On Tuesday I once again had a chance to spend some time with my friend, Frank Schaeffer, at his home in Massachusetts. While last time
In a news cycle that has been absolutely overrun by sadness and death lately, there’s one death that absolutely, positively, must not be overlooked: the
My spirit has been grieved in a way I haven’t experienced before as the situation in Iraq and Syria has turned for the worse as
Greg Boyd is perhaps one of the most influential living theologians of our time, and is someone I have the deepest admiration and respect for.
Why, when talking about theology, is there the tendency to fire off criticism and denounce the speaker without actually taking the time to dissect the
The American Christian landscape in our current context seems to have a steady stream of people who feel like outsiders– out of place everywhere, at
One of the most profoundly misunderstood passages in all the Bible is the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24. Those of us who grew
People wonder why I push back against gun culture so hard, and well, the guy in this NRA News video is my answer. The commentary
Earlier this week, the President signed an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. In a supposed civilized society
My old friend Johny Mac who not long ago told parents of adult children who are gay to shun them and “turn them over to
As I sit down to write this post I’m realizing that I’m probably going to get branded as “that guy who writes about nonviolence”, but
Where do Bible believing “gundamentalists” get this idea from?
The word Christian may only be nine letters, but it’s a big ‘ole word. With the reformation underway in American Christianity, there’s been a lot
That’s what Bryan Fischer at the American Family Association is teaching. The other day on his radio program, he said that if you’re not a
My heart breaks as violence is on the rise again in Israel. Just within the last few days, we’ve seen a Palestinian child burned alive
John Piper is “farewelling” again. No, this time it has nothing to do with Rob Bell– he’s actually farewelled Burger King. (Though he changed the
1. It would be way too crowded for them. One of the basic tenets of Christian fundamentalism is the belief that they’re basically going to be
My church family– the people I love and serve week in and week out– are not like me. We don’t share the same primary language
Why do American Christians get so ridiculously angry when you question nationalism, or question how nationalism gets grafted into our faith? It seems like every
If your church is going to be holding an Independence Day celebration this year, I hope you’ll think this through and decide to skip it.
The word Jesus uses in Greek is γÎεννα (Gehenna), which actually means “The Valley of the Son of Hinnom”. An over simplified description of Gehenna would be that it was the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem; this was the place where both garbage and dead bodies would be discarded and consumed by a fire that was likely always burning. The location goes all the way back to the book of Joshua, and was a place where bad things happened– child sacrifice, bodies were cremated, etc. Basically, imagine a dump where garbage is burned add into that the vision of burning bodies and a historical connotation of child sacrifice, and you’ll see that it wasn’t a very desirable place. However, it was a very ​literal​ place and the original audience of Jesus would have understood it as such. They would not have heard the word Gahenna and thought of our concept of hell– they would have realized Jesus was talking about an actual place outside the city.
Continuing the discussion on hell we started yesterday, I was asked to show the third option that exists beyond eternal conscious torment (the traditional hell),
Affirming that scripture is inspired and true means one must also affirm the “eternal, conscious torment” of hell, correct? Nope– not at all, and today
The Bible calls bankers who lend money for interest an “abomination”. Why aren’t we putting them out of the church?
If there’s one thing I don’t understand about modern Christianity in America, it’s this: The offensiveness of enemy love. If one takes a public stand
Join the resistance: Subscribe for posts and updates from BLC!
BLC is an author, speaker, scholar, and global traveler, who holds graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and received his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus, and Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith.
BLC
BLC is a cultural anthropologist, public theologian, writer, speaker, global traveler, and tattoo collector. He is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell with graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies, and went on to receive his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, and Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus. In addition to his blog, Formerly Fundie, his work has been regularly featured by a wide array of media outlets such as TIME magazine and CNN, among others.
BLC
BLC is a cultural anthropologist, public theologian, writer, speaker, global traveler, and tattoo collector. He is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell with graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies, and went on to receive his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, and Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus. In addition to his blog, Formerly Fundie, his work has been regularly featured by a wide array of media outlets such as TIME magazine and CNN, among others.
