A reasonably friendly article appeared on Vox: The rise of the star-studded, Instagram-friendly evangelical church: Chris Pratt, Justin Bieber, and the “cool” Christian celebrity. The article mainly discusses Pratt and...
“I Love Jesus But Not the Church” Means You’re On To Something
An article appeared a few days ago in the evangelical section of Patheos that really irked me. It has the rather nasty title: ‘I Love Jesus But Not the Church’...
De Nashville Verklaring als Geestelijke Big Mac
Wie de naam Nashville hoort, denkt meteen aan country muziek. Voor Amerikaanse evangelicals is er sinds kort ook de associatie met de Nashville Verklaring, een statement aangaande seksuele ethiek waarin...
Immanuel and the Immigrants: Thoughts on the Absence of God in Western Society
Anyone who’s been reading my recent musings on theology must have noticed how I struggle creatively with the idea of atheism. Especially now that we are at that time of...
Pwayse Tyeesis: The Apotheosis of the Fundamentalist Apocalypse
I’m not a fundie watchdog. So when I hear Fundamentalists say something weird it always comes to through leftwing or liberal media. And, yes, today was when I heard about...
Theocracy: Somebody’s Heaven is Someone Else’s Hell
Theocracy, that form of government in which God governs a nation directly through divine command, is hot again. Think for instance of Iran, al-Qaeda or ISIS. Closer to home, American...
Theocratie: de hemel van de een is hel voor de ander
Theocratie, de regeringsvorm waarbij God direct regeert, is weer helemaal terug van weggeweest. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan Iran, Al Qaida of IS. En op dit moment zijn Amerikaanse evangelicals bezig om...
A God in the Hands of Angry Sinners: How the Evangelical Misconstrual of God and Politics Spells Doom
Many people in the United States are familiar with the famous sermon Jonathan Edwards, the Puritan preacher and scholar in the Massachusetts of the 1700s, preached on the 8th of...
Partying As the Bullets Fly: The Absurdity of Prophetic Fulfillment Without Justice
While the United States celebrates the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Israeli army shot and murdered 58 Palestinians. Yesterday Israel celebrated its 70th anniversary...
What To Do When God is Unfaithful?
What To Do When God is Unfaithful We often talk about human unfaithfulness. Novels become bestsellers partly to the extent their plots involve the right amounts of betrayal, infidelity, and...
Atheism as Salvation: Passing Through the Door of Liberation
Not too long ago I had an interesting conversation with a long lost friend who had become an atheist. As we reminisced long-forgotten memories we also had to talk about...
It Takes Racism to Explain Away Racism
Why is it so hard to overcome racism? It is strange that in a world where most people tend to agree that racism is a bad thing, there is still...
“A Perfect Circle” as Public Theology
When the word theology is mentioned people either have no idea what you are talking about or they think you’re talking about something religious. This week I listened to the...
I Believe in Predestination But God Has Nothing To Do With It!
Actually, I don’t believe in predestination. We are not robots! I hate predestination and consider it one of the great heretical ideas that have crept into Christian theology, first by...
My Sister is Doing Chemo while God is Busy Numbering her Hairs
I know this sounds outrageous, but these were the words that popped-up in my head when I heard that my sister has breast cancer: my sister is doing chemo while...