I once went on a twitter rant about what I described as spiritual cop-outs. I thought it would be worthwhile to revisit the topic. This time a little more in-depth. The problem I found was our tendency as Christians to create scapegoats and deflect blame when we reflect on our spirituality, whether it be sin in our life or our inability to live out the biblical call in a way that is pleasing to God.
This is not an opportunity to point fingers, rather a chance to [.....]
1. White Men, Black Female Bodies, and Renisha McBride
Some might be scratching their heads, finding it difficult to understand why — in 2013, the same year that we commemorated the 50-year anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombings (in which four little black girls were killed by white Klansmen who were never arrested) and celebrated “how far we’ve come” as a society — we also witnessed the similarly unjust execution of Renisha McBride...continue reading 2. Do You See This Woman?: Renisha McBride and the Imago [.....]
Following the success of the History Channel's mini-series, The Bible, which appeared weekly last March, Hollywood seems to have renewed an avenue in which Biblical adaptations are allowed to enjoy a significant amount of limelight. Two blockbuster titles are to set to be released in 2014; Paramount Picture's Noah and 21st Century Fox's Exodus. These two films both boast a star-studded cast as directors Darren Aronofsky and Ridley Scott hope to astonish audiences by combining stunning visualizations with two of the most popular accounts from the Old Testament, the Great [.....]
1. To Redeem the Soul of the Black Church Fifty years ago a preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr. came with others to our nation's capitol, challenging America to "live out the true meaning of its creed." The son and grandson of activist preachers, King was a child of the black church, a church born fighting for freedom. Accordingly, he and others organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 not simply to dismantle segregation but with this motto: "To Redeem The Soul of America...continue reading 2. [.....]
Recently I was blessed to be in the presence of someone who I love dearly. This individual and I have not had the opportunity to hang out in quite some time. Naturally, I was delighted to finally get the chance to sit down and catch up, although, because of social media there was not much that we did not already know about, as far as what was happening in each other's lives. In fact, I was fully aware of the trajectory this person's life had begun to follow [.....]
1. The Jesus Legend: What Did Early Christians Really Believe?
I think it is fair to say that there are aspects of the Christian faith that rail against modern sensibilities. The miracle stories, the virgin birth, the resurrection and ascension… these all operate outside the framework of contemporary science. One of the common accusations leveled against Christianity is that these stories were developed over a period of time, adopting surrounding philosophies and mythologies, and sculpting a legend of Jesus that eventually gave birth to Christian theology generations [.....]
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