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Despite Flaws, Aronofsky’s “Noah” Shows God Is With Us And Not Against Us
By Steve on April 18, 2014
I finally got some time to check out the Darren Aronofsky film Noah everyone has been talking about. My Facebook feed has been filled with Christians sharing the pros and cons of the film for days now….
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Brian McLaren and Why Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Crossed The Road
By Steve on April 16, 2014
Within the Christian community the name Brian McLaren elicits either declarations of gratitude or cries of “heretic” depending on where one stands on a number of theological issues. The gratitude part tends to come from…
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The Church Is Changing: Will Believers Start Bypassing Christianity to Follow Christ?
By Steve on April 1, 2014
Rachel Held Evans has been one of the “go to” blogs for commentary on the unfolding World Vision controversy. Today, in an article for CNN, Rachel argues that in their desire to win a culture…
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Some More Thoughts on the World Vision Controversy
By Steve on March 29, 2014
A couple days ago I contributed to the deluge of opinion on the recent controversy surrounding World Vision with a satirical post of my own. Needless to say I received more than the usual amount…
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World Vision’s Open Letter Reversing Their Decision to Hire Same-Sex Couples: With My Translation
By Steve on March 27, 2014
Hi all, If you are like me you may have been confused by World Vision’s declaration that it would begin allowing legally married same-sex individuals to be employed by the Christian relief agency only to…
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Complicated Answers to Simple Questions: Why Jesus Is Still Overturning Our Religious Boxes
By Steve on March 25, 2014
While visiting Shanghai on business last week I had dinner Friday evening with some colleagues from work. The mainland Chinese waiter who took our order did what I have experienced hundreds of times while…
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God At The Movies: Jodie Foster in “Contact” and How Real Belief Transforms
By Steve on March 20, 2014
There is a great scene at the end of the movie Contact where Jodie Foster is sitting before a Senate hearing committee in an attempt to “prove” she had an extraterrestrial encounter. For those unfamiliar with…
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Mark Driscoll’s Open Letter Apology: Has the Mars Hill Pastor Finally Heard the Singing of the Whos Down in Whoville?
By Steve on March 18, 2014
I was a Mark Driscoll fan…and then I wasn’t! Back in 2007 I didn’t know much about Driscoll other than he was that “swearing” pastor Donald Miller mentions in Blue Like Jazz. Then a friend suggested…
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Prominent Pentecostal Pastor’s Conversion to Catholicism Has Wider Implications for Evangelicals
By Steve on March 14, 2014
A common story heard around evangelical / charismatic circles in the ’70s and ’80s went something like, “I grew up Catholic but then I got ‘born-again’ when I was at college” or “I was raised…
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Hyper-Grace: The Dangerous Doctrine of a Happy God
By Steve on March 11, 2014
What is “Hyper-Grace” and why would anyone think it could be a bad thing? In any debate, whether it be cultural, philosophical, or theological, transforming a pejorative label into a positive identity or a “badge…