Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 10

Jesus and the “Aliens”

Recently I posted here a long list of Old Testament scripture passages in which God commands the Hebrew people to treat “aliens” (foreigners, strangers) in the land (among them) with justice and compassion. As expected, some people objected that these OT commandments do not necessarily apply to people today, here, in America. They pointed out […]

God’s Commands about Immigrants Among Us

Scripture Passages about Aliens (Migrants); Foreigners Hebrew “nekar” Exodus 22:21 (NRSV) 21 You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Exodus 23:9 (NRSV) 9 You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land […]

Why Good Education Requires the Broad View

Good Education What is “good education?” Of course, like so many words, “education” has different meanings. Here I am talking about American public and private education—K through 12 and beyond. When I was taking driver’s training in my high school, 7:00 AM half awake, I learned one principle: Take the broad view. That meant, as […]

Good Education

What is “good education?” Of course, like so many words, “education” has different meanings. Here I am talking about American public and private education—K through 12 and beyond. When I was taking driver’s training in my high school, 7:00 AM half awake, I learned one principle: Take the broad view. That meant, as we all […]

Neoliberalism’s Demons: This Present Darkness

Here I return to discussion of theologian Adam Kotsko’s book Neoliberalism’s Demons: The Political Theology of Late Capital with Chapter 4 “This Present Darkness.” If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment. If not, you may ask a question. Two things jumped out of me from this chapter—the chapter title and the title […]

Was Hitler Nice?

By many accounts, Adolf Hitler was a nice man. I have read many books about Hitler and watched many documentaries about him including first-hand accounts of him as a private person. His personal secretaries and servants, his subordinates, people who visited him—many of them talked about what a nice person he was. He was nice […]

For Theology and Philosophy Nerds

Lately I have been reviewing some old readings, ones I read and studied years ago: Hegel, Barth, and Robert Jenson. I have mentioned here before how Jenson’s book “God After God: The God of the Past and the Future As Seen In the Work of Karl Barth” (1969) launched my theological career. Probably the single […]

Neoliberalisms’s Demons

Here I continue discussion of the book Neoliberalism’s Demons: The Political Theology of Late Capital by Adam Kotsko. Now I take up Chapter 3: Neoliberalism’s Demons (title of both the book and the chapter). If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment. If not, feel free to ask a question. Much of this […]

Why Calvinism’s Logic About God’s Goodness Fails

Why Calvinism Cannot Be True I have written about this before—why Calvinism cannot be true. Here I will attempt to condense my argument for easier consumption and agreement. But, first, what do I mean by “Calvinism” here? I mean belief that God, the God of the Bible, of Jesus Christ, renders all things that happen […]

Why Calvinism Cannot Be True

I have written about this before—why Calvinism cannot be true. Here I will attempt to condense my argument for easier consumption and agreement. But, first, what do I mean by “Calvinism” here? I mean belief that God, the God of the Bible, of Jesus Christ, renders all things that happen certain according to an eternally […]