I came across an image (not shown) of a street preacher while on the inter-webs and on his sign was a url. Knowing better, but not acting on it, I went to the website. On a side note, I’m not opposed to street preaching, I just think it’s ineffective. But, I am opposed to people preaching a gospel that is not really the gospel. Well, here is the “Gospel” according to their page. What is the Read More …
So, I’m reading Theology for the Community of God by Stanley Grenz in preparation for a sermon I’m giving on Trinity Sunday. Before I get into the thick of it let me tell you, this is a fine book. His understanding of the Trinity is very well done. In fact, I’ll use a good portion of what he writes as a basis for my sermon. BUT, I came to the following section and I had some Read More …
Watch Rev. Lillian Daniel on “Spiritual but Not Religious” on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. I liked it all, but really enjoyed 2:05-2:30. -jpserrano H/T to Steve Sabin for sharing this on Facebook
Yesterday, I wrote What is Cheap Grace? Today’s post is the flip-side of that coin. As I noted previously, in The Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes a clear distinction between cheap grace and costly grace. Often people are eager to mention what is cheap grace but are less willing to bring up what Bonhoeffer means by costly grace. According to Bonhoeffer costly grace is the antithesis of cheap grace. Unlike cheap grace which is monotone, costly grace is Read More …
I often hear seminarians and pastors throw out the term “cheap grace” in theological conversations (primarily in Lutheran circles). These people will cry afoul about something and declare that someone’s theology portrays “cheap grace.” My problem is that using this term usually (9 out of 10 times) makes no sense in the context of the discussion. Kind of like people’s misuse of Luther’s term SIN BOLDLY. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book entitled The Cost of Read More …
I’ve had the urge to write this post because recently I have been at gatherings with pastors and seminarians where the topic of hell was raised (mainly due to the recent lectionary texts that mention it). In every one of these gatherings, there was a small contingent of people who gave a little dismissive smirk, nod, and wink when hell was mentioned-as if to say that’s a cute antiquated piece of Christianity that we shouldn’t Read More …
#progGOD Challenge #1 This is in response to Tony Jones blog post A challenge to Liberal Bloggers I agree with Tony wholeheartedly. …progressives have a God-talk problem. That is, progressives write lots of books and blog posts about social issues, the church, culture, and society. But we don’t write that much about God. That is, we don’t say substantive things about who God is, what God does, etc. I graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary and Read More …