Here’s a recap of some of my favorite postings from 2005 2006 in this category:
• Do You Believe God Exists? That’s Only Half the Question [link]. Equally important: What are you going to do as a consequence of that belief?
• The Perfect, Changeless Religion: There Isn’t One [link]. The universe keeps changing, and we keep learning more about it. Our models of the universe necessarily change too, including our religions. This doesn’t disobey God, it glorifies and honors him by putting to use the gifts of memory and reason with which he endowed us.
• Are We Smarter Than the Apostles? [link] Not necessarily, but we sure know a heck of a lot more than they did.
• Human Nature – Still the Same [link]. We have no reason to think that the scriptural authors and editors weren’t as prone as anyone to wishful thinking; to jumping to conclusions; to creative memory; and to story distortion.
• Journalists and Scriptural Authors: Vulnerable to the Same Human Failings [link]. A traditionalist complains that journalists always get things wrong. His complaint provides us with yet another illustration why we should be cautious about accepting the claims of Scripture. (An interesting dialogue takes place in the comments to this post.)
• From the "Stories Get Distorted" Desk [link]. A couple of recent examples of significant story distortion.
• Footnotes, Walking Down Stairs, and Making Love [link]. A Noel Coward aphorism gets hilariously distorted in the retelling.
• Reality Testing Wanted [link]. Ideas are plentiful, and thank God for that. But they’re of little use without observations of the real world God created against which to test them. This is as true in theology as anywhere else.
• Am I Just "Tone-Deaf" About the Traditional Christian Story? [link]. I honestly don’t understand how thinking people can believe much of traditionalist Christianity. But I can’t rule out that I might be like the tone-deaf guy who will never ‘get’ what music-lovers appreciate about a concert.
• A Common Faith? Sure, If We’re Willing to Look for It [link]. A common faith could mean simply putting one’s trust in God and being faithful to him no matter what. But that necessarily entails remaining open to the truth about God, his will, and his creation, whatever that truth turns out to be (paraphrasing the Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor).
Leave a Reply