The Temptation of Christ—and His Subsequent Prayer
As the Lenten season has begun, we recall the Temptation of Jesus and his successful withstanding of the Devil’s worst. A few thoughts...
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THINKBETTER
What's wrong? How did we get here? What shall we do?
JOHN G. STACKHOUSE, JR.
Thoughts on
CHRISTIANITY, THE ACADEMY, AND PUBLIC LIFE
The Feast of the Holy Name
In the recent Marvel series “Loki,” a character refers to the master of the universe as “He Who Remains.” That is all: the one who...
“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...
Is Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” a Christmas Song?
How about Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” instead? You might wonder if these are trick questions…. Cohen’s song was made famous by both the...
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...
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....
The Inescapable Weirdness of Easter
Here comes another Easter weekend. So what? Chocolate eggs, downy ducklings, and fluffy bunnies—nice enough, but hardly the haul we get...
Holy Week Prayers: What Do We Really Want?
Holy Week brings into focus a number of Big Questions. Among the most searching is this: What do we want? In particular, what do we want...
Is Hell Eternal?
People don’t suffer and die in hell because God chooses to torture and kill them.
John G. Stackhouse, Jr.
- 19 min
Christianity and Other Religions: Clarifying Terms & Issues
I know: that’s a boring title. But an essay I wrote almost twenty years ago still seems at least occasionally useful to bring some clarity..
John G. Stackhouse, Jr.
- 18 min
Evangelicals, World Religions, and the Destiny of the Unevangelized: What Is “Inclusivism"
What is at stake goes far beyond the question of evangelical missionary work.
It’s Such a Big, Needy World: What Can I Do?
This week we confront the appalling suffering of the Rohingya people at the hands of their fierce former neighbours in Myanmar/Burma....
Easter: Who Needs It?
The world’s great religions offer what millions of people want: a sensible, straightforward path to life. That’s why those religions are...
What in Hell Is Going on?
The Walrus, a magazine not renowned for a sustained interest in Christian thought, in its April number commendably features a review...
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...
The Charlie Brown Christmas Problem
Charles Schultz’s classic TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was originally broadcast in 1965. And, a generation later, the problem...
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