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Sacramentalism and Its Secular Enemies
Sacrament is an outward visible sign of an inward spiritual grace and reflects the promises of God. Such sacraments as Baptism and Holy Eucharist are the center of many Christian sects. Moreover, the...
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Chad Holtz: The Progressive United Methodism’s Devolution of Love
Rev. Chad Holtz is a United Methodist pastor in the Holston (eastern Tennesee) Conference of the United Methodist Church. Here Chad responds to a sermon by the formerly defrocked United Methodist...
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Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, a Moralistic Therapeutic Deist?
There is talk in some church circles about “moralistic therapeutic deism.” We may abbreviate this ungainly phrase as “MTD,” in allusion to the popular cable channel showing music videos. Many teenagers...
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What to Do about Moralistic Therapeutic Deism?
In an earlier article I wrote about “moralistic therapeutic deism,” as described by Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith and Princeton Seminary professor Kenda Dean. The focus was on diagnosing the...
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The Left Wing of the Democratic Party at “Mother Earth” Prayer?
Many United Methodists have questioned what foundation, spiritual or otherwise, undergirds the work of our denomination’s multi-million-dollar D.C. political lobby office, the General Board of Church...
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The Call of Conscience
In a recent article, I noted UMC Bishop Mel Talbert’s appeal to conscience as a justification for violating the rules of the UMC Book of Discipline which he had agreed to live by. This conscience claim...
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Catholic Panel Goes Nuclear on Deterrence
On May 7, 2015, the Carnegie Council Events hosted a session entitled From Nuclear Deterrence to Disarmament: Evolving Catholic Perspectives. The unanimous opinion of the speakers was best summed up by...
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Union Theological Seminary Rips RFRA Laws
On June 10th, 2015 Union Theological Seminary (UTS) hosted their 2nd Union on the Hill Program, in which they discussed the alleged “immorality of overly broad state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts...
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Destroyed Foundations: Calling for ‘Bisexually Healthy Congregations’
With the gay rights movement getting old and the transgender movement in full swing, religious leftists are now moving on to bisexuality. To that end, Marie Alford-Harkey recently hosted a webinar...
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The Real Problem with Our DNA
Recently President Obama stated that “The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination is in almost every institution of our lives, you know; that casts a long shadow, and that’s still part of...
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Talbot Davis: Reuniting Christology and Sexology
Rev. Talbot Davis is pastor of the massive, diverse Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC. He serves on the board of directors of the Western North Carolina Conference Evangelical...
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Jesus Didn’t Abolish the Law
In a recent article Patheos blogger Benjamin Corey tackled what is quite literally the oldest issue in the faith: what is the role of the Mosaic Law in contemporary Christian life? The gravity of this...
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Jesus Didn’t Abolish the Law
In a recent article Patheos blogger Benjamin Corey tackled what is quite literally the oldest issue in the faith: what is the role of the Mosaic Law in contemporary Christian life? The gravity of this...
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Why United Methodists Baptize Babies
Given how much confusion about infant baptism abounds across the theological spectrum, I felt that it was valuable for me to offer these brief clarifying remarks at last Sunday’s baptism of my own son,...
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Why Are Churches in the Developing World So Vibrant?
Churches in the developing world remain some of the most dynamic and fastest growing in Christendom. This should cause Western Christians to celebrate. But it should also prompt us to ask the obvious...
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Mere Christianity Birthed 75 Years Ago
Mere Christianity, a seminal work in Christian literature, can trace its history back to 75 years ago today. On February 7, 1941, BBC Religious Broadcasting Director James Welch wrote to Oxford...
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How Should Evangelicals Think About Transgenderism?
How should evangelical Christians think about transgenderism – people feeling out of sync with their biological gender and consequently deciding to identify with, dress as, or even undergoing dramatic...
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7 Highly Inspirational Quotes from Nabeel Qureshi about His Faith
As a former Muslim himself, Nabeel Qureshi knows how to make the case for Christianity to followers of Islam. And with more than a decade of rigorous academic study under his belt, he speaks as a...
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Methodist Bishops & False Doctrine
There’s been lots of recent attention on United Methodism’s lesbian bishop, Karen Oliveto, against whom the church’s top court recently ruled for violating church law on Christian sexual ethics. But...
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2017 Ed Marks Lecture: Dean David Hempton, Christianity and Human...
Dean David Hempton of Harvard Divinity School delivered the Edward L. Marks Lecture at Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church on April 9, 2017 and offered his thoughts on Christianity’s role in...
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