On being a progressive conservative (or a conservative progressive)…
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán on Pexels.com Is the world so simple that we can quickly attach a valid label to everyone? We often act as though it is – or certainly we do in the world of theology, where we try to separate between those who are theologically conservative and those who are progressive – although we might use slightly different language, and suggest someone is a liberal or a fundamentalist or an evangelical or whatever. Single descriptors (conservative or progressive) usually make the error of assuming a world without nuance, a world where things fit tidily into a box… but when...
Read MoreOriginal Goodness: Taking our First Creation Seriously
I often listen to the theology podcasts from Yale Divinity School. Their by line asks a question: “What is a life worthy of our humanity?” I love it. It reminds us that although we might talk about original sin, God’s first word after the creation of humans was that they were very good, and indeed, that they were made in God’s own image. To bear the image of the Creator is a lofty status and provides a hint at how much is involved in leading a life worthy of our humanity, a life blessed by original goodness. The reason why we strongly object to poverty, slavery and injustice of all forms is...
Read MoreWhat do Theologians do?
It’s a question I’ve been asked often enough, especially after I’ve introduced myself as a pastor and theologian, “So what do theologians do?” Let’s note the obvious. By definition, theology, being made up from two Greek words theos (God) and logos (the word about, or the study of), is the study of God. By implication then, all those who grapple with the question of God are, in one way or another, theologians. They might be very poor theologians, amateur theologians, professional theologians, perhaps even theologians whose work is widely recognized in the life of the church – but theologians...
Read MoreThe Way, the Truth and the Life: with Jon Bergmann
One of the many things I love about my post as principal of Vose Seminary, is that I get to work with some amazing and creative thinkers. No matter whose office I walk into at the seminary, my entry causes the average IQ in the room to drop about 10 points! More recently we’ve been trying to share that giftedness more widely, and have created a section on the seminary’s website called, “theologians at lunch” – it’s meant to capture some of the feel of many of our lunchtime conversations. In the lead up to Christmas, each day we’ve been considering a...
Read MoreQuotable: Rachel Held Evans – Searching for Sunday
Rachel Held Evans 2015 book Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving and Finding the Church is well worth the read. As the sub title suggests, it is a book about loving, leaving and finding the church – and tells of a journey well worth pondering. Each chapter starts with a quote from a noteworthy figure, or a verse from the Bible. Here are a few of these quotes… I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out in the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security… More than by fear of...
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