Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian

2018-01-16T07:59:31-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Innocence and Wisdom

Last updated on: January 16, 2018 at 7:59 am By Darrell Lackey

Regarding my recent post (Jan 6) about modernity, wisdom, and innocence, some further reflection. We have two small statues of fairies along the pathway to our front door, hidden slightly, in the bushes lining the pathway. I once told our oldest grandchild that at night, the two statutes come alive and fly around our house keeping watch. The grandchild, who is almost four, paused when hearing this and stared at the statues. Then he looked at me to see if... Read more

2018-01-13T03:36:26-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Hypocrisy 101

Last updated on: January 13, 2018 at 3:36 am By Darrell Lackey

I wondered how long it would take and it didn’t take long. Jeff Iorg is the president of Gateway Seminary, my alma mater. It is a Southern Baptist, evangelical school. In a recent blog post, after watching the Golden Globe ceremonies and Oprah Winfrey’s speech, he wrote: “…But while Oprah is calling for moral leadership by men in power, she models immorality by a woman in power. She has openly acknowledged multiple sexual relationships in the past and has lived... Read more

2018-01-06T05:40:15-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Modernity as the Refusal of Innocence

Last updated on: January 6, 2018 at 5:40 am By Darrell Lackey

If you remember your childhood, or have children, or grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, then you know what it is like to see the world as enchanted. In such a world, monsters exist…under beds, in closets, and so on. The dark can be foreboding. The forest holds secrets, both wonderful and horrifying. The night sky is an unending kaleidoscope of light and movement. Falling stars are magical. Grass and flowers are shockingly beautiful and “feel” good to our feet and... Read more

2017-12-30T23:52:29-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Year End Round-Up

Last updated on: December 30, 2017 at 11:52 pm By Darrell Lackey

I look back at 2017 with some ambivalence. For me personally, it was a difficult year in many ways. Good friends passed to the next life. Close family lost homes in the northern California fires. We still struggle with a move to an area we would rather not be. I still struggle with my friendships tied to my prior evangelical/fundamentalist (FG) life. It is still awkward. However, I also feel I am now being much more authentic and true to... Read more

Uncategorized

2017-12-22T21:56:17-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Christmas is the Deconstruction of the World

Last updated on: December 22, 2017 at 9:56 pm By Darrell Lackey

There are dominant myths and stories that provide the boundaries in which we perceive the world. As much as we might we think we are mavericks with our own personal, individual perceptions (Which, again, is simply a story we believe about our believing), we all are strongly influenced, educated, and discipled into perceiving things a certain way. We are catechized in the most innocuous and simple of ways, for instance, noticing the faint reactions of others we admire to what... Read more

principalities and powers

Rome

2017-12-16T04:51:02-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Learning from the Story of the Wise Men

Last updated on: December 16, 2017 at 4:51 am By Darrell Lackey

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Wise Men (Matt 2). Even in my fundamentalist/evangelical days, I found their story intriguing. Their time in the Gospel accounts is limited, but profound. As we come to this season of Advent, of that first coming, what might we learn from the story of the Wise Men? Here are three reflections we might consider: God Acts Outside Traditional Frameworks/Understandings: The Wise Men were from the east—they were gentiles. They were not... Read more

2017-12-09T00:36:52-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Poetic and the Real

Last updated on: December 9, 2017 at 12:36 am By Darrell Lackey

Michael Martin (See here) in his most recent blog post (See here), writes: “…And by ‘poetic’ I do not mean less real than what we’re accustomed to. On the contrary, I mean more real than what we’re accustomed to.” Modernity tells a story about what is “real.” And that story goes something like this: Before the Enlightenment, before modern science, people were superstitious and believed fables, myths, and fairytales. And, they believed religious fables, myths, and fairytales too. In fact,... Read more

2017-12-06T21:33:02-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Whose Feet, Cake, Wine, Food?

Last updated on: December 6, 2017 at 9:33 pm By Darrell Lackey

Given that arguments were just heard by the Supreme Court, arguments of cakes, rights, and weddings (See here) and what it is we think we are endorsing (or not endorsing) by our participation, I thought it might be good to revisit this post (See here). Read more

Uncategorized

2017-12-03T00:05:34-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“The Evangelical Love Affair with Enlightenment Science”

Last updated on: December 3, 2017 at 12:05 am By Darrell Lackey

The above is one of the wonderful chapter headings in George Marsden’s classic book, “Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism” (Noted before, but see here). It is important to remember that secular fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism are always two sides of the same coin. They may arrive at completely different conclusions, but they begin with some of the same presuppositions or faith beliefs. They also display the same sort of sensibility, which is a curious mix of certainty, lack of imagination, and... Read more

2017-11-28T18:44:49-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dining with the Devil

Last updated on: November 28, 2017 at 6:44 pm By Darrell Lackey

In 1993, Os Guinness wrote a wonderful little book (See here) entitled, “Dining with the Devil.” The sub-title, was: “The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity.” Guinness pointed out how the megachurch movement was borrowing tools, insights, and strategies from the modern management/business and marketing world to “reach” people. It was a sort of Babylonian captivity. What these churches often thought were the result of prayer, evangelism, or Biblical preaching, were, perhaps, simply the result of good marketing, management, and business... Read more

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Revelation, what is the correct order of the first four seals opened by the Lamb?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Pale horse, red horse, white horse, black horse White horse, red horse, black horse, pale horse Red horse, white horse, pale horse, black horse White horse, black horse, red horse, pale horse

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2025 February 2025 December 2024 October 2024 September 2024 July 2024 May 2024 January 2024 November 2023 September 2023 July 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Progressive Christian