cost is a factor, and in the infrequent times that I do eat outside of our home, I tend to…
By: Sam Stephens on February 20, 2014
I must confess that my readings on the subject of sexuality and particularly that of same-sex orientation has been very limited. The two books I read this week God, Sex, and Gender: An Introduction by Thatcher and Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community Marin would be a rather unusual collection…
By: Ashley Goad on February 20, 2014
Tuesday, two colleagues and I sat together in a hotel room in St. Petersburg, Russia to debrief the day. The three of us were struggling as we processed a day full of typical tourist activities – perusing The Hermitage Museum, visiting the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, shopping for souvenirs, enjoying a dinner…
By: Phil Smart on February 19, 2014
In spite of the fact that I had to hide my God, Sex and Gender book by Adrian Thatcher within a newspaper while at church (the cover was a little risqué for some of my conservative friends),I found it fascinating and indicative of the prevailing shift in position among many evangelicals. My assumption is that…
By: Mark Steele on February 16, 2014
Stephen Garner in his chapter Theology and the new media, shares his thoughts about developing and reflecting about a theology of technology and the internet. Garner challenges his audience to expand theology from just talking about religion to reflecting about the internet from the Christian tradition p. 252. He further expounds upon three areas to…
By: Sandy Bils on February 16, 2014
In previous posts I already addressed the issue of social media in the daily life of our churches (e.g. here and here). In one of the articles we read this week, the author Stephen Garner enfolded the more underlying and fundamental topic of theology and internet in general. Garner approaches the discussion by defining theology…
By: Michael Badriaki on February 16, 2014
A friend asked me to discuss the understanding of suffering from an African theological perspective and I was glad because it was a chance to think locally. I reflected back on my African context and was reminded that one ought to pay a significant amount of attention to any African historical context in order to…
By: rhbaker275 on February 15, 2014
We might think that Christianity, though scripture and tradition, has always been understood in terms of context. This, however, it seems is not the case. D.W. Bebbington, in his work on the history of evangelicalism,[1] provides the reader with a thread or theme that attaches the history of evangelicalism to culture. The rise and fall…
By: David Toth on February 15, 2014
Just before leaving the house my wife reminded me that I should steer clear of Independence Square. So much for wifely advice. Not that I do not take her words seriously, she has a tendency to allow her protectionist and motherly instincts take over if there is even a hint of threat. I was in…
By: Bill Dobrenen on February 15, 2014
While in a department meeting at my college this week, an opportunity raised its head for me to speak from this week’s reading, and I was excited to share. So I read: Public theology, as I understand it, is not primarily and directly evangelical theology which addresses the Gospel to the world in the hope…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on February 15, 2014
Our readings for this week, especially the articles under the category of Practical and Contextual theology resonate with me a lot. I was reminded of my personal faith journey; the ways the Christian culture I was raised in informed my perspectives about my own identity, my place in my community and the world around me.…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on February 14, 2014
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. To incarnate (become flesh,) to flesh out Jesus into our world truly is the missionary, no, it is every believer’s calling. It is through…
By: John Woodward on February 14, 2014
I grew up in family that didn’t talk politics and to this day I still feel discomfort when conversations turn political. For years I silently witnessed the Church’s attempt at political involvement with much sadness and confusion, not quite sure how to respond but knowing that something was missing. After all its efforts, the Church…
By: Liz Linssen on February 14, 2014
Theology and culture – two seemingly incompatible fields at first glance, yet two voices that have much to learn from each other. In this whole examination of the relationship between theology and culture, it can almost appear as if we’re trying to mix oil and water, yet these two disciplines need to interact and find…
By: Sam Stephens on February 14, 2014
This blog is written and posted from Goerlitz/Zgorzelec one of the most beautiful and well preserved European cities I have been in, bordering Germany and Poland with the river Neisse separating the two. On the banks of this river rise two tall steeples of St. Peter’s and Paul’s Church, construction of which dates back to…
By: Julie Dodge on February 14, 2014
There’s a new pope in town and he’s making a splash. Time magazine named him Person of the Year for 2013. So did The Advocate, a magazine focused on lesbian and gay issues. What’s the big deal about Pope Francis II? Perhaps it is the fact that he ditched the red shoes, the papal mansion,…
By: Carol McLaughlin on February 14, 2014
Public theology, civil theology and private theology resemble intersections that connect with one another. But rather than a convergence of streets into a shared one way space, such as Trafalgar Square in London or traffic roundabouts designed to ease traffic flow in urban spaces, these resemble networks with hubs linking one to the other. It…
By: Richard Volzke on February 14, 2014
Apologetics and Theology This week’s readings reminded me of the apologetics courses that I took at Wesley Biblical Seminary. The section from Speaking of God in Public, by Graham, Walton, and Ward, reminded me of a book that I have previously read by Groothuis, called Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Both of…
By: Fred Fay on February 14, 2014
Interacting with popular culture as a Christian has been an interesting journey. In the church of my youth we couldn’t dance, drink alcohol or go to movies and a few other abominations. We looked at pop culture with suspicion. When I was in middle school a friend asked if I had heard the song “I’m…
