Humanity, Law Enforcement, and the Crisis of Church Scandal

Two streams of thought have merged and crashed into my struggle with the crisis of church scandals. And yes, crisis is the correct word, not hyperbole. Ten years ago, I wrote one of my favorite papers of my academic career. The paper was on John Williamson Nevin, an obscure theologian from the 19th century. Nevin … Continue reading Humanity, Law Enforcement, and the Crisis of Church Scandal

Lynched, by Angela D. Sims

This post is not a review or a critique, just a few insights gleaned from Sims' incredibly important project (published 2016). Over the course of 18 months (July 2009 - February 2011), Sims traveled around the country collecting oral histories from people in locales as varied as New Jersey and Louisiana, Texas and Nebraska. She … Continue reading Lynched, by Angela D. Sims

Books on Justice, Race, and Critical Race Theory

(updated 9/14/21) Eighteen months ago, I began hearing terms thrown around in my online theological discussion boards I was not familiar with. More alarmingly to me, I was being accused of things I didn't understand - being 'woke' or having bought into critical race theory. Often times when I asked what they meant I got … Continue reading Books on Justice, Race, and Critical Race Theory

City of God, Book 21: Eternal Punishment

The entirety of Augustine's Book 21 is devoted to defending the reality and the justice of eternal punishment. This book roughly breaks down into two parts: the first part addresses the objections of unbelievers to the doctrine of eternal punishment (ch. 2-16) and the second part addresses errors of "compassionate Christians who refuse to believe … Continue reading City of God, Book 21: Eternal Punishment

City of God, Book 20: Final Judgment

Augustine sets out in Book 20 to instruct the reader on the day of God's final judgment from Scripture. In large part, the book is a series of expositions on relevant passages from both the New and Old Testaments. I will not, in the summary, rehash all of Augustine's exposition, simply highlight the main points … Continue reading City of God, Book 20: Final Judgment