Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
As recent events have shown, American society is full of anger. Election seasons have been full of angry rants, diatribes, and protests. Anger over racial injustice and election results have led to angry, violent protests. Many Americans on either side of the “culture wars” display extreme rage over the fact that anyone disagrees with them … Read more
I would venture to say that greed has become the most socially accepted sin among modern Western Christians. American Christians committed to the Authority of Scripture spend a lot of time pointing out how American culture (and theologically liberal Christians) teaches a radically different sexual ethic than biblical sexual ethics, but spend relatively little time … Read more
Pride and Self-Esteem When I was in grade school, we sang a song in music class with the lyrics, “I am proud of who I am, proud of what I am, proud of where I’m going, proud of what I’m doing. My life is my life; I have the power to be.” The purpose of … Read more
Previously, I made the case that there is no universal morality; there are only a variety of particular moralities. Furthermore, I argued that any claim to objective moral truth must logically be based in some kind of transcendent reality. Here, I will flesh out these ideas a bit further, analyzing how different moralities interact as … Read more
Previously, I have briefly made the case for Christian pacifism. I have also responded to some of the most common theological objections to Christian pacifism. Here, I will examine the logic of Christian just war theory and show why it is deeply problematic. Just War and Christian Love According to Christian just war theory, it … Read more
A year ago, I made the case for Christian pacifism. Here, I revisit this topic, responding to some of the most common theological objections made against Christian pacifism. Old Testament Violence The Objection: In the Old Testament, God not only allowed His people to use violence, but He actually commanded them to use violence on … Read more
Most modern Western people tend to think of ethics in a very individualistic manner. They consider the primary ethical question to be, “What should I do?” The same can be said of most modern Western Christians. They consider the primary ethical question to be, “What does God want me to do?” The Church may be … Read more
For many Christians, the significance of the cross of Jesus Christ is that Jesus suffered, so we do not have to suffer. Jesus died, so we do not have to worry about dying. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins, so we do not have to worry about repenting from sin and making painful sacrifices … Read more
A year ago, I made the case for the importance of theological ethics. If Christians want to live faithfully, we cannot uncritically absorb the ethical ideas of our surrounding culture. Nor can we rely on our intuitions and feelings, since these often lead us astray. Nor can we simply look in the Bible for proof … Read more
Theological Method Before beginning an investigation of a particular subject, it is important to establish a clear and consistent method for determining what is true as it relates to that subject. This is true regarding the subject of theology, just as much as it is with other subjects, such as science and history. A person … Read more