John G. Stackhouse, Jr.
- 12 min
Rest in Peace, David Martin (1929-2019)
I’ve only just heard that my latter-day mentor in the sociology of religion, David Martin, passed away last month. I confess that I...
Christianity Is Weird, but Perhaps Not as Weird as Your Think
Christianity has what I sometimes call a “double weirdness problem.” Elements of its teaching that are truly strange—such as the...
Evangelicals, Ethics, and Supporting Donald Trump
Evangelicals—at least, we white ones—are having a hard time in the public eye these days. Perhaps you’ve noticed. Jerry Falwell, Jr.,...
Immortality Will Be . . . Boring?
It is astonishing, and depressing, to encounter again the blithe arrogance of certain members of my class: the highly educated pundits...
Eminent Scientist Concludes God Doesn’t Exist—Again
Stephen Hawking gets one more chance to give “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” in his new book, finished after his death last March by...
Body-Shaming? Or Education-Honouring?
It’s back-to-school time and, for many Canadian pupils, it’s back to the demands of school dress codes. Not just in private schools, but...
Reality: What a Concept
“I prefer to think of my bank account as limitless.” “I prefer to think of myself as universally charming.” “I prefer to think of traffic...
Hey, Have You Heard the Latest?
Here’s another good reason to read the Bible regularly and think about it hard: It will help you avoid succumbing to pleasantly written...
Paige Patterson, Donald Trump, and Theological Malpractice
As Christian leaders have defended Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson over this past couple of months and President Donald Trump...
The Ascension of the God Who Remains One of Us
Europeans do like their titles. And why shouldn’t they? They have some excellent ones. I was attending a meeting in Britain of university...
What We Can Learn from Easter 2018
I write this on Good Friday 2018, but I could have written something like it on any day, any year. For the more some things change, it...
Why Isn’t Christianity Simpler?
When I moved to Vancouver in 1998, once people found out I had been a guest of various radio hosts in Winnipeg and elsewhere, the...
Treasure in Heaven: A Review of Gary Anderson’s “Charity”
In his fine study of Sin: A History (Yale, 2010), Notre Dame professor of theology Gary Anderson rendered an understanding of his subject...
A Good Definition of Forgiveness
I have blogged about forgiveness in some detail before, notably here and here. Today I came across a particular detail that is good...
Simple Is Good; Oversimple Is Bad
I happen to chair the committee that coordinates the major lectureship at Regent College, the Laing Lectures. Roger Laing, our patron, is...
What’s Good about (Bloody) Good Friday? Some Thoughts on the Atonement
A correspondent recently wrote: “I’m more baffled than ever about the Atonement. I sometimes feel like banging my head against the wall...