The Scroll 10/4/13: Top Five Christian Articles of the Week

1. Dispensationalists Are Wrong – Things Aren’t Getting Worse [Questions That Haunt]

Dispensationalism is a recent and minority opinion. Invented in the 19th century, it is premised on a particularly literalistic reading of particular Bible passages in Revelation, Daniel, and certain sayings of Jesus. In order to be a Dispensationalist, for example, one must completely ignore the realities surrounding the apocalyptic genre of literature in the Ancient Near East — realities that make sense of the “revelations” in Daniel, Revelation, and even in Jesus’ more apocalyptic sayings...continue reading

2. Can A Community Of Faith Decrease Recidivism?

Does anyone love me? Is there a point to all this? We all tend to ask ourselves these questions time and time again. For a person coming out of jail, these questions seem to have even more weight. Does anyone love me after what I've done? Where is my life going after being behind bars...continue reading

3. 3 Reasons You Should Reject the Prosperity Gospel

Many preachers of Los Angeles, New York, and every city in between are proclaiming what has come to be known as “the prosperity gospel.” The prosperity gospel is a label used to describe the popular teaching that Christians are promised prosperity in their finances, health, and life pursuits as God’s response to their faith in him and his promises...continue reading

4. I’m a Christian and I Swear…Occasionally.

I swear now. I haven’t always swore. I started swearing more -in jest- when I started Seminary and met a more liberal Christian than I’d been used to. But it’s been the past two years that kicked it up a notch. It wasn’t a big deal until I started being more free with my choice words online. Today, I’m linking up with Bethany Suckrow’s Explicit Realities, Explicit Language post about how she was confronted on behalf of my language...continue reading

5. Replacing Faith with Curiosity

Every day, my previously stable faith is replaced with a little more hungry curiosity. I consider this progress. Have posted this brief statement on my Facebook and twitter accounts yesterday and promptly received quite a bit of interest in return. Not surprising, really, that my typical readership would resonate with such a claim, but I also found some surprising affirmations from those I would not have expected to appreciate my sentiments...continue reading