Augustine, the great church father, has been such a giant on the theological landscape for so many centuries, he has become a huge, lifeless statue to some. In The Mestizo Augustine Justo González pumps life back into our view with a fresh and fascinating look at the humanity and the competing cultures at work within Augustine.
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Understanding Gender Dysphoria
It seems obligatory these days to begin any discussion of sex and society with autobiography. So here goes. I’m an old, white, heterosexual male who basically doesn’t have a clue when it comes to understanding gender dysphoria. (But I guess the second half of that sentence was redundant with the first half.) That’s why I appreciated psychologist Mark Yarhouse’s book, Understanding Gender Dysphoria, so much.
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Widows and Orphans
I have lived with the New Testament letter of James for many decades. And I frequently puzzled over one aspect of a particular verse: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (Jas 1:27) Why widows and orphans? Why not people who are hungry or ill or grieving? Is there something special about orphans and widows that should take our attention?
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Insider Jesus 2: Did the Reformation Make a Misstep?
God is active in all cultures around the world, even before Christianity or the Bible reach them. That’s what William Dyrness contends in Insider Jesus (which I discussed here). If he is right, the implications go far beyond missionary efforts. They encompass how we should view our own faith.
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Insider Jesus
In the midst of the explosion of Christianity around the world, some strange and unusual expressions of faith are emerging.
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Isaiah’s Greatest Hits
Every Christmas and Easter Handel’s Messiah treats us to the greatest hits in the book of Isaiah. We can hardly help but sing along when we read such texts as:
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Feeling Bad a Whole New Way
Good news for all of us racked by guilt as a result of being raised Jewish, Catholic or Protestant! There is a whole different way to feel bad about ourselves, and it is called honor-shame.
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Through Old Testament Eyes 4: Who Are the Chosen Ones?
Election is controversial. Of course, I’m talking about the Christian doctrine, not any recent political events.
For five hundred years Protestants have gone back and forth on the topic of predestination and all its implications. The effect for sensitive souls, however, can be to worry and wonder, “Am I one of the elect? Am I one of the chosen, or will I somehow fall outside the bounds of grace?”
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Through Old Testament Eyes 3: Getting the Whole Story
When I first saw Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings I was struck by Howard Shore’s musical score, especially his Shire theme. Immediately I noticed that as it begins we can sing right along the opening words of “This Is My Father’s World” before it takes off with Shore’s own melody. At first I wondered, “Doesn’t he know that’s a famous hymn tune?” But then it hit me. Of course he does, and he’s using it on purpose.
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Hillbilly Elegy
The hillbilly or redneck culture of poor whites in Appalachia is largely hidden from view or intentionally ignored by much of the rest of the country, as the recent election showed. In Hillbilly Elegy, J. D. Vance, who himself grew up in this culture, offers a warm yet starkly honest view of himself, his extended family and his people.
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