Being a Christian isn’t about following the Bible, it’s about following Jesus– and that shouldn’t be so controversial.
Growing up evangelical, you’ve probably heard this answer to the question, “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?” “Well, Johnny or Susie, it’s
Some say that Christianity by nature is political. To a great degree, that’s absolutely true– though I think we must be careful to not simply leave
It’s political season, have you noticed? (Seriously, kill me now.) As part of that political season, pundits like to crack numbers, explore potential paths to
It’s almost Halloween, and as we know, Christians have some mixed feelings on this. The other day I wrote that as Christians, we should
Growing up, I learned a lot about Jesus. As an adult, I’ve learned even more. One of the common threads that has been part of
There’s a passage in Matthew 10 that comes up somewhat frequently in conversations– perhaps you’re familiar with it. It’s a passage where Jesus said, “Do
“But I believe the WHOLE Bible.” It’s a very common phrase I hear in Christian circles. In the course of teaching others to live
Culture has a tendency to quietly whisper in our ear that independence is a beautiful thing– but we were made for so much more than being
On a daily basis I interact with readers who come from nearly every location on the faith continuum. Many are either disenchanted, burned out, or aren’t
As I sit down to write this post I’m realizing that I’m probably going to get branded as “that guy who writes about nonviolence”, but
Where do Bible believing “gundamentalists” get this idea from?
The word Christian may only be nine letters, but it’s a big ‘ole word. With the reformation underway in American Christianity, there’s been a lot
Continuing the discussion on hell we started yesterday, I was asked to show the third option that exists beyond eternal conscious torment (the traditional hell),
Yes, the Bible can be a complex set of documents to understand, and is easily misused. However, I think if we’ll be conscious of these 5 ways we too often unintentionally misuse and misread the scriptures, we’ll find ourselves on a trajectory that might be more exciting than anything we had previously anticipated.
Let’s be honest: Christianity in America has an image crisis, and justifiably so. Somehow the most beautiful story ever told got diluted into a hybrid
Calvinism, in contrast to Jesus, teaches that God picks a few and not the rest– that God is the sports captain from my 7th grade gym class, including the glee that comes with pounding on the kids who didn’t get picked.
As I’ve shared before, I’ve spent most of my life suffering from this idea that God hates me. Even when I say otherwise, or start
Is the phenomenon of rich American pastors a sign of God’s blessing? In this post about my work in India and the association between American Christianity and wealth, I ask some hard questions about what it means to actually follow Jesus.
We all go through shifts in our faith, and sometimes they’re radical shifts. It can be hard to survive these seasons of transition with our faith intact if we’re not careful. As per the request of readership, here are my 5 key pieces of advice on how you can survive a Christian paradigm shift.
We only have Jesus because someone decided to show love and mercy towards an illegal immigrant.
Today I take great comfort that Jesus came not for the people with their feet planted firmly on the shore, but for people like me who are often set adrift in the vast oceans of life– and who have no island of their own to drift towards.
When the people of Jesus reclaim the immigration discussion, we discover that immigrants should be able to move to any culture in the world and know that when they arrive, they’ll find guaranteed allies in the Christian community… I don’t know how things could get much clearer: if we’re not radically caring for, feeding and clothing immigrants, Jesus says we’re not really on God’s side at all.
Now is the time to begin teaching people that following Jesus means we must oppose the death penalty. Here are 5 reasons why:
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BLC is an author, speaker, scholar, and global traveler, who holds graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and received his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus, and Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith.
BLC
BLC is a cultural anthropologist, public theologian, writer, speaker, global traveler, and tattoo collector. He is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell with graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies, and went on to receive his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, and Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus. In addition to his blog, Formerly Fundie, his work has been regularly featured by a wide array of media outlets such as TIME magazine and CNN, among others.
BLC
BLC is a cultural anthropologist, public theologian, writer, speaker, global traveler, and tattoo collector. He is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell with graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies, and went on to receive his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, and Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus. In addition to his blog, Formerly Fundie, his work has been regularly featured by a wide array of media outlets such as TIME magazine and CNN, among others.
