Category Archives: Theology

Could God Be Angry With You?

Does [God] use punishment as an instrument of control? Do we need to hold pro-God rallies (Sunday mornings at 11:00) and offer the Almighty extravagant praise, lest his wrath burst out at us? Is God some kind of cosmic tyrant who requires constant appeasement? Continue reading

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Good News about the Day of Judgment (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15)

No one is thrown into that lake because they have sinned. If that were the case, we would all go there, since “there is no difference: for all have sinned” (Romans 3:22-23). People do not end up in hell because they have sinned, but because they do not have life. Continue reading

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When Christ Appears (“When” Is the Wrong Question)

I no longer debate such things, but back then, I did. I was armed to the teeth with prooftexts, like some kind of eschatological Rambo, ready to blow holes in your rapture and millennial theories, while you ran for cover. Continue reading

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The Church Avoids Division (Acts 15)

That disagreement could have divided the church and derailed the faith. But problems, when faced in appropriate ways, can lead to even more success, and the church faced this in an appropriate way. Continue reading

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Beyond the Big Bang: Christ as the Source of Two Creations

Scientists tell us that the entire universe came into existence in an instant from a single point (“singularity” in cosmological lingo), but according to the Bible, the entire universe came into being from a single person. Christ is the singularity out of which the first creation sprang and from which a new creation is emerging. Continue reading

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The Conversion of St. Paul (Acts 9)

He layers the events of our lives with meaning. He infuses them with potential. He transforms them to bring good, even when we cannot see it, even when we have no idea of what he is about to do. Continue reading

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A Soul Divided: Worry Cuts Us in Pieces

Is it possible that we might share Lord Voldemort’s ability to divide our souls? I think it is, and we can divide them many more times than seven, and we needn’t use magic to do it. Continue reading

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Pentecost: What Does It Mean? (Acts 2)

Jesus’s tomb was a womb and hidden within that womb was the life of the world. The earth quaked on that first Easter morning because it was in labor! Continue reading

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Can We Still Say, “Christ Is King”?

When people in my generation of Christ-followers learn that conservative millennials, Gen Xers, and Gen Zers are declaring “Christ is King,” they are delighted. Maybe the world is not falling apart, after all. Maybe the next generation is heading in the right direction. Continue reading

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The Baptism of the Holy Spirit: What Is It About?

What does the baptism with the Spirit accomplish? Three things primarily. First, the baptism of the Spirit unites us to Christ. The Spirit is the vital connection between Christ and us, conveying his life to us and making us resurrectable (Romans 8:11). Continue reading

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