Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Christian Issues

For God So Loved the Whole World: Confessions of a green, liberal, Christian tree hugger 

by Randal Rauser in Christian Issues

About a year ago I was invited to speak at a church conference on the topic of my 2013 book What On Earth Do We Know About Heaven? However, the two gentlemen who had extended the invitation did have one concern before proceeding. When they’d heard me talk previously about the church’s mission in the world, I had included a concern for the environment and animals alongside the traditional evangelical concern for evangelism. And this left them suspicious. “That sounds like the ‘Green’ movement!” one of them said accusingly, as if “Green” were a four letter word.

In my defense, I noted that God called human beings to be good stewards of the earth (Genesis 1:28). And I pointed out that just as the fall had affected all creation, so Paul promised the redeeming work of Christ would be good news for all creation (Romans 8:19-21). I concluded my brief homily for environmental stewardship with a triumphant flourish: If Christ was working to save the entire world, shouldn’t that be our mandate as well?

The two men stared back at me, clearly unconvinced. Then one replied: “Look, if I have to choose between worrying about the environment and telling people about Jesus, I’ll tell people about Jesus!”

And that was it. These two men had concluded that I was some kind of green, liberal Christian tree hugger who had more concern for spotted owls than lost souls. With that, the invitation to speak was quickly withdrawn.

In retrospect, it’s just as well. I could hardly speak at a… [Read more…] about For God So Loved the Whole World: Confessions of a green, liberal, Christian tree hugger 

An Act of Love: Frank Schaefer, United Methodists and Homosexuality

by in Christian Issues, LGBT, Movie Reviews

If you pay attention to issues relating to homosexuality and Christianity, you probably know about Frank Schaefer, the United Methodist minister who was defrocked in 2013 for performing his son’s same-sex wedding. But unless you were directly involved with those events, you probably don’t know the details surrounding Schaefer’s trial or the deeply personal struggle his family faced.

The new documentary film An Act of Love brings the personal side of Schaefer’s story to the screen, casting valuable light on what was–depending on your perspective–either a valiant fight for orthodoxy, or a pivotal moment in Christianity’s move toward a more progressive stance on human sexuality.

Through candid and often touching interviews with Schaefer, his wife and children, members of his former church, and leaders within the United Methodist community, director Scott Sheppard examines Schaefer’s story as well as the ongoing divide over LGBT issues within the UMC denomination.

Particularly troubling, but sadly all too believable, is the revelation that the initial rancor within Schaefer’s congregation that ultimately led to his ouster had nothing to do a same-sex wedding, but instead stemmed from conflicts over contemporary versus traditional worship services. If we can’t negotiate compromise when it comes to choosing a guitar or a choir, how can we expect to reasonably deal with far more serious issues?

As the film makes clear, Schaefer is not alone in his struggle for a more… [Read more…] about An Act of Love: Frank Schaefer, United Methodists and Homosexuality

Exploring Biblical Gender Equality in Kenya

by in Christian Issues

Upon returning from a family vacation at the end of last May, I received a curious email invitation from a church leader in Kenya named Chris Lusweti. He had written to ask me to speak on the topic of biblical gender equality at their 2016 Pastors’ and Church Leaders’ Conference.

I was intrigued by the international invitation, but I was also filled with questions: Was this a legitimate request? Who was Chris Lusweti? What would actually be involved in getting me over to Kenya? My mind and heart grappled with the potential of this being a doable God-thing … or maybe not!

Over the next few months I got to know Bishop Chris, the pastor/overseer of a group of churches based out of Eldoret, Kenya. I also received confirmation from a number of American church leaders who had been there to speak at various pastors conferences over the years on timely Christian leadership topics.

Bishop Chris was certainly progressive in wanting someone to speak about biblical gender equality in his country, since Africa has a deeply patriarchal culture. The Holy Spirit has been moving in so many places around the world to give people answers on this topic, and the Lord was clearly at work among this particular network of church leaders.

For the next three months, I conducted in-depth research on biblical gender equality. I borrowed insights from a variety of scholars and authors and compiled this information into a tapestry of words that would best convey all I wanted to cover in a four day… [Read more…] about Exploring Biblical Gender Equality in Kenya

Dear Christian, the world isn't getting worse. In fact, it's probably getting better.

by Randal Rauser in Christian Issues

Not all Christians believe the world is getting worse. But those who hold to what is called “premillennialism” do, and they tend to dominate the evangelical conversation in North America. (In premillennialism, the expectation is that the world will get worse and worse overall until Christ enters history and establishes his peaceable milllennial kingdom.)

Premillennial evangelicals tend to be rather selective in identifying putative evidence that the world is getting worse. For example, they focus on issues like gay marriage and transgender washrooms. My concern here is not to debate the morality of gay marriage or transgender washrooms. Rather, my point is that even if you do believe that these things are morally errant, it would be absurd to think isolated examples like those are sufficient to establish an overall trajectory of societal decay.

As a seminary professor for the last fifteen years, I regularly encounter this pessimistic perspective in my students. I continue to be dismayed at how many Christians blithely assume things are getting worse. But I’ve found one simple way to shake up their perspective: I borrow a famous thought experiment from philosopher John Rawls in which Rawls proposes a way to envision the just society.

Here’s how my version goes: imagine that you are about to be born, but you do not know what gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic status you will have when born. Nor do you know whether you will have a physical or mental disability. With that in… [Read more…] about Dear Christian, the world isn't getting worse. In fact, it's probably getting better.

Outside the Gate

by James Clark in Christian Issues

Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Hebrews 13:12I don’t much care for the Church.

It’s a relief, after thirty odd years of trying, to admit to that troubling fact and decide that she’s probably just not the one for me.

A horror of divorce lurks deep in the bones of this cradle Catholic, so it wasn’t the easiest of decisions.

Truth be told it wasn’t a decision at all, in the ordinary sense of that word: I just woke up one Sunday morning and couldn’t face her.  The months have gone by and I am not at all sure that I will ever face her again.

The air is far sweeter out here. It’s pregnant with the heady scents of relief, freedom, and faith. The Scriptures still sing their impossible promises. The Spirit still hovers over the waters giving life to the dead and calling into existence the things that do not exist (see Romans 4:17).

Elizabeth Barret Browning wrote that,
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.
Moses knew that too (Exodus 3:1-3).

So I realized something, perhaps for the first time, though it was something I glimpsed in waves for many years: I actually believe the Gospel.

Actually, it’s better than that: I know it’s true.

And I know, beyond all shadow of doubt, that it’s not conditional on Church membership of any kind. When he suffered outside… [Read more…] about Outside the Gate

No Condemnation!

by Christy Wood in Christian Issues

I remember the exact moment when I realized that Jesus not only loved me, but He also liked me unconditionally. Somehow in my mind I had confused the two. Love seemed like something He had to do because He was God, but I was pretty sure He only liked me when I was performing correctly.

It makes sense, sort of… Parents and teachers like us better when we follow the rules, and we feel their dislike when we are making poor choices. It’s hard to imagine God being different.

We put God in such a tiny box, a box made out of our own human reasoning and logic. We create a god we can understand, in our own image. Silly us! He is only more, always more than we could ever imagine!

I was in my early 20s, about four years out of my “cult,” looking pretty normal to the untrained eye, wearing jeans, having cut my waist length hair, dating my boyfriend (now husband), and going to college. In the past I’d always been the rule follower, the people pleaser, the “good” girl; I did the right things to make people and Jesus happy with me. I had standards and expectations for myself.

I might have perfected the art of looking good, but on the inside I was a wreck. I was losing control. Worry and stress were consuming me. I was fighting with anger and resentment. I started having panic attacks and because I didn’t know what they were, I thought I might be dying (but wouldn’t tell anyone). To top it all off, I felt guilty for being so “out of control.” I knew that there was no way God could… [Read more…] about No Condemnation!

What Delilah Deserves

by Sara Roberts Jones in Christian Issues

That devious jade Delilah.

Ever since her tragic Old Testament romance with Samson, Delilah’s name has been synonymous with a scheming, treacherous woman.

I think she deserves better.

Full disclosure: I’m reacting to more than just Delilah’s age-old reputation here. As a teenage girl, I sat under people who taught us that we women are dangerous to men. Not because we’re smart or competitive or even manipulative, but because we have female-shaped bodies. Men are weak to female-shaped bodies; trying to talk to, reason with, or relate to a man while existing in our female bodies made us dangerous.

And they backed it up with The Bible, as follows:

Adam, created perfect in God’s image, fell because of a woman.
Samson, the strongest man in history, fell because of a woman.
David, the man after God’s own heart, fell because of a woman.
Solomon, the wisest man in the world, fell because of lots of women.

Adam ate the fruit that Eve, deceived by Satan, offered him. Samson told Delilah the secret of his strength. David saw Bathsheba and had her brought to his bed. Solomon had thousands of wives for political advantage, and eventually worshiped their gods. These men made conscious decisions against their own moral compass or common sense. They were often influenced by women.

See? Women! You see who’s at fault here.

You see why I am reacting here.

Still, if you know the story of Samson and Delilah, you’re going to point out that Delilah wasn’t exactly a shrinking… [Read more…] about What Delilah Deserves

A Better Way To Evangelize

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

As many of you know, my first two degrees were from conservative, evangelical institutions. In those days I was immersed in evangelical theology and very much committed to evangelizing. The two approaches I was trained to use were called “The Roman Road” and “The Four Spiritual Laws.”

The Roman Road is a way of explaining the evangelical version of salvation using verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans. The first verse referenced is Romans 3:23: “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The second verse says: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). So the presentation begins with sin and death.

The Four Spiritual Laws does a little better. The first law says: “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” That is good news, but it is followed by the terrible theology of the second law: “Humanity is tainted by sin and is therefore separated from God. As a result, we cannot know God’s wonderful plan for our lives.” God’s love, then, is a carrot on a stick that in our flawed, sinful state we cannot experience, unless of course we meet the proper conditions: believe the right things, say the right things, do the right things.

While I agree that we are all tainted by sin, that all humanity and reality is flawed, it is not true that our sin separates us from God. If that were the case we could never experience God’s love, because we never get rid of our sin.

Evangelical… [Read more…] about A Better Way To Evangelize

11 Bible Verses That Turn Christians Into Atheists

by Jeremy Myers in Christian Issues

I was recently having a discussion with an atheist who had grown up in a Christian family and had gone to church for the first twenty years of her life. But she became an atheist in her 20s.

When I asked her why she became an atheist, she said, “I started reading the Bible.”

We Christians often tell people that if they would only read the Bible, they would come to see that God is real and that He loves them. We hear testimony after testimony about how drug addicts and hookers were considering suicide but somehow got a Bible and started reading it and ended up giving their life to Christ.

I am not in any way denying such accounts or stories.

But I think it is also time to admit that while many people decided to follow Jesus as a result of reading the Bible, there are many others who turned away from God after reading the Bible.

Part of this, I am convinced, is because we Christians have said that the entire Bible is the Word of God, but then we ignore, gloss over, conveniently forget, or are simply dishonest about some of the more troubling portions of Scripture.

And there are many troubling portions of Scripture! (If you don’t believe me, read this book: Drunk with Blood).

I call these troubling texts “Atheist Maker Verses.” They are verses that do not point people to God, but instead lead people away from Him. Here are a few of the more blatant Atheist Maker Verses:
Genesis 19:8
“See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring… [Read more…] about 11 Bible Verses That Turn Christians Into Atheists

Why biblical inerrancy simply makes no sense

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

The reason biblical inerrancy simply makes no sense is this: It’s simply not true to human and universal reality.

Conservative Christians generally believe in a literal creation and fall, and because of the fall we are all sinners. Progressive Christians generally believe in some form of theistic evolution — that human beings and all forms of life have evolved, but God has been and continues to be engaged in the process in some way. Both camps offer myriads of variations and explanations to go with these two basic positions, but no one denies that human beings are flawed. We do not, of course, agree on how we became flawed, but we all readily admit that all life is flawed.

Conservatives emphasize original sin; progressives emphasize original blessing (which, by the way, is reason enough to compel anyone to be a progressive). But either way human beings are imperfect and flawed. The earthly creation is flawed. The universe is flawed. Jesus himself never claimed to be flawless. According to Mark’s Gospel Jesus was asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone?” (Mark 10:17-18). (It was later in the development of Christian doctrine that the institutional church attributed to Jesus sinlessness.) I suppose one could even argue that God, in light of universal flawed reality, is (I would say possibly, but not probably) flawed. (Process theologians believe God is evolving along with… [Read more…] about Why biblical inerrancy simply makes no sense