Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Giveaway: N.T. Wright's "Simply Good News"

by in Uncategorized

Today I’m happy to announce that I have one brand new hardcover edition of N.T. Wright’s newest book, Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good, available to give away to one of our lucky readers.

I reviewed Simply Good News a couple of weeks ago and Scot McKnight reviewed it last week. If you haven’t yet read Simply Good News, here’s a chance to get your hands on a copy of your very own.

Enter to win below. The giveaway ends at midnight Eastern Time on Sunday, January 25, 2015 and the winner will be announced on this post Monday, January 26. Good luck! The giveaway is over! Thanks to all who participated and congratulations to the winner, Kenneth S.!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Dan WilkinsonDan is a writer, graphic designer and IT specialist. He lives in Montana, is married and has two cats. He blogs at CoolingTwilight.com.… [Read more…] about Giveaway: N.T. Wright's "Simply Good News"

One question fundamentalists cannot answer

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality, Fundamentalism

For several years now I have been asking Christian fundamentalists and conservatives the same question; namely, Why would God care more about what we believe about God than how we live for God?   

Rarely does a fundamentalist/conservative even attempt to offer a rational answer to this question. Instead, they generally respond in one of three ways:

1: Shout louder: You are denying the truth! That’s the wrong question to ask! The question has no bearing on what is true!, and so on. They respond with accusations and denials, and never get around to actually wrestling with the question.

2. Quote Bible verses and/or recite the talking points of their learned doctrine.

3. At least try to approach it rationally—but, again, never really respond directly to the question. (They usually say something about God’s holiness demanding that Jesus die in our place—which, in the end, amounts to nothing more than a recitation of a doctrine they think essential for salvation.)

And all along the question lingers, and waits, and hopes to be answered . . .

The reason no fundamentalist can reasonably answer the question is because no reasonable answer exists for it. No answer makes sense based on common sense, reason, human dignity, and our best intuitive sense of what is good, right, just, fair, and of most value. So all they can do is quote the Bible, deny the importance of the question, cling to their creed, and stumble around the question as best they… [Read more…] about One question fundamentalists cannot answer

Did Jesus speak more about Hell than about Heaven?

by in Christian Issues

According to some well-known pastors, Jesus’ teachings are primarily about fire and brimstone. For example:
“… he [Jesus] himself speaks twice as often of hell as of heaven.”
— D.A. Carson, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World

“He [Jesus] spoke more often about hell than he did about heaven. We cannot get around this fact.”
— Leon Morris, “The Dreadful Harvest,” Christianity Today, May 27, 1991

“Jesus talked more about hell than He did about heaven in order to warn men of its reality.”
— John MacArthur, “The Ultimate Religious Decision”

“Jesus said more about Hell than Heaven.”
— Jerry Falwell, “Heaven and Hell”

“Obviously I do believe in hell. Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven.”
— Rick Warren, interview with John Piper

“Jesus said more about hell than about any other topic. Amazingly, 13 percent of his sayings are about hell and judgment …”
— Mark Driscoll, “6 Questions on Hell”

“Of the 1,850 verses in the New Testament that record Jesus’ words, 13 percent of them deal with the subject of eternal judgment and hell. In fact, Jesus spoke more frequently about hell than He did about heaven.”
— Robert Jeffress, How Can I Know?
Those are some very bold and very specific quantitative assessments of Jesus’ message. But are they true?

By my count[1] (with the help of some BibleWorks magic), there are 1,944 verses in the four gospels that contain Jesus’ words.

Surprisingly,  only about 60 of those verses–or an… [Read more…] about Did Jesus speak more about Hell than about Heaven?

Keeping Hope Alive

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

In Luke’s story about Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the temple (Luke 2:22-40) they meet two prophets, Simeon and Anna, both well along in years. Simeon and Anna had been patiently waiting and looking for “the redemption of Israel” (Luke 2:38) and for God’s salvation “prepared in the presence of all peoples” as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:31-32). In eschatological terms they were looking for a world of peace and restorative justice, a world healed and put right.

This is what the early Christians were longing for when they talked about the second coming of Jesus. They were looking for a new world order of equity and equality (Gal. 3:28), in essence “a new creation” (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17). The early Christians employed the language of “apocalyptic” to talk about this new world, which is the language of poetry, of metaphor and symbol, of exaggeration (hyperbole).

Some Christians think that God will intervene at some point in the human struggle to bring about this new world. Other Christians think it will come about through the collaborative, cooperative work of human beings as they work with each other (and with the Spirit) to bring it about. I align with this latter group, if indeed, the kingdom of God will ever be realized fully in this world. Sometimes I wonder.

In terms of our spiritual and moral evolution as a species we can’t be much past adolescence can we? Our intellectual and technological evolution seems to be outpacing our spiritual and… [Read more…] about Keeping Hope Alive

What's the good news about Christianity? N.T. Wright answers in "Simply Good News"

by in Book Reviews

N.T. Wright’s new book, released today, Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good (HarperOne, $24.99) sets out to reorient and refocus the Christian faith by examining its central tenet: the gospel.

What is the gospel of Christianity, the good news at the heart of Christian faith?

According to Wright (and according to the Bible, for Wright provides ample Biblical support for his positions), the good news is that

the one true God has now taken charge of the world, in and through Jesus and his death and resurrection.

Throughout the book, Wright pithily explores the context, significance and meaning of this gospel. He offers a clear distillation of the good news through a refocusing of the lens of Christian faith and practice:

I think we have lost touch with a basic element of the Christian faith. The Christian faith, in its earliest forms, is presented as good news. … I am arguing that the idea of seeing the Christian faith as news that is good is itself, ironically, news to many people today.

Many of Wright’s arguments will be familiar to those who have read his other books: his writing about the Bible, Heaven, Jesus and Christianity all cover related ground. However, the narrower focus of Simply Good News allows Wright to repeatedly and forcefully drive home his central thesis.

Again and again Wright returns to the essential point that, regardless of the philosophy and theology du jour,… [Read more…] about What's the good news about Christianity? N.T. Wright answers in "Simply Good News"

How do you know when you've had a divine encounter?

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

Not every experience of the Divine is as momentous as Mary’s encounter with the angel in Luke 1:26-38, but Mary’s experience can be seen as a kind of archetypal representation of what a divine encounter can do in our lives.

An authentic God experience generally gives us two things that are foundational to a healthy and transformative spiritual life. First, such experiences give us ground to stand on.

When the angel first appears Mary is fearful and perplexed. The angel says, “Greetings, favored one! . . . Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have favor with God.” Isn’t it interesting that almost every time God or an angel of God appears in the Bible, the first message communicated to the recipient is, “Do not be afraid!” It would seem that being fearful of the Divine has been a problem throughout human history.

The first thing Mary had to let go of was her fear.  And the first thing she needed to embrace was God’s love. Mary is assured, first of all, that she is favored, that she is loved by God. Mary is just an ordinary Jewish girl trying to get by in a patriarchal culture. It would have been quite normal for her to feel devalued and inferior.

All authentic God experiences beckon us to stand on the solid ground of God’s unconditional love. We hear God say, “You are my beloved daughter/son, on you my favor rests” (see Mark 1:11). This is not based on merit, status, or any accomplishment. It is God’s eternal disposition toward all God’s… [Read more…] about How do you know when you've had a divine encounter?

Our 2014 Favorites

by in Current Events

The Unfundamentalist Christians team is an eclectic bunch. Though there’s plenty we don’t agree on (including some of our tenets!), each of us brings something unique to the table, so we thought it would be fun to share a few of our favorite things with you, our faithful readers. So without further ado, here, in no particular order, are some of our 2014 favorites:

My favorite movie of 2014 was God’s Not Dead. It perfectly captured the subtleties of thoughtful theological debate and rigorous scholarly inquiry. —D.B. [Don’s full review]

Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel Peace Prize. —C.C.

Radio Free Albemuth, a long-in-production film adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s semi-autobiographical novel, was finally released to video-on-demand and Netflix this year. An excellent film involving human contact and interaction with VALIS (Dick’s interpretation of God) and the efforts of a dictatorial American government to stop that contact because they think they’re terrorists. —B.D.

Favorite book I read this year: Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon. It led to a lot of conversations about neurodiversity. My favorite movie of the year was Guardians of the Galaxy. My family all loved it. Great music and I loved how it was worked into the story. I loved that Drax has some autistic characteristics (like not getting metaphors). And Groot. Just Groot. —L.C.

South Carolina… [Read more…] about Our 2014 Favorites

Are Non-LGBT-Affirming Christians Committing Blasphemy?

by Chuck Queen in LGBT

I believe that Christians who appeal to Jesus as the reason for their refusal to fully accept and affirm our LGBT sisters and brothers in the church are guilty of blasphemy. Why do I believe this? Because Jesus was the great boundary breaker, not the boundary maker. Consider the following:

First, Jesus was the great boundary breaker in the way he broke down barriers between the “righteous” and “sinners.” The meaning of these terms in the Gospels is usually based on sectarian categories (see especially Mark 2:13-17). “Sinners” is a term applied by the “righteous” to those who did not keep the law as the righteous understood and applied it. Sinners were excluded from religious life. Jesus demolished that barrier when he welcomed all “sinners” to eat with him. Eating together meant full acceptance and inclusion. New Testament scholar James D. G. Dunn aptly summarizes:
“Jesus’ practice of table fellowship was not only an expression of the good news of God’s kingly rule. It was also an implicit critique of a Pharisaic definition of acceptability, of a Pharisaic practice which classified many fellow Jews as sinners, effectively outside the law and the covenant . . . What to many Pharisees was a sinful disregard for covenant ideals was for Jesus an expression of the gospel itself. People they regarded as unacceptable, Jesus proclaimed by word and act to be the very ones God invited to his royal banquet.”

[Read more…] about Are Non-LGBT-Affirming Christians Committing Blasphemy?

Back to the ’90s: My Hometown (Again) Spurns the LGBT Community

by Don M. Burrows in Current Events, Fundamentalism, LGBT

Like many others, I was very disappointed earlier this week when my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas, where I was born, went to college, and worked for nearly a decade as a reporter, editor, and columnist, again repealed an anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the City Council.

Ordinance 119 gave legal protection from discrimination to gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals, but a vocal group from outside of the city, led by famous breeders Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, waged a campaign of fear and misinformation and successfully repealed it at the ballot box Tuesday.

For those from Fayetteville, it was history repeating itself.

The very same thing happened in 1998 when the city passed a resolution merely extending a similar policy to its own employees. The religious conservatives would have none of it then either, and spread similar libels, lies, and misinformation, leading to its repeal the following November.

I remember feeling hopeful then, as I did earlier this week, that Fayetteville could prove to the outside world how different it is from the rest of Arkansas on matters of diversity and inclusivity. But ultimately the votes then and now show that while the core of Fayetteville — the University of Arkansas and the downtown businesses that give the town its unique and interesting flavor — often does buck the unfortunately well-deserved stereotypes earned by the rest of the state, there is still enough anti-gay ideology simmering from its many… [Read more…] about Back to the ’90s: My Hometown (Again) Spurns the LGBT Community

Faith is the task of a lifetime

by in Book Reviews

I’m a Christian because of Søren Kierkegaard. The 19th-century Danish philosopher didn’t introduce me to Christianity, but he did, at a pivotal time in my life, provide the crucial encouragement that sustained my faith.

During high school I began questioning virtually every aspect of Christianity. To my youthfully inquisitive mind, so much of religious belief seemed to rest on such shaky foundations and so much of what I had been taught about Christianity seemed fraught with irreconcilable difficulties.

In my search for answers I read widely in theology, philosophy and history. But more often than not, the sources that were supposed to provide answers and reassurances only led to more frustration. Works of Christian apologetics proved to be particularly disappointing: they had an answer for everything, but their “answers” usually seemed to be little more than elaborate exercises in obfuscation and self-assurance.

It was in the writings of Kierkegaard that I eventually found a way to move past trite answers and beyond paralyzing doubt. Kierkegaard’s ruminations on truth, faith and reason still resonate me with today:
Without risk, no faith. Faith is the contradiction between the infinite passion of inwardness and the objective uncertainty. If I am able to apprehend God objectively, I do not have faith; but because I cannot do this, I must have faith. If I want to keep myself in faith, I must continually see to it that I hold fast the objective uncertainty, see to it that in… [Read more…] about Faith is the task of a lifetime