This is an updated version of a prior post that's been revised to reflect some ideas that came to my attention since the original post and to use the much better title that came to mind after the fact. It's a common pop Evangelical interpretative move to handle the story of Noah and Ham in … Continue reading Saintly Noah vs Deviled Ham

It's a common pop Evangelical interpretative move to handle the story of Noah and Ham in Genesis 9:20-27 as if it's a sobering morality tale about the dangers of alcohol and an illustration of the imperfect characters of even the godly saints in Scripture. But I regard that as a poor and unwarranted reading of … Continue reading Righteous Noah vs Wicked Ham

This is a revised and expanded composite of a three-part post series on classical orthodox Nicene Trinitarianism that I wrote in the summer of 2016. I did my writing in the wake of the Great Calvinist Brouhaha about the “eternal functional subordination” of the Son and other related teachings surrounding authority and submission as distinguishing … Continue reading Nicene Trinitarianism

Christ in the role of scapegoat has some parallels or counterparts to the role of shepherd. In some respects, it’s only a matter of the point of view. Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep as he himself teaches. In the eyes of his sheep, that’s who he is … Continue reading The Good Scapegoat

I've recently been writing numerous posts about my anecdotal experiences over the last decade in some of the regions, enclaves, culdesacs, alcoves, dens, and pits where lions in the wilds of ultraconservative Reformed Christianity make their home. And I decided to assemble a list of those posts in one place. So, here we go. I … Continue reading Postcards from Reformed Roarrior Territory

I'm into paradoximillennialism, which means paradoxical postmillennialism. That's my particular variation on optimillennialism, which means optimistic postmillennialism. I wouldn't be surprised if I were accused of pessimillennialism, which means pessimistic amillennialism, by another strain of optimillennialists. So what do I mean? The Alexander the Great mentality is one of the worst thing about postmillennialists in … Continue reading My Paradoximillennialism

One social media circle of Christians that's familiar to me is the tribe of ultraconservative Reformed Roarriors. For better or worse, they're a part of my people and my social circles through various former and ongoing social engagements over the years. And I have some sympathies for what they're attempting to do through their cultural … Continue reading Warlords and Witchcraft

To paraphrase a classical Protestant pastor-friend who was raised Roman Catholic … Why are cantankerous Calvinists the particular Christians leading the way in the defense of a gender-differentiated sex spectrum from mere complementarianism, through severe complementarianism, to roaring patriarchalism? And why does it go hand-in-hand with ever-increasing levels of distortional performative hyper-masculinity? This is the … Continue reading Feminine Agency and Reformed Cringe

In our lifetimes while this creation still groans for its ultimate liberation when all things are made new, we will continue to struggle and be in conflict—even as the holy ones and redeemed people of our great God. The flesh will still war against the spirit in union with the liberating Spirit of the Lord. … Continue reading Dark Despair in the Psalms

I’ve been pondering recently about what the Apostle John [1] meant when he used the word world (Gr. kosmos) in his writings. I assume (reasonably) he’s using it consistently throughout his Gospel, his three Letters, and the Book of the Revelation. If I can count correctly (?!?), that’s 80 occurrences in his Gospel, 23 in … Continue reading The World and the Apostle John