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Evangelical

2025-06-02T09:02:17-05:00

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.

Living Out of Control: The Bible’s Renewed Relevance

Last updated on: June 2, 2025 at 9:02 am By Roger E. Olson

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In Chapter Two (of the book currently under discussion here—Living Out of Control by Rodney Clapp), Rodney argues that true Christianity, like the best of the Jewish tradition, has always been non-coercive when it comes to the kingdom of God and its values. I couldn’t agree more. There is no hint in the Bible that God’s people are called by God to enforce biblical religion on people. Yes, yes, don’t say it, I know portions of the Old Testament can... Read more

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2025-05-29T15:46:19-05:00

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.

Black Magic Among Christians?

Last updated on: May 29, 2025 at 3:46 pm By Roger E. Olson

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Recently, according to news reports, a leading mega church pastor and evangelist with close ties to President Trump promised followers that if they sent her ministry $1K she would provide them with “blessings.” One such was to be making God their enemies’ enemy. What follows here is my opinion, not of the pastor-evangelist herself or of her character but of her promise. While many have criticized her for this, few, if any, have recognized this promise as a promise... Read more

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2025-05-28T06:42:26-05:00

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.

Can an Atheist Teach to Love?

Last updated on: May 28, 2025 at 6:42 am By Roger E. Olson

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This is a follow-up and clarification of my two recent posts in which I talked about “soft Christendom” and especially values to be taught in public institutions, especially schools. I told a true story about a public school district that invited “community leaders” to create a list of “community values” to be taught in public schools. All the leaders gathered topped their lists with “love” as the highest value and virtue—to be taught in public schools in their district (something... Read more

Politics and Religion

Education and Religion

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2025-05-25T16:58:20-05:00

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.

Living Out of Control: Responsibility as Response-ability

Last updated on: May 25, 2025 at 4:58 pm By Roger E. Olson

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Here I continue ongoing discussion of the book Living Out Of Control: Political and Personal Faith in Waning Christendom by Rodney Clapp. (Here I will refer to the author as Rodney as we are friends.) Chapter Two is Responsibility as Response-ability. If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment. If not, you may ask a question. In either case, observe the rules at the end here. In this brief chapter, Rodney argues that we, God’s people, are not... Read more

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2025-05-22T14:30:19-05:00

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.

Follow Up About “Christendom”

Last updated on: May 22, 2025 at 2:30 pm By Roger E. Olson

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A true story. Some years ago I was invited to serve on a community task force to work with the local school district. This was in suburban Minnesota (Twin Cities). At the time I was teaching at Bethel College, a broadly evangelical liberal arts Baptist college. The US Supreme Court had recently ruled that public schools could teach “community values”—beyond merely “values clarification.” The school district invited me and about twenty-five other “community leaders” to advise them about “community values.”... Read more

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2025-05-21T11:03:25-05:00

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.

Is Christendom Necessarily Always Bad?

Last updated on: May 21, 2025 at 11:03 am By Roger E. Olson

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Whether “Christendom” is necessarily and always bad depends on what it means. Anyway, that is my opinion. I know others will disagree. So what does “Christendom” mean? Well, there is no universally agreed on definition. Sure, there are dictionary definitions, but scholarly and popular use do not always agree with dictionaries. Christendom is a social and cultural situation in which Christianity, in some form or other, forms the “glue” that holds society and culture together. But that “glue” can be... Read more

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2025-05-18T17:02:36-05:00

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.

Living Out of Control: After Christendom or…?

Last updated on: May 18, 2025 at 5:02 pm By Roger E. Olson

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Here I begin discussion of a new book: Living Out of Control: Political and Personal Faith in Waning Christendom by Rodney Clapp (Fortress Press, 2025). I introduced the book here a little over a week ago (May, 2025). Rodney is a good friend and a gentleman, a Christian, and a scholar. Here I will describe Chapter One: After Christendom or Waning Christendom? And I invite those who have read it to comment. Others may ask questions. According to Clapp (from... Read more

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2025-05-20T10:40:29-05:00

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.

What Do We Really Know? Rethinking Knowledge and Belief

Last updated on: May 20, 2025 at 10:40 am By Roger E. Olson

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What Is “Knowledge?” I have discussed here before my views about truth, certainty, and doubt. I will now tackle “knowledge.” What counts as knowledge? When can I claim that I know something? The question has interested philosophers for centuries and millennia. It’s a crucial aspect of the branch of philosophy called “epistemology.” I once worked for an evangelist who often said, “I know that I know that I know.” That was his answer to any question about what he claimed... Read more

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2025-05-14T08:31:14-05:00

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.

Is Doubt a Threat—or a Tool—for Christian Faith?

Last updated on: May 14, 2025 at 8:31 am By Roger E. Olson

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Christian Thoughts about Doubt Frederick Buechner famously wrote that “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.” Several Christian writers have extolled the virtues of doubt—even for Christian living. Two of them are the great English Methodist pastor and theologian Leslie Weatherhead in The Christian Agnostic (1965) and Gregory Boyd in The Benefit of the Doubt (2013). (I have reviewed Boyd’s book here earlier.) Paul Tillich, of course, famously claimed that doubt... Read more

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2025-05-10T15:33:49-05:00

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.

A New Book Discussion: Living Out of Control

Last updated on: May 10, 2025 at 3:33 pm By Roger E. Olson

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Beginning on Monday, May 19 I will launch a new book discussion here. The chosen book is Living Out of Control: Political and Personal Faith in Waning Christendom by theologian Rodney Clapp (Fortress Press, 2025). It’s a relatively small book (135 pages) and easy to read. It packs a punch—about white American Christian nationalism. According to the publisher’s “blurb” “the book depicts how we may now live as Christians without the reassertion of Christendom.” You should receive the book quickly... Read more

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