Other than vague, rather generic calls to “repent,” “confess,” and “humbly listen,” there appears to be few concrete solutions offered to evangelicalism’s perceived problem of “white privilege.” Of course, calls to “repent,” “confess,” and “humbly listen,” are very much biblical! But in the aftermath of incidents like the recent tragedy in Ferguson, those calls appear [...]
Back in 2008, I asked the question “Is Christian Horror Becoming a Trend?” The “horror” label has always posed problems for Christian writers, publishers, and filmmakers. Terms like “thriller” or “supernatural suspense” are far more manageable when dealing with anything potentially “faith-based.” Part of the perceived incongruity of those two words — “Christian” and “horror” [...]
When Tony Jones (“theologian-in-residence” at Solomon’s Porch) challenged his readers “to write one post about God,” the response was… bizarre. Why was such a challenge for progressives even necessary? Jones explained: …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 [...]
I was once asked how I knew I was called to write. I answered, “Because when I write, I feel God’s pleasure.” It was a reference to that famous line in Chariots of Fire when missionary Eric Liddel was asked why he ran. It was also a hilariously pompous thing for me to say. I [...]
The answer to that question, it appears, depends on what side of the aisle you fall — author or reader. So I was following an author for a spell, keeping an eye on the release of their first novel. Within a week they were pushing 20 reviews. All five-star. And all, notoriously, brief. This hinted [...]
One of the most influential books I’ve ever read remains John Wimber’s Power Evangelism. Wimber’s thesis was pretty simple: Signs and wonders, spiritual phenomenon, miracles, and “power encounters” are essential to the Church’s health and the expansion of the kingdom of God. Sure, Wimber went off the deep end once in a while (see: the [...]
An interesting discussion arose on Facebook a couple weekends back surrounding the following status update posted by Patrick Watts. In context, Watts was blurbing comments made at a Lifeway event by another speaker. After some criticism, he went on to expound: This was in the middle of talking about loving your wife as Christ loved [...]
Apparently, that’s the going argument among many professing Christians. They say, “The Bible is not the full revelation of God. Jesus is!” Sounds good, right? This approach could be described as a “Christ-centered hermeneutic,” meaning that we should read Scripture through the lens of Christ. To which I wholly agree. But then there’s the Red-Letter [...]
So there’s a “Blog Hop” tour going around among some writer friends in which we all answer the same four questions about our latest release and other writing related stuff. Thanks to novelist Kerry Neitz for thinking to include me. Kerry is a computer nerd who writes unique speculative fiction tales like A Star Curiously [...]
I’ve never really wanted to read Jane Eyre. Until now. Jane Eyre is just one of several pieces of classic literature that Karen Swallow Prior, Professor of English at Liberty University, uses to chronicle her own journey of self-discovery — a journey of self-discovery through literature. In Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, Madame [...]
