Rapper KB dropped a killer debut last month with Weight & Glory, an album that puts to rest all debates on whether hip-hop is good or bad. If we’re judging by music, lyrics, theology and phat beats, the verdict is in: behold, it was very good. Weight & Glory is a musical sermon that urges listeners to recognize the weight of God’s glory, and to respond in worship. The 14-song set includes guest vocals from...
I know it’s the 21st century, but here’s the thing: I’m a Christian. By definition, I have old-school beliefs. That might be a newsflash to the critics, who often react to biblical, traditional and altogether unsurprising beliefs with dropped jaws, as if Christians haven’t preached these things for two thousand years: “Do you seriously believe that?” Yes. Yes, I do. I still believe the Bible is the word of God. It’s true and inspired and...
This week I’m in Amsterdam for the International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Yes, that’s right, a Bible conference in Amsterdam. I can already say that this city is one of my favorites. It is absolutely wonderful. The canals and architecture are picturesque and make me wish I intended to stay longer. Of course, there are some sketchy bits to Amsterdam as well. The infamous “Coffee Shops” house copious amounts of weed that can...
Last week I reviewed mewithoutYou’s new album, Ten Stories. As I wrote the review I thought about the idea of “Christian Music.” This is something that I’ve been wrestling with for a while. For some Christians, they only listen to “Christian Music” and deem it a sign of impiety to do otherwise. I imagine this is a minority view among evangelicals, but it’s still prevalent. I want to say much more about whether the nomenclature...
If you haven’t heard it from Lady Gaga, you’ve heard it from those who struggle with (or embrace) homosexuality: “I was born this way.” Do you believe them? The catchphrase might match your theology more than you think. In a Christian worldview, the “born this way” theory fits squarely into the doctrine of original sin—the belief that we all inherited a sinful nature because of Adam’s sin. King David sings of being “brought forth in...
Maybe you’ve never heard of mewithoutYou. That saddens me. This post-hardcore melodic folk band from Philadelphia is certainly one of my favorites. Their 5th studio album, Ten Stories, was just released on May 15, 2012. This is their first album released after their record-label contract with the Christian record company, Tooth & Nail, expired. What sets mewithoutYou apart from other Indie Rock bands is the beautiful oddity of their frontman. Perhaps there has never been a lyricist as...
When I was kid, I learned all about Jesus’ miracles from boards covered in flannel. An old Egyptian woman named Anna would use tiny—also flannel—cutouts of biblical characters to painstakingly illustrate the story of Jesus raising Lazarus, walking on water, or feeding the five thousand. This was great because watching Anna stick the fuzzy characters to blue board taught me the basic stories of my faith. The unfortunate side effect was that after a while,...
What I want to discuss here is controversial. Additionally, what I want to address is not novel. Here is the thought I’d like to ‘think aloud,’ so to speak, in the provocative world of the blogosphere: Is 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36 original? I should say up front that my focus is not on Complementarianism vs. Egalitarianism per se. There are Egalitarians and Complementarians who take 1 Cor 14.33b-36 to be original, yet each have different interpretations about...
To be honest, I have always had something of an aversion to Lent. I generally dread this time of year: February drawing to a close, Lent is in full steam, and all my holy friends are giving things up for God. Part of me doesn’t see the connection between not eating chocolate and knowing God more, while another part of me just isn’t enthused about the prospect of giving up things I really like for...
Imagine the vast nothingness of a formless and void universe spread out before the Triune Godhead like a blank canvas on which to create the greatest work of art in all of eternity. It would be a work of art that was visual, tactile, auditory, and alive. This work of art is known as the universe. And if we read the Bible closely, we find the universe is but the stage upon which the greatest...
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