Comfortable in the middle

I listened to a podcast interview recently where the interviewer said the phrase “ all scripture is God-breathed. ”  I’ve heard that phrase many times before, and always used to assert the authority of the Bible.  But something new occurred to me when I heard it this time, which got me thinking. But first, a warning:  If you’re the type of person who stands on the unwavering fact that the Bible is literally true, this might not be for you.  If you’ve read any of my posts, you know that I ask questions, and introduce uncertainty and complexity into the equation, to promote less rigid beliefs and convictions, and to encourage people to be on a journey focused on seeking truth, rather than claiming they already have it.  So if you practice bibliolatry, you probably ought to stop reading now. Bible belief as Christian identity Have you ever heard someone say, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it?”  I’ve heard it many times, and most often when someone is...

I was recently watching a YouTube video by a well-known and popular leader in the New Apostolic Reformation movement.  I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t help myself.  The armchair psychologist in me is fascinated by those who are waiting for God to redeem America through the reinstallation of the former President Trump.  As is my habit, I started scrolling through the viewer comments.  There always seems to be one or two comments which produce lots of replies, and often with some lively back-and-forth between supporters and detractors.  This one particular comment caught my attention, and not because I like it, but because it speaks to a particular problem I see among a number of politically-minded Christians.  Here is a copy of the posted comment: After the election, I thought to bring down my Trump Make America Great Again flag, when God gave me the following scripture : " You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because ...

Did you know that right now there are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Christians, and not just American Christians, who are declaring “America Shall Be Saved”?  If you don’t believe me, just Google (or better yet, Duck Duck Go, which will yield a less restricted range of hits) the phrase, “America Shall Be Saved.” This is a significant effort on behalf of a particular modern variety of Christian believers, and primarily associated with the New Apostolic Reformation and Independent Network Charismatic Christianity .  You might be asking, what is America being saved from?  The short answer is the wrath of God.  And if you reflect on recent American history, and how the media usually frames the information it broadcasts, it’s not too difficult to imagine that lots of people have a foreboding sense that America is in trouble.  If one then applies a supernatural frame of reference on recent events, it’s not too hard to imagine that some spiritually-minded Chri...

My mind has been churning on what to make of the observations I’ve made watching the interpersonal dynamics of a wide range of Christian social media personalities and their followers and detractors over the past several months.  My reflection has resulted in the conclusion stated in the title of this blog post.  Maybe this is obvious to my Christian friends, and I’m just slow to reach the same conclusion.  Or maybe it’s a dangerous assertion.  I’m not really sure, but read on, if interested, and feel free to leave a comment at the end. There’s a lot of tension in the online Christian communities - battles even, as people take sides, and alternately defend and attack specific positions.  There are adherents of self-proclaimed prophets defending the same against “attacks” from other Christians who accuse them of being false prophets.  There are Christians calling out all sorts of heresies of other Christian personalities and leaders, in an attempt to steer p...

This is the 6th post in the What my decade-long foray into the creation-evolution debate taught me about the human condition (and how it applies today) series . Truth, misinformation, and literacy This is a tough topic to cover succinctly.  In fact, as I’ve been working on this, I realize it will need to be split into two parts - this post addressing literacy in general, and the second post covering subject literacy. The topic of literacy is hugely important right now.  Right now, American society in particular is being inundated with misinformation, unlike anything I’ve seen previously.  The same sort of situation I witnessed happening in the relatively insignificant sideline battles of the creation-evolution debate a decade ago is now playing prime-time in front of the entire country (and world) and involves real consequences to people, spanning battles involving political power and public health.  Misinformation is certainly not new (there are warnings about misi...