There is a lot of talk about deconstruction of faith. There is a growing movement among notably younger evangelicals in North America who are disenchanted with their faith. The questions...
On Faith, Atheism, and Beyond
I always thought atheism was the last and final barrier that I would not cross or that, when cross, would seal me as a non-Christian. And then I realized there...
Why I Dropped the Label of Evangelical and Why You Should Too
On January 17, Ron Sider, an evangelical theologian famous for his insistence that rich Christians make work of addressing poverty, posted on a piece on his blog titled “STILL EVANGELICAL...
Emotional and Spiritual Abuse in the Church (I): the Divine Authority Syndrome
Emotional and spiritual abuse in the church often results from wrong ideas about how Divine Authority functions within the faith community. It is often wielded as a tool to suppress,...
Faith Deconstruction: What It Is and How It Works
Deconstruction starts with the realization that all of reality is constructed. This is so because we can only see, i.e. understand, what we can place in an interpretative structure of...
Christelijk geloof en seculariteit: Om Christus te volgen moet je je van god bekeren.
Ik breek me soms het hoofd over hoe het geloof nog relevant kan zijn in onze seculaire post-christelijke maatschappij. (Net zoals ik me soms het hoofd breek over waarom ik...
The Hollywood Evangelicalism of Pratt and Bieber: Same Old, Same Old.
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...
Martyrs, Madmen, and Marauders: Six Ways Christian Missions Needs to Change
There has been much talk about missions lately in the wake of the death of a young missionary, John Chau, who, against government regulation and common sense, went on a...
Evangelical Theology and Justice: Strange Bedfellows In the Kingdom of God
One big reason why Christianity has gotten a bad rap in post-world WWII Europe is that increasingly it began to be seen as hypocritical and disingenuous. Partly, as a result,...
Seven Ways to Overcome Religious Trauma Syndrome
Religious Trauma is a real thing. I know it. I feel it. I see it in others. And there is official recognition these days! A few years ago, I interviewed...
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...