Resident Theologian
About the Blog
The smartest people I’ve ever known
A little rant about well-educated secular folks who look down on religious people.
Three more reviews
Three more reviews of my book The Doctrine of Scripture have recently been published.
Reasons people stay, or leave, their church
The many reasons people stay, or leave, their church.
About that famous Léon Bloy quote
A search for the true origins of that famous Léon Bloy quote about the tragedy of not becoming a saint.
Four tiers of Christian/theological publishing
A long reflection on four tiers or levels of Christian/theological writing in terms of style, accessibility, sales, and audience.
A decision tree for dealing with digital tech
Is the digital status quo good? If not, our actions (both personal and institutional) should show it.
How the world sees the church
A reflection on the church’s reputation. Should we expect or hope for our nonbelieving neighbors to think well of us? To see us as good news?
My latest: how to keep faith as a college student
My latest essay, published in Christianity Today, is about how young believers entering college can keep the faith over the next four years.
The tech-church show
A reflection on two issues raised by the recent viral clip of a prominent pastor lecturing his listeners not to treat public worship as a “show.”
East/West Christianity: an unfinished love story
A potted history of Eastern and Western Christianity, narrated (by my brother) as a love story.
Update on my next two books
An update on my next two books, both due next year. The first is called The Church: A Guide to the People of God; the second is called Letters to a Future Saint: A Catechism for Believers on the Way.
My latest: a review of Mark Noll in The Christian Century
A link to my review of Mark Noll’s new book in the latest issue of The Christian Century.
Quitting the Big Five
Could you quit all the companies that make up Silicon Valley’s Big Five? How hard would it be to reduce your footprint down to only one of them?
Biblical critical theory
A link to my review essay of Christopher Watkin’s new book Biblical Critical Theory.
Twenty texts for twenty centuries
Choosing twenty Christian texts from twenty Christian centuries, one text per century. I offer my list. What would yours be?
Two reviews, a pod, and a Pole
A roundup of links to a podcast, reviews, and a Polish scholar engaging my work.
Tech bubble
From what I read online, I appear to live in a tech bubble: everyone’s addicted to it while knowing it’s bad. Are there really people who aren’t addicted? Are there really others who are addicted, but think it’s good?
Local church bans smartphones
What if churches showed Jonathan Haidt proof of concept for his clarion call to K–12 schools to ban smartphones? Let’s start now.