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

Unsystematic Theology

Home
Progressive Christian

2018-12-08T09:31:09-05:00

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.

Eight Things We Gain When We Lose the Virgin Birth

Last updated on: December 8, 2018 at 9:31 am By Kyle Roberts

Christians often avoid rethinking traditional doctrinal beliefs because of the fear of what they will lose. But the fear of loss prevents them from imagining what they might gain. When I wrote a book last year on the topic of the virgin birth, A Complicated Pregnancy: Whether Mary Was a Virgin and Why it Matters, I intended to write a book setting out a progressive Christian case for affirming the traditional notion of the virgin birth. But in the process,... Read more

Uncategorized

2018-07-14T12:22:51-05:00

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.

Everything Changes. Now Back to Blogging

Last updated on: July 14, 2018 at 12:22 pm By Kyle Roberts

“Everything changes” is a phrase I’ve been hearing a lot lately in my circles. If you’ve followed my blog, you’ve noticed there hasn’t been a whole lot of activity recently. In January of this year, I took on a new role at the seminary where I teach (United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities): Academic Dean. I still carry a teaching load, but the majority of my role now is administration. As I expected, the transition has meant that I’ve... Read more

Uncategorized

2018-03-30T11:33:16-05:00

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.

If He “Emptied Himself” Was He Still God? A Good Friday Question

Last updated on: March 30, 2018 at 11:33 am By Kyle Roberts

Good Friday is a good day to think about kenotic Christology. Kenosis is a tranliteration of the Greek κένωσις, which relates to Philippians 2:7, the passage which states that Christ “emptied himself” (ekénōsen) or made himself nothing by taking on the form of a human being. Any view of Christ which affirms (1) that Jesus of Nazareth was truly God and (2) that Jesus “pre-existed” as the Son of God and the eternal Logos and that (3) Jesus of Nazareth... Read more

2018-03-24T15:05:05-05:00

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.

The King Who Comes in Peace and the Children Who Proclaim Him

Last updated on: March 24, 2018 at 3:05 pm By Kyle Roberts

As Jesus and his disciples began their final entry into Jerusalem, prior to Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, crowds gathered along the roads. This is the setting for the “Palm Sunday” accounts, told in each of the four Gospels. Matthew’s account includes a “fulfillment” quotation from Zechariah 9: “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The reference to Zechariah, noting the... Read more

2018-03-05T16:59:27-05:00

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.

Want to Understand Bultmann? Here’s a Little Book For You

Last updated on: March 5, 2018 at 4:59 pm By Kyle Roberts

David Congdon is delivering a lecture at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities on March 13. If you’re in the Twin Cities, check it out (11:45-12:15 am). In anticipation of that lecture, I recently picked up Congdon’s Rudolf Bultmann: A Companion to His Theology (Cascade, 2015). It’s a brilliant introduction to Bultmann’s theology and hermeutic, placing Bultmann’s thought within the web of inter-related themes and concerns. Congdon begins with a discussion of Bultann’s understanding of eschatology, thereby showing how... Read more

Uncategorized

David Congdon

Rudolf Bultmann

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

2018-02-17T16:11:17-05:00

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.

The Value of Seminary in a World Gone Mad

Last updated on: February 17, 2018 at 4:11 pm By Kyle Roberts

My colleague and friend, Dr. Kenneth Reynhout, shared the following post on his Facebook page. I thought it was too substantive and timely not to share it here on my blog–so I asked his permission to do so. Ken has extensive experience with theological education in seminary contexts. Ken’s bio is below. We have three Protestant seminaries in the Twin Cities, each with its own character and distinguished legacy. I have some affiliation with all three of them, either as... Read more

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

2018-01-26T17:05:53-05:00

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.

Announcing a New Commentary on Matthew

Last updated on: January 26, 2018 at 5:05 pm By Kyle Roberts

Over six yeas ago now, my friend and then-colleague, Jeannine Brown, invited me to join her on a book project: a “two horizons” (biblical studies and theology) commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. That commentary is now completed and available for pre-order via Amazon or directly through the publisher, Eerdmans. The release date isn’t until late September–but hey, you can secure your copy now! Part 1 features a fresh translation and exegesis of Matthew (by Jeannine). Part 2 constitues our... Read more

2017-12-27T14:42:23-05:00

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.

Virgin Birth or Incarnation? Why You Can’t Have Both

Last updated on: December 27, 2017 at 2:42 pm By Kyle Roberts

As I worked through the arguments for and against the virgin birth, the single most important discovery for me was this: You can’t have it all. That is, you can’t have a virginal conception and an incarnation. In the first century, they could put the two together conceptually. It made sense, given their understanding of biology, procreation, and so on. Yes, the virgin birth (for the biblical writers and the early theologians) was predicated on a divine miracle. God interrupted... Read more

Uncategorized

A Complicated Pregnancy

2017-12-27T07:54:48-05:00

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.

Was Jesus Intersex or Was Mary?

Last updated on: December 27, 2017 at 7:54 am By Kyle Roberts

When I began researching the material for A Complicated Pregnancy: Whether Mary Was a Virgin and Why It Matters, I knew I would find the material on the scientific phenomenon parthenogensis (asexual reproduction) fascinating. I didn’t know how much it would blow me away, though. Parthenogenesis is defined (via Wikipedia) as “a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization.” When I first starting writing the book, I thought parthenogenesis would lend at... Read more

2017-12-19T07:37:48-05:00

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.

Reading the Virgin Birth as Legend (or Creative Hagiography)

Last updated on: December 19, 2017 at 7:37 am By Kyle Roberts

One of the sources I found most useful as I researched for my book, A Complicated Pregnancy: Whether Mary Was a Virgin and Why It Matters, was a very thorough, informative, book on the subject by Andrew Lincoln: Born of a Virgin? Reconceiving Jesus in the Bible, Tradition, and Theology. It was the weight of the arguments he presents in that book that tilted my own position in a different direction from whence I began my theological journey on the question. He argues... Read more

Uncategorized

A Complicated Pregnancy

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the official state church of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Orthodox Catholic Lutheran Pentecostal

Books by This Author Books by Kyle Roberts

See All Titles »

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2020 November 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 December 2018 July 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 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 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Progressive Christian