200 years ago in America, there was a vigorous debate about slavery. Because nearly all of the participants were Christian, the debate turned on interpretations of the Bible. This episode in American Christianity offers instructive lessons for today’s conversation about homosexuality. In the discussions about slavery, the pro-slavery side had it easy: The Bible does … More Bible Wars: Using the Bible in LGBTQIA Discourse (Part 5)

One of the foundational arguments of Christians who affirm that traditional view of homosexuality is that same-sex sex is contrary to nature. This argument rests on a couple of assumptions: 1) that the world today is a corrupted version of the world’s original condition a few thousand years ago and 2) that Genesis 1-2 gives … More Using the Bible in LGBTQIA Discourse (Part 5)

Of Hair and Homosexuality Few people are aware of Paul’s interest in hair styles. That’s because most haven’t read 1 Cor 11:14: “Does not nature itself teach you that, if a man wears long hair, it is dishonoring to him?” Jesus, apparently, didn’t get the memo. Few people also know of the connection the New … More Using the Bible in LGBTQIA+ Discourse (Part 4)

Everyone who uses the Bible does so selectively. The Bible is too big to let us to do justice to every verse, too complex to allow equal weight to every passage. Selective reading and use is unavoidable. But serious readers know that selective reading often results from the quest to find support for our views. … More Using the Bible in LGBTQIA+ Discourse (Part 3)

What do L+ discourse and the Bible have to do with an old-fashioned card catalog from a library? Actually, quite a bit. These catalogs were ways of categorizing. Information was sorted, boxed, and labeled. Close study of the Old Testament reveals a passion for categorizing and labeling things. It starts with Genesis 1 when God … More Using the Bible in LGBTQIA+ Discourse (Part 2)

I’m on a quest to explore the use of the Bible in Christian discourse on LGBTQIA+ issues. These explorations are exercises in testing the traditional view of marriage and gender. As a theologian with a genuine appreciation for the Christians theological tradition, I think it’s important to take a teaching or two off the shelf … More Using the Bible in LGBTQIA+ Discourse (Part 1)

Why should we read the Bible? Because it reveals the truth. But sometimes truth can be a slippery prey. Take, for instance, the doctrine of justification. This doctrine was one of the principal issues of contention in the era of the Reformation. It was one of the most important reasons for the schism between Catholics … More Why Read the Bible? Part 5

Why should anyone read the Bible? Answer: Because the Bible bears witness to the revelation of God. It reveals God’s will. So far, so good, but as soon as we think about revelation, we realize that what are talking about is received revelation–revelation that human beings, dwelling in particular cultural situations, have received. There is, … More Why Bother with the Bible? Part 4

This post is a plea for dialogue about the Bible in church. I’m writing it because my church has become a classroom, where talking is discouraged so that authority figures can instruct us in the truth. As I am writing these words, my denomination has just defrocked one of its ministers because he called for … More Why Bother with the Bible? Part 3

As some of you know, I am gathering ideas for a book about teaching the Bible to undergraduates. At the moment I’m pondering the fact that serious study of the Bible seems to be a thing of the past and that today’s undergraduates, even those from Evangelical churches, have minimal knowledge of Scripture. Russell Moore, … More The Place of Jesus in the Evangelical Church of Trump

Factors Behind Biblical Illiteracy A serious student of scripture at work Last week I complained about the problem of teaching the Bible in a context where, increasingly, people are ignorant of the Bible. This week I’d like to talk about a related issue. One of my goals is to get students to see each biblical … More Why Bother with the Bible? Part 2

Teaching the Bible in the Context of Biblical Illiteracy A medieval professor struggles to teach the Bible without the benefit of PowerPoint. In a few weeks, I will be returning to the classroom as an adjunct professor, teaching several sections of a freshman course, New Testament History and Religion. I’ve taught this and its companion … More Why Bother with the Bible? Part 1

August 22, 2016 What is music? And what can music tell us about the reader’s role in co-creating the Bible’s meaning? I took up classical guitar a few years ago.  I had musical experience before I did so, but I never thought about music philosophically.  But once I started playing guitar and, more important, performing, … More Music and Reading the Bible (The Reader’s Culture, Part 3)

August 15, 2016 Here are some thoughts about biblical interpretation as I try to get clear about the reader’s role in the phenomenon of meaning. The chapter that I am currently working on is about the way in which we create meaning as we read the Bible.  This is because the Bible (like any text) … More The Reader’s Culture (part 2)

August 8, 2016 I’m working on a chapter that deals with the role of the reader in interpreting the Bible.  In contemporary theory, the meaning of a text is not simply in the words, but in the ways in which readers construe those words.  The words bear a potential meaning, but the meaning is not … More The Reader’s Culture

July 22, 2016 In the great contemporary struggle to find alternatives to wooden, sclerotic literalism some Christians have landed on the view that the Bible’s authority lies in its message of salvation.  The implication, sometimes expressed, is that the Bible is not an authority on other matters, especially on scientific matters. As John Wesley wrote, … More Galileo and the Bible (conclusion)

July 19, 2016 The Bible has a lot to say about the natural world, but what does it say? I’m not asking, “Which words does it use and which sentences does it contain?” but instead “When the Bible talks about the natural world, what is the nature of its discourse?” As I discussed in a … More Galileo and the Two Books: The Bible and Scientific Knowledge

July 1, 2016 In my journal entry of June 28, I discussed Galileo’s notion of the two books, viz., the Bible and the book of Nature.  Galileo’s goal was to prevent theological and ecclesiastical inference in scientific research. Pictured: Scientists at work, happily free from ecclesiastical interference   To achieve his goal, Galileo limited the … More Galileo: The Man Who Made the Bible Safe for Science (continued)

June 28, 2016 Back at work after a hiatus occupied with grading and other necessary tasks. In March I gave a short presentation at the Wesleyan Philosophical Society.  In it I talked about the way in which my church (the Church of the Nazarene) and many other Christians have enthusiastically embraced a view of the … More Galileo–The Man who Made The Bible Safe for Science

A Chart Explaining Biblical Prophecy and Its Fulfillment I have taught the same adult Sunday School class for more than ten years.  From time to time we have studied the Bible’s prophetic writings.  I remember distinctly when we studied the Old Testament’s minor prophets.  A recurring experience of the members of the class was exasperation … More Three theses on biblical prophecy

How does God’s word relate to human words? How does God speak in the Bible? I am currently teaching two sections of a freshman course, New Testament History and Religion. On Wednesday we covered the portions of Luke’s gospel that deal with wealth and contrasted them with what 1 Timothy 6 says about wealth. Luke’s … More The Incarnational Paradox of the Bible