Tag Archives: theology
Atonement and the Ordinary
Last year, I read Julie Canlis’ wonderful, little book A Theology of the Ordinary (2d, ed.;Godspeed Press, 2018). The book emerged from the author’s “extended meditation on this cultural obsession with greatness and being ‘impactful'” (2). Canlis ponders whether “our culture’s emphasis on supercharged emotions and measurable success blinded us to Romans 12 and the fact that our ordinary lives are our ‘spiritual act of worship'” (3)? In the rest of the book she precedes to sketch out a brief “theology of the ordinary” organized around the themes of creation, redemption, and new creation.
Continue reading Atonement and the OrdinaryUpcoming Public Lecture: “Imagining a Better Way”
The Theological Task Today
In preparation for an upcoming paper I will be delivering at the annual conference of the Canadian American Theological Association entitled, “Reimagining Ethical Preaching,” I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in Garrett Green’s insightful work on imagination. Here is a particularly rich passage from his recent book Imagining Theology: Continue reading The Theological Task Today
Upcoming Bonhoeffer Course
As part of its ongoing commitment to support the life and ministry of the church, Providence Theological Seminary is allowing pastors and other ministry leaders to audit most of its courses for the reduced fee of $250 CDN. Include among those offerings is my upcoming modular course to be held during the week of February 20-24 on the life and witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Here is the course description: Continue reading Upcoming Bonhoeffer Course
Every Christian is a Politician
In 1962, the Swiss theologian Karl Barth made his one and only trip to the United States. The visit was a whirlwind tour, eagerly followed by the media, that saw him deliver lectures at the University of Chicago and Princeton that would be published as Evangelical Theology and even visit San Quentin maximum security prison seven years before Johnny Cash would make it there. On several occasions Barth spoke out about the wretched conditions he witnessed in American prisons. He knew a thing or two about prison conditions from his regular preaching to the inmates in Basel. Continue reading Every Christian is a Politician