Getting Mad at God

I told them it was okay to be mad at God. Afterward I got a phone call.

I spoke to over a hundred college students about the book of Ruth. After Naomi’s husband and two sons died in Moab, she told her daughters-in-law (Ruth and Orpah) not go back to Israel with her “because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!” On her return Namoi told the women in her hometown, “Don’t call me Naomi. . . . Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter” (Ruth 1:13, 20).
Continue reading “Getting Mad at God”

What Augustine Offers Our Multicultural World

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.
Continue reading “What Augustine Offers Our Multicultural World”

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.
Continue reading “Understanding Gender Dysphoria”

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?
Continue reading “Widows and Orphans”

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.
Continue reading “Insider Jesus 2: Did the Reformation Make a Misstep?”

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?”
Continue reading “Through Old Testament Eyes 4: Who Are the Chosen Ones?”

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.
Continue reading “Through Old Testament Eyes 3: Getting the Whole Story”