Tag Archives: Theology

No Interpretation Needed? Part 2

Last post we asked if it is possible to just read the Bible and understand what it says without having to ‘interpret’ it.

It’s a nice-sounding option, in theory. Unfortunately for us, that option doesn’t exist. In fact:

Is not every devotional reading (silent), every sermon (spoken), and every commentary (written) an interpretation or a series of interpretations of a biblical text? Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Pub Theology, The Text, Theology

No Interpretation Needed?

Are you skeptical about biblical interpretation? Does it seem that someone can just “make it say anything?” Are you one of those who would prefer to just “read it for what it says”?

You’re not alone. Many are intimidated by the vast amount of study some seem to think reading the Bible requires. Can’t I just take the “plain sense” of a text and arrive at what God is trying to say to me? Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Philosophy, Pub Theology, The Text, Theology

Pub Theology Recap January 5

Great night at the pub last night. Nine of us grabbed a pint and settled in for a good discussion, huddled around the table as if seeking respite from the snow drifts just outside.

A. showed up, who promptly styled himself ‘kinda the local guru.’ Then quickly thought better of it and shifted to ‘kinda the local guy.’ He’d been reading up on the history of Islam and… Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under Philosophy, Pub Theology, Relationships, Theology

Confessions of a Postconservative

In a 1974 book, Jack Rogers, then a Fuller Theological Seminary professor, notes:

“Conservative” is a good word. It marks continuity with the past, preservation of enduring values, holding on to what has been proven with time. In this sense I am still a conservative. I want to “hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess 5:21). There is another sense in which the word “conservative” is used. The dictionary defines “conservative” as “tending to favor the preservation of the existing order and to regard proposals for change with distrust.” Being conservative in that sense leads to conservatism. That is the sense of being conservative which has marked much of my past. That is the sense of being conservative which I want to put behind me. Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under Books, Culture, Politics, Relationships, The Text, Theology

Stages of Faith

James Fowler’s book Stages of Faith (1981) is a ground-breaking classic. Fowler identifies six stages through which pilgrims of faith invariably travel. Below are summaries of the stages drawn from various sources as well as the book itself. Read it through and see what you think. Continue reading

10 Comments

Filed under Relationships, The Text, Theology

Pub Theology Recap April 21

Surrounded by some new art, and still hovering in purgatory, about fifteen of us gathered at the Pub during Holy Week, or more precisely, on Maundy Thursday.

What exactly is Maundy Thursday?

Great question – but we weren’t there to answer that. Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Philosophy, Pub Theology, Relationships, Theology

Continental Philosophy, or What I Understood Of It

Just recently returned from the fourth Postmodernism, Culture and Religion Conference entitled: The Future of Continental Philosophy of Religion. The conference was at Syracuse University and included some of the best thinkers in Continental Philosophy, especially concerning religion and theology.

“What is continental philosophy?”, some of you might ask. Good question. Continue reading

6 Comments

Filed under Culture, Philosophy, Readings, The Text, Theology, Travels

Pub Theology Recap March 31

Topics for tonight via Twitter:

1. #God is all about people, not theology.

2. You don’t have to believe in heaven to find life after death Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Politics, Pub Theology, Relationships, The Text, Theology

Pub Theology Recap March 24

Is God’s forgiveness unconditional? Is it for everyone?

The first response:
“Yes it is conditional. I grew up in the church hearing that if God forgives you, you’ve got to start living differently, otherwise it obviously didn’t make any difference, and in that case – you’re not really forgiven.”

Next response:
“What about Jesus saying that we need to forgive people seventy times seven? Doesn’t that imply that forgiveness is unlimited, and therefore unconditional?” Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Pub Theology, Relationships, The Text, Theology

C’mon already

All this brouhaha over books and theology and who believes what and how they believe it is starting to rub thin… I mean, who cares if Rob Bell doesn’t believe in hell, or believes in a different version of hell, or if this church has 9 official points of doctrine, but the other one has 49, and so on… Continue reading

4 Comments

Filed under Relationships, The Text, Theology