I have co-authored a book with Mark Thiessen Nation, Professor of Theology, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, where we debate the issue of homosexuality. Here is a link to information about the book, called, Reasoning Together: A Conversation on Homosexuality
Here is a link to my main chapter in this book, “A Theology of Welcome.”
Brian McLaren is an evangelical pastor who has gained prominence in recent years as a leader in what has been called the “emergent church” movement. In his pursuit of an authentic gospel, McLaren has grown increasingly radicalized politically and ethically. Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope
I’m not sure about the effectiveness of McLaren’s attempt to personalize his discussion by injecting his own experiences visiting Africa. However, there is not question in my mind that he has identified precisely the kinds of issues people of faith must be facing in our contemporary world. His term “suicide machine” for contemporary culture under the strangehold of militarism and corporate capitalism is not hyperbole.
What makes this book so important is McLaren’s effort to face head on the major systemic problems of our world in light of the life and teaching of Jesus. The book I would compare this one to is Walter Wink’s Engaging the Powers. McLaren is not the scholar or original thinker that Wink is, but he is a more accessible writer and is up-to-date (Wink’s book came out in 1992).
I really can’t recommend this book highly enough. I had the privilege of meeting Brian McLaren this past summer. He struck me as a sincere, committed Christian thinker and pastor. I am thankful he has “emerged” during these troubled times.
The Mennonite tradition is well-known for its rejection of participation in warfare. This pacifism has many fruitful expressions over the past nearly 500 years. However, Mennonite pacifism has a shadow side as well. In my article, “Pacifism is a gift from God” (published in the Gospel Herald, February 1, 1994), I reflect on some of the problems with this tradition and propose a strongly grace (rather than obligation) oriented approach to pacifism.
I do believe in pacifism as a core conviction that should be taken seriously by all followers of Jesus (indeed, all human beings). However, we need to think through the motivations for our commitment to nonviolence. I believe this commitment must ultimately stem from love if it is to be fruitful and sustainable.
Christian theology, I believe, should always be directly linked with practical living. Following Paul in Romans 13:8-10, we may summarize Jesus’ message as a call to love our neighbors. All theology should serve that calling.
In my essay, “The Doctrine of the Christian Life,” I conclude my reflections on Christian doctrine by returning to the theme of how we are called to live as Jesus’ followers. I use the Parable of the Good Samaritan as the jumping off point for reflecting on how faith in Jesus includes as an integral element faithfulness in persevering love toward the people we share life with.
This essay is the thirteenth and final one in a series that examines core Christian doctrines, consistently asking what shape they should take if they are articulated in light of Jesus.
Christian theologies differ on the doctrine of eschatology probably more than just about any other doctrine. The approach I take in my essay, “The Doctrine of Eschatology”, focuses on ethics. I ask what would eschatology would look like that reinforces Jesus’ teaching about love of God and neighbor. Such an ethical eschatology will focus more on our “end” as in our purpose than our “end” as in our future fate.
I center my eschatological reflections on the book of Revelation, interpreting Revelation as a message about discipleship–calling on believers to follow Jesus (the “Lamb”) wherever he goes. And Revelation presents the “way Jesus goes” as the way of persevering love.
This essay is the twelfth in a series that examines core Christian doctrines, consistently asking what shape they should take if they are articulated in light of Jesus.
Does Christian theology have resources to deal creatively with religious pluralism. Is our only valid response as Christians still simply invoking God’s definitive revelation for salvation in Jesus’ death–and informing those of other faiths that their religion is inferior?
In my essay, “Theology of the Religions” I attempt to address these kinds of questions from the point of view of commitment to Jesus’ message of loving God and neighbor. I suggest that Jesus’ emphasis on the centrality of how we live our lives, shaping them by love and not power politics, provides the best angle for considering questions related to religious pluralism. Ultimately, faithfulness to Jesus and Jesus’ God stems from how we live more than what our doctrines are. This truth should open us to make common cause with those of other faiths who have similar moral convictions.
This essay is the eleventh in a series that examines core Christian doctrines, consistently asking what shape they should take if they are articulated in light of Jesus.
These are the two papers I have prepared for the Compassionate Eschatology Conference, held at San Francisco Theological Seminary, September 26 and 27, 2008.
As we reflect on our theology of the church, no matter where we are on the “high-church/low-church” spectrum, we do need to take seriously the formals rituals of Christian practice, especially the ritual of communion.
I propose in my essay, “Theology of the Sacraments, that taking Jesus as our central source for theology will shape how we think of the Sacraments. Doing theology of the Sacraments as if Jesus matters means that we will recognize that the rituals must serve the love of neighbor.
This essay is the tenth in a series that examines core Christian doctrines, consistently asking what shape they should take if they are articulated in light of Jesus.
How central should the church be for Christian life? Is the church a blessing or a curse? We should be honest and self-critical about the church–and not make into something sacred. However, Jesus’ agenda certainly placed the faith community as central to faithful living.
In my essay, “The Doctrine of the Church,” I consider the theology of the church in its biblical context, asking how we best think of the church in light of Jesus life and teaching, especially his command to love God and neighbor.
This essay is the ninth in a series that examines core Christian doctrines, consistently asking what shape they should take if they are articulated in light of Jesus.
What do we mean when we confess Jesus as “savior”? Should we take our central cues from Jesus’ own portrayal of salvation or from later Christian salvation theologies about Jesus?
My essay, “The Doctrine of Salvation”, argues for an approach that focuses more on the biblical story than doctrinal theology. When we do so, we see God’s mercy as the driving force in the establishment of the possibility of human salvation–not God’s impersonal holiness or justice that must be satisfied by a violent act of sacrifice.
Such a view of salvation undergirds the Christian ethical vocation of peacemaking and restorative justice. God seeks to make us whole so that we might be God’s agents for wholeness in the wider world.
This essay is the eighth in a series that examines core Christian doctrines, consistently asking what shape they should take if they are articulated in light of Jesus.
Peace Theology 