Cornelius the Convert—and What a Convert!
Today is the Feast Day of the Conversion of Cornelius the Centurion. And, yes, it matters that he is not just “Cornelius,” but “Cornelius...
Smart Saints
I missed writing about Timothy and Titus (26 January), John Chrysostom (27 January), and Thomas Aquinas (28 January). So let me just say...
“And the Word Was Made Flesh…”
Today is the Feast of St. John the Evangelist. You will appreciate that I have some affinity with and affection for a Christian writer...
On the Feast of Stephen
Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, one of the two sad days during the Twelve Days of Christmas. Unlike the other sad day, the Feast of...
Cur Deus Homo?
Mark 14:22-25 isn’t a typical Advent passage, but it provides a few clues about the coming of the Lord: “While they were eating, Jesus...
Sez Who?
In Mark 9:33-37, Jesus asks his disciples what they were talking about on the road. What they should have been talking about was what he...
Parables & Propositions
Scholars of religion well into middle age, as I am, remember the excitement of the so-called narrative school of theology breaking over...
Spiritual Gifts
Reading I Corinthians 12 this morning, under the tutelage of John Barclay’s excellent Paul and the Power of Grace, I’m reminded of my...
Jesus Mocks
Paul doesn’t speak of Jesus who just died, but of Jesus who was crucified. He thus drives the stake of the Cross into the heart of...
A Bestselling Thriller Author Gets Good Friday Wrong
In his popular recent novel, The Order, thriller writer Daniel Silva decides in the name of Judaism to launch a missile at Christianity....
If You Are Having a Bad Friday…
Please, if you can and will, hear the Word of the Lord: Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us...
I Tim. 2:15ff., Gender, and "Just Obeying What Scripture Clearly Says"
In my book Finally Feminist I refer to I Timothy 2:15ff as the passage that finally clued me in to an important truth about Biblical...
Time to Give Mark Driscoll a Sabbatical?
There’s a lot to like about what Mark Driscoll has done in his pastoral work at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Sadly, however, there’s a...
The Ascension: Did Jesus Pass Saturn on His Way Up?
A new friend writes: George Stroumboulopoulos had Bill Maher on his program talking about his film ‘Religulous’. Bill asked a question,...
Why Christianity Is Believable: Part Three
One might well object to the foregoing thus: “The New Testament is our only record of these events, and it’s hopelessly biased and...
Why Christianity Is Believable: Part Two
Fun as it would be to argue over various perennial questions in the long, long debate over the intellectual credibility of Christianity,...
Did Jesus Really Exist?
From time to time I get asked this question–Did Jesus really exist? Recently, a student of mine in a University of Manitoba class more...
"Zeitgeist the Movie": The New "Chariots of the Gods"
One of the greatest thrills of my boyhood was happening to turn on the TV one day to find that a major corporation was about to present a...
The Shack 4: Some Celebrations
Having defended the genre of The Shack, and having offered some theological demurrals, let’s conclude with some delight in the good...
Does the Trinity Prove Anything about Gender? Not Much
Amid all the arguments among Christians regarding the roles of men and women in home, church, and society, one of the most prominent...