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Biblical interpretation

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November 2016

November 16, 2016

Intersectionality for bewildered white evangelicals

In the Washington Post this week, white evangelical millennial leader Katelyn Beaty said, "I can’t...

May 2016

May 07, 2016

A prophecy and two visions from Acts for our United Methodist General Conference

The book of Acts is supposed to model for us how the early church engaged...

November 2015

November 01, 2015

Seven points of contention in today’s reformation

So it's that time of year known as Reformation Sunday when we remember the anniversary...

July 2015

July 07, 2015

Six scriptures I would use to address Kevin DeYoung’s 40 questions for rainbow flag-waving Christians

Kevin DeYoung’s 40 questions for rainbow-flag waving Christians has been making rounds across the internet...

April 2015

April 26, 2015

Six ways I will never stop being evangelical

The Christian blogosphere seems to viralize two things: 1) numbered lists (five reasons why this,...

September 2014

September 19, 2014

Three arguments for Biblical inerrancy that need to be retired

One of the most important books I read in seminary was evangelical Old Testament scholar...

August 2014

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...

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...

March 2014

March 03, 2014

Why English majors make lousy fundamentalists

I think that the reason many Christians can't understand each other, particularly with regard to...

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 12, 2014

The Bible has room for more than one gay Christian story

A couple of weeks ago, at Wheaton College, a very interesting dialogue happened. The campus...

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 16, 2014

Wrestling with the Bible (#sermon #podcast)

Last weekend, I preached on wrestling with the Bible. We looked at the Tower of...

January 13, 2014

Three different conceptions of Biblical authority

Thanks very much for your responses to my last post on Biblical inerrancy. Though some...

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 08, 2014

“Do not believe every spirit” (1 John 4)

At the basilica's Monday mass, the epistle reading was from 1 John 4, which includes:...

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...

August 2013

August 19, 2013

Some days there just isn’t a word from the Lord

I've been thinking a lot lately about the disconnect between our public posturing as Christians...

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 02, 2013

Five verses God has tattooed on my heart — #1: 1 Corinthians 1:28

In seminary, I learned to think of truth as a symphony rather than a single...

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...

July 10, 2013

Should your heart mess with how you read scripture?

Renovatus Church has just started an awesome sermon series on how to read the Bible...

July 09, 2013

What are the “weightier matters of the law”? (Matthew 23:23)

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase "weightier matters of the law"? It...

June 2013

June 11, 2013

Eternal life is innocence restored (Journey to Eternity #1)

There has been so much extra-Biblical speculation about the implications of the Garden of Eden...

May 2013

May 15, 2013

In defense of the “so-called” Wesleyan quadrilateral and the experiential breath of God

The latest theater in the Methodist proxy war over homosexuality has involved attacks here and...

May 02, 2013

The incomplete jigsaw puzzle of Biblical interpretation (Christian Smith)

The 2nd century Gnostic heretics were very good at constructing airtight, scripture-based arguments for their...

April 2013

April 30, 2013

Privilege and Biblical interpretation

This is a post where I'm raising a question that I flat-out don't know the...