The Scroll 7/18/14: Top Five Christian Articles of the Week

1. ‘AROUND THE WAY’ ETHICS: HAVE YOU FELT THE CLASH OF DOMINANT CULTURAL SENSIBILITIES?

The Church is filled with divisions. For the most part people have simply accepted this as a given and an inevitable reality. Hardly do people find themselves with enough Christian instincts to be deeply troubled with what’s going on. Even more rare than that, it is almost impossible to find followers of Jesus committed to doing the hard work of having honest and hard conversations in hopes of discerning a more truthful way...continue reading

2. the forgiveness of sins….and life everlasting

While I do plan on doing a series on me being historic creed-affirming and what that means as an outlier, very much Free Church Baptist, I want to focus on the last three lines today. I think it’s of most urgency to talk especially about “the forgiveness of sins” part in a violent, unforgiving world with a 24-hour news cycle. Unfortunately, many mainline and evangelical churches discuss “forgiveness” without talking about repentance...continue reading

3. Re-thinking Communion

I think I’m going to stop taking communion for a while. I’ve always been a little bit suspicious of the way we do communion in many churches. Even as a kid, it seemed rather inorganic and random to, on the first Sunday of the month, eat one lonely goldfish cracker and drink one miniature cup of grape juice. More than anything else, it seemed like a cruel teaser before the real feast: the monthly post-service potlucks...continue reading

4. HOW YOUR BIBLE CHRISTIANIZES PAUL

I am not saying that the translation committee that produced your Bible set out to deceive or that there is a conspiracy afloat. But I am saying that before you even start reading it, your Bible already is formatted in a way that universalizes and Christianizes Paul. In fact, even a Greek New Testament does this and even a Bible that does not have paragraph or section headings...continue reading

5. Every straight, male Christian ally to LGB people should read this quotation.

This quotation comes from Elizabeth Stuart’s Just Good Friends: Towards a Lesbian and Gay Theology of Relationships (1995). It is perhaps the best summary I have ever read which adequately expresses my feelings about heterosexual Christian men writing about queer issues. I am sick and tired of people like John Shore, Timothy Kurek, Tony Jones et al, pontificating on my identity...continue reading