Religions
All religions are not one.
Stephen Prothero is my favorite scholar of religions. I have read his American Jesus: How to Son of God Became a National Icon many years ago and Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know–And Doesn’t. These books and his popular articles convinced me that he is one of the clearest thinkers on the subject of comparative [...]
Christianity against religion?
Sometimes I am surprised at how antagonistic some Christians are toward religion. Recently a video of a spoken word artist placing Jesus over against religion has gone viral. Many Christians seem to enjoy it though they don’t realize how paradoxical this must seem to outsiders (read my concerns in “Remember, Jesus practiced religion too!”). Contrary [...]
Remember, Jesus practiced religion too!
I’ve seen this video posted by several people on Facebook today: While I appreciate how this artist exalts Jesus Christ there is something seriously wrong with “Jesus v. religion”. It is a false dichotomy. Jesus himself was a very religious Jew. He went to temple. He didn’t disagree with the temple and sacrificial system, but [...]
Voting for a Mormon.
For many it was difficult to vote for John F. Kennedy because he was a Roman Catholic. There was a fear that Washington D.C. would be governed indirectly by Rome. If the President was to be a good Catholic who obeyed the authority of the Pope wouldn’t this influence his policy decisions? It appears Mitt [...]
Who am I? Who are you? A Muslim Perspective on the Role of Faith in Identity Formation.
Roger Nam of George Fox University asked if we’d be willing to announce an event taking place on Friday, November 11th from 9AM-Noon. It is titled “Who am I? Who are you? A Muslim Perspective on the Role of Faith in Identity Formation”. The event features Maria Ebrahimji, Fatemeh Fakhrale, and Muda Idow. The blurb [...]
Desegregating religious education: For, against, indifferent?
My friend Ekaputra Tupamahu posted this video on Facebook wherein Claremont Lincoln University announces that they have decided to “desegregate” religious education. The Claremont School of Theology will train priests, pastors, rabbis and imams together (see “Claremont seminary reaches beyond Christianity” from the LA Times earlier this year). In some sense this is nothing new: [...]
Lawful business (Blog a Qur’an Day)
A year ago (see my post here) many Christians bloggers decided to blog a portion of the Qur’an on September 11th as a way of showing good will toward our Muslim neighbors on a day when they are often demonized because of the tragic events that occurred a decade ago. One aspect of our society [...]
The fallacy of assumed universal experience.
Yesterday Rodney Thomas wrote a post titled “Can White People Do Contextual Theology Too?” wherein he rightly argues, “…many well-intentioned religious thinkers try to hide …whiteness in the name of universality. The idea that even white people do contextual theology is disruptive.” I recommend reading it, because it is true! Sometimes those of us with more [...]
Miroslav Volf on whether or not Christians and Muslims worship the same God
Last week Ekaputra Tupamahu notified me of an article by Miroslav Volf titled “Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?” (Read here) He wanted to know my thoughts on the matter, especially since over a year ago we had a lively discussion on this very subject (see here, here, and here). One thing that [...]
Epiphany: Christ Proclaimed to Religious Others?
The western church celebrates Epiphany today (Theophany in the eastern church which is celebrated on the 6th). In this tradition Christians celebrate “the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles” as we see captured in the visit of the Magi from the east. This narrative, found in Mt. 2.1-12, is interesting to me. The Magi are [...]
Is Buddha Worse than Aristotle?
This weekend I saw this post on Twitter by Dr. Russell Moore of SBTS. He is refering to Pentecostal theologian Amos Yong of Regent University. While I share his concern with syncretism there is something about this that concerns me. Any students of Christian history knows how dependent much of our doctrine is on categories [...]
Watch PBS’s “God in America”
I saw a lot of people talking about PBS’s series “God in America” this week. It turns out the whole documentary is available online here. (HT) Some personal notes: – In Episode One, “The New Adam”, the conflict between Ann Hutchinson and John Winthrop continues in the church today. One believes in the voice of [...]
A Parable (You Know Where This is Going)
Today is 9/11. Every year we speak about remembering 9/11 and we should. We should never forget. We should never forget what fanaticism can do. We should never forget what fundamentalism can do. We should never forget that religion can be dangerous at times. We should never forget that humans can be hateful. What we [...]
The Basic Definition of Religion (Blog a Qur’an Day)
Today I am participating in the “Blog a Qur’an Day” with Andrew Jones and a long list of Christian bloggers. On this day it is easy to demonize Muslims for the terrorism of 9/11, but we must remember that fanaticism is not the only voice of a religion. We Christians have our fanatic fundamentalist and [...]
Remember on September 11
I can vividly remember when the tragedy struck on this day just nine years ago. Eerily, exactly one week before I had gathered with my co-worker and his friends, and I remember them talking about what might happen if the United States were attacked. Maybe they were prophets or something? I remember walking up on [...]
Qur’an Burning Canceled!
According to several news sources (CNN here) it appears that Pastor Terry Jones of the World Outreach Center in Florida has canceled the scheduled Qur’an burning. Whew! Update: So it may not be canceled?!
Pondering the Media Coverage of the Qur’an Burning “Church”
While I was reading a post by fellow Western Seminarian Jonathan Shradar (see here) it dawned on me that this is really a small group of extremist. I am wondering if the media should blush a bit for giving this “church” so much attention (including people such as myself with our media-via-blogging). If this causes [...]
Another Good Reason Not to Burn Qur’ans: Retaliation on Christians Abroad
I know a woman who used to be a medical aid worker in Pakistan. Today she received an email from one of her former colleagues which was forwarded my way. Here is an excerpt from the email: I have just written a letter to Rev. Terry Jones pastor of the Church in Florida which is [...]
Read the Qur’an Day (I’m with James McGrath on This One)
Stephen Prothero (of whose writing that I have read I have enjoyed) has called for moderate Christians to take a stand against that insane bunch of pseudo-Christians in Florida who plan on burning copies of the Qur’an on 9/11 (see his CNN.com article here). Since I have little means of doing so it seemed most [...]
One Quick Thing On Christian-Muslim Relations
I really do not care if you are for or against a mosque being built near Ground Zero at the future 9/11 memorial. What does concern me is how many Christians have been throwing fits about it while showing absolutely no concern for the many Muslims in Pakistan whose lives have been lost or greatly [...]
Saturday Film Review: 08.21.10
I watched one movie this week and this is my review: Eat Pray Love (2010) This movie is quintessential modern American spirituality. It is based on the book by the same title written by Liz Gilbert. Since I have not read the book I do not know how accurately it depicts this woman but if [...]
“It’s Not About Religion, It’s About Spirituality” = Meaningless
Yesterday, novelist Anne Rice made the news talking about her Christianity-less Christ. Along with many others I wrote about how ridiculous it is to say such a thing. While I am criticizing stupid punch-lines used in our culture that have not been thought through let me address another. Today, New York Knicks power forward Amare [...]
Religion Isn’t About Getting Along: Laura Cooper Challenges Pluralism
I do not know to which religious persuasion Laura Cooper of the blog History Club adheres (update: she is a deist, which I once was as well), but I think she has figured out the flaw of so-called religious pluralism. In a recent post she writes criticizing what she understands to be the flattening of religious world-views [...]
Why θεός, Not יהוה? Further Thoughts on Christianity and Islam
In a previous discussion on this blog Ekaputra Tupamahu made an important statement that I have been pondering. I have argued that it is dangerous to state that Allah equates to God the Father because Muslims will not confess that Allah raised Jesus from the dead. Ekaputra challenged this statement by reminding me that in [...]
Juxtaposing Christianity and Islam
While I fully intend to response to James McGrath and Ekaputra Tupamahu’s comments on my post, “Yes, God is God of All: A Rejoinder to James McGrath and Ekaputra Tupamahu” I first want to mention some similar discussions going on in the blogosphere. First, Christianity Today is asking people whether or not Christians should join [...]
Yes, God is the God of All: A Rejoinder to Ekaputra Tupamahu and James McGrath
Is there a difference between the Calvinist and Arminian understanding of God? Yes. Are there similarities between the Calvinist and Arminian understanding of God? Yes. Is there a difference between the Calvinist and Open Theistic understanding of God? Yes. Are there similarities between the Calvinist and Open Theistic understanding of God? Yes. Is there a [...]
Is “Allah” the Father of Jesus? [2 of 2]
When one suggest that Christians and Muslims worship the same deity we may ask whether or not the god of Muslims is said to have acted in history as the Father of Jesus is said to have acted. I think the answer is “no”. I think most Muslims would be pleased with this answer since [...]
Is “Allah” the Father of Jesus? [1 of 2]
It has been said that Allah, the god of Islam, is none other than the God known as the Father of Jesus Christ. Let this be a test that can be applied to such a suggestion. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe [...]
‘A God of Many Understandings?’ Blog Conference Update 10.09.09
As our blog conference approaches I want to keep it at the forefront of the minds of those who read here at ‘Near Emmaus’. Over the next several weeks I will introduce our contributors. This week I wanted to provide you with a short biography of Benjamin J. Chicka who will be contributing a paper [...]
‘A God of Many Understandings?’ Blog Conference Update
Thus far we have three essayist with titled papers for our upcoming blog conference this January. In addition we have three other essayist who have committed to write an article but who have yet to provide information regarding that article. Let me announce that we will be extending the opportunity to place an entry to [...]
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