War, Peace, and Afghanistan: The Week 8 SEMI

War, Peace, and Afghanistan: The Fall 8 SEMI
This week’s issue of the SEMI, Fuller’s student newspaper, deals primarily with the war in Afghanistan. Those of you who know me well know that issues of war and peace are very important to me. Peacemaking is a gospel issue, and it is an issue that should be [...]

What makes you uncomfortable?

What parts of the Bible make you uncomfortable, and why?
My Old Testament Exegesis professor asked us that question in class the other day in the context of a discussion about monotheism in ancient Israel and today. We talked about how, for the most part, the people of Israel weren’t monotheistic, but instead worshiped any number [...]

“Murder has no religion”

I, like the rest of the world, was utterly horrified when I heard about the shooting that took place at Fort Hood last week. It was and is a heartbreaking tragedy.
I was also saddened to hear that the gunman, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is a Muslim. I knew that it would likely provoke an [...]

The Week 7 SEMI: Exploring Asian American Theology

The Week 7 SEMI: Exploring Asian American Theology
This week’s issue of the SEMI features articles from several Asian American students at Fuller. The goal of the issue was to help the Fuller community better understand the specific challenges that those who are ministering in an Asian American context face. Asian Americans are by far the [...]

Are Young Adult Ministries bad for the Church?

There’s a thought provoking article in this month’s issue of Relevant Magazine (the entire issue can be viewed online by clicking the link and entering your e-mail address). The article that caught my attention was called “Church Mutiny” and it was written by a young adults pastor in Florida.
The premise of the article is essentially [...]

Piper and the “Gospel” of Health and Wealth

In this ten minute video John Piper gives a brief yet thorough critique of the prosperity gospel that is, in my opinion, 99% right on. I’m not sure how many of my readers subscribe to prosperity theology- the notion that God wants you to be rich, healthy, happy all the time- but I’ve been surprised [...]

Subversion is Sexy…

…and that is a problem.
There is something about dissenting, sticking to the man, and subverting social norms that is strangely alluring. Like other sexy things subversion can be distracting and dangerous, and I believe this is especially true amongst people my age. Subversion and dissent have their place, to be sure, but they are always [...]

Highlights from Hauerwas

Last night I had the opportunity to hear a lecture given by Stanley Hauerwas at Azusa Pacific University. Hauerwas is an ethicist from Duke University, and is one of America’s most prominent theologians. I have been a fan of his for a long time, and he has been influential in the development of my own [...]

Words Matter

This afternoon I was clicking around ESPN.com and I found a video of a college football coach making some angry remarks at a midweek press conference. I won’t recount what he said, but suffice to say that portions of his remarks were terribly inappropriate and potentially offensive.
I then clicked on a video of an interview [...]

The Apostle Paul and Nonviolence

Was Paul a pacifist? Michael Gorman , Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Mary’s Sminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland, seems to think so. From his book Reading Paul:
It is easy to think of Paul as a preacher or pastor, even as an example. It is more difficult for us to see him as a critic [...]