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

Mercy Not Sacrifice

Home
About
My Book
Archives
More
- Theology
- Culture
- Politics
- Sermons
- Bible
- Devotions
- Daily Office
- Podcast

Home
Progressive Christian

Bible

Select a Category Advent Beauty Will Save the World Bible Big Picture: Ephesians Bloggers Book Christian salvation and the Beautitudes Culture Daily Office Danceable Homiletics Deadly Sins Deep Roots: Genesis Devotions Dominican Republic May 2011 El Principio Misericordia (The Mercy Principle) Five verses God tattooed on my heart Fundraising FutureGospel Good Biblical Words Henri Nouwen Interview Jennings' Christian Imagination Jesus inside the beltway Jesus Is My Candidate Jesus vs the Pharisees Jesus vs. Plato Journey to Eternity Looking Back on 2012 Love Actually Monday Merton Monday Merton Music Occupy the manger On Earth As It Is In Heaven Original Sin Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Psalm 119 Radical Jesus 101 Reviews Sermon on the Mount Sermons Spanish Bible study Special Series Spiritual but not religious Synchroblog Theology Things that made me think Thomas a Kempis Ugliness Into Beauty Uncategorized Viaje Dominicano 2013 Walking in the Valley (Lent) Welcome: It's More than a Mat Wild Goose 2013 Wrestling

Select a Month March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 April 2021 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 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 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

August 2014

August 20, 2014

Could you listen to an angry black Jesus?

I know. He doesn't look all that angry. There just aren't any good angry black...

August 10, 2014

Is it okay to notice that Jesus can be a jerk sometimes?

The lectionary reading for this week is the familiar story of Jesus walking across the...

July 2014

July 31, 2014

Who are the weeds in God’s garden? (Matthew 13)

This picture is a renegade chamomile plant that came up through a crack in our...

July 22, 2014

The only two sides of any human conflict for Christians who love their enemies

We live in a world that loves to draw lines between "us" and "them." This...

July 15, 2014

“Try me, O Lord, and test me” (a prayer for integrity, Psalm 26:2-3)

Today's Daily Office reading included two verses from a psalm that comprise an awesome prayer...

July 13, 2014

How does God “condemn sin in the flesh” on Jesus’ cross? (Romans 8:3)

In this week's lectionary epistle reading, Paul writes that "by sending his own Son in...

July 07, 2014

God’s triune sovereignty as provider, victim, and rebel

I've been dragging my heels on writing this post because referring to God as a...

June 2014

June 03, 2014

When “the Bible is perfectly clear” becomes the reason it can’t teach us anything

I've noticed a gap between what feels right to say about the Bible in the...

May 2014

May 21, 2014

Culture war blindness: “I can see people but they look like trees walking”

Yesterday morning at our church staff meeting, we read the story of Jesus' double-healing of...

May 09, 2014

What is a heretic and what is orthodoxy? (A response to Timothy Tennent)

In a recent blog post, Asbury Theological Seminary president Timothy Tennent claimed that the real...

May 07, 2014

“Everything created by God is good” (1 Timothy 4:4)

I stumbled across a beautiful passage in my scripture reading today: 1 Timothy 4:4-5. Paul...

February 2014

February 17, 2014

The awkward truth about snake-handling: it’s totally Biblical

Jamie Coots, the snake-handling Kentucky pastor who starred in the National Geographic reality show "Snake...

February 13, 2014

Have you ever been thrown into hell or did you pluck your eyeball out in time? (Matthew 5:29)

Jesus says some pretty wild things, but this week's lectionary reading includes one of his...

February 03, 2014

“I used to be exactly like you before I got saved”

There are two obnoxious tendencies that many people seem to fall into quite naturally. The...

January 2014

January 17, 2014

Is the Old Testament a debate between priests and prophets?

I've been reading two books recently that have me really wondering what to do with...

January 11, 2014

The two verses that torpedo Biblical inerrancy

This weekend, we will be wrestling with what it means for the Bible to be...

January 06, 2014

The difference between spiritual purity and moral cleanliness

Leviticus 10:10 says, "You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between...

December 2013

December 27, 2013

Does it matter that Luke knows nothing of Herod’s slaughter of the innocents?

This Christmas, I stumbled over a verse, Luke 2:39, that I had never noticed before:...

November 2013

November 22, 2013

My duty to the Bible’s living interpretive tradition

I had a good discussion yesterday with my pastor covenant group about our discernment process...

November 06, 2013

How I read the Bible differently than John MacArthur

A friend pointed me to Tim Challies' recent interview with John MacArthur in which MacArthur...

October 2013

October 30, 2013

Mark Driscoll’s “working class” bloody Old Testament Jesus

I'm not a pacifist or a pansy (other than the fact that I'm not very...

October 18, 2013

Isaiah 7 & 53: should prophecies be prooftexts?

My great-grandfather Luther Weigle [pictured here] was the dean of Yale Divinity School and chair...

September 2013

September 20, 2013

“For the glory of Your name” (Psalm 79:9)

For about the past year, God has been giving me verses from psalms to memorize...

September 17, 2013

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…”

The gospel reading at my Monday mass was Luke 7:1-10, the story of the centurion...

August 2013

August 20, 2013

What is the burden of proof in the #Methodist #homosexuality debate?

In the American justice system, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable...

August 18, 2013

Obedience is inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16 in the light of John 3:8)

It's probably not best practice for a preacher to say this publicly, but my sermon...

August 14, 2013

Does doctrine inspire love? (more fallout from @renovatuspastor’s sermon)

Well I got into a twitter argument with a young Calvinist named John following his...

August 13, 2013

Is morality the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?

This past weekend, I got to hear my favorite podcast preacher Jonathan Martin live for...

July 2013

July 14, 2013

How does the Bible model Biblical discernment? (Acts 15)

Two weeks ago, Jonathan Martin kicked off his "Both And" sermon series on Biblical interpretation...

July 12, 2013

Should women cover their heads in church?

The latest movement in neo-patriarchal evangelicaldom is a call for women to return to covering...