What is the Church?
What is the church? Identifying the Church How do I know that a church is part of the Church? Three prominent answers to this and similar important questions have been: “Church” is one of those …
Philosophy for Theology: The Difference in Modern and Pre-modern Cosmological and Anthropological Presuppositions
During my Ph.D. coursework, I took a class called Philosophy for Theology. My art scholarship was becoming more philosophical as I worked on Aesthetics and I felt I needed more philosophical grounding. So, this course …
What are the Seven Deadly Sins?
Sin is a complex concept in Christianity, and the definition of sin (including original sin) can differ widely. In Hebrew, “sin” translates to “chattâ’âh,” meaning “offense” and its penalty. As a Greek word, “hamartia” refers …
A bank full of beggars
The Parcast Network’s Conspiracy Theories podcast recently did a four-episode deep dive into the supposed mysteries of the Vatican. While some parts were interesting and some were just silly, it opened with what I thought …
Peace with Graham
One of my pastors offered a humorous shorthand for dealing with the complexities of defining American evangelicalism when I was a teenager. He repeated the joke, popular at the time, that an evangelical was anyone …
What is Sin?
Popular misconceptions The saying “Everything I like is either immoral, illegal, or fattening!” is humorous, but theologically incorrect. Do you like to hurt people (immoral), steal things (illegal), or eat way too much junk food? …
Challenging the influence of Trump and Tuberville with the love of Christ
The First Epistle to Timothy cautions us about a particular trait of “the last days.” Specifically, the presence of “Seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a …
Reviving forgotten ‘Treasure Chests’: Kids classic Catholic comics reintroduced
Between 1946 and 1972, children attending Catholic schools across the nation eagerly anticipated each new installment of the Treasure Chest of Fun & Facts. These “treasure chests” contained illustrated narratives about the Catholic faith, tales …
Pope Francis announces his new document that focusses on the environment
Expressing gratitude to a group of European lawyers for their dedication to environmental protection laws, Pope Francis revealed his intention to create a follow-up document on the same subject. The pope conveyed to the lawyers, …
Christian persecution rising internationally
UCA News writes that around one out of every seven Christians today is at risk of persecution, especially in Asia, where there have been recent high-profile incidents in India, Pakistan, Iraq, and China. While often …