Christianity and Culture

I've been thinking recently about something television star Kelsey Grammer said. It's not because I saw a rerun of Cheers. Unfortunately, the context is tragic. Grammer has me thinking about well intentioned people who end up "packing unforgiveness." Where deep wounds are concerned, there are those...

Ecclesial theology has fallen on hard times as of late--not absolutely, but pervasively. But what is ecclesial theology? It is, I would suggest, more than ecclesiology; and defining it over and against academic theology is a start, but more needs to be said. Earlier this year, I was hired as the...

Ecclesial theology has fallen on hard times as of late--not absolutely, but pervasively. But what is ecclesial theology? It is, I would suggest, more than ecclesiology; and defining it over and against academic theology is a start, but more needs to be said. Earlier this year, I was hired as the...

There are few things as refreshing as a large glass of pure orange juice. However if you forget to obey the advice on the carton - best drunk shaken - the experience is rather less than it could be. Without a vigorous shake, one pours only a disappointing glass of orange-tinted water. The theology...

Years ago, I tried (and by general consent failed) to develop as my party trick an impersonation of the Hollywood actor, Christopher Walken. When I donned his identity, I just said the one line: "I'm going to hurt you." To anyone familiar with Walken's films, the line, if not exactly side-...

Years ago, I tried (and by general consent failed) to develop as my party trick an impersonation of the Hollywood actor, Christopher Walken. When I donned his identity, I just said the one line: "I'm going to hurt you." To anyone familiar with Walken's films, the line, if not exactly side-...

James D.G. Dunn once referred to the epistle of James as "the most Jewish, the most undistinctively Christian document in the New Testament." [1] We all know that Martin Luther had serious concerns about the content of the epistle of James referring to it as "an epistle of straw" and noting that it...

Finding God in the Shack: Seeking Truth in a Story of Evil and Redemption By Roger E. Olson 160 p. IVP (February 2009) Roger Olson's Finding God in the Shack (IVP Books, 2009) is an extended review and discussion of the theology articulated by William Young in his earlier novel The Shack. It is an...

One question that I have now been asked more times than I care to remember is "How do you cope with all the nastiness that's come your way on the internet over the last few years?" The answer is pretty simple: it generally doesn't come my way because I generally don't read it. I simply do not have...

There are many differences between American and British culture. Most obvious, perhaps, are the sports: baseball versus cricket; and football (where feet are rarely used) versus football (where feet, and the occasional head, are all that can be used); and even, once again, football (where pads are...