Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 175

Let the Conversations Continue–But Please Don’t….

I have had to delete a number of comments because they contained references to specific companies. If you write about businesses (for profit or not) never name them. Use terms like “a big box store” or “a fast food restaurant,” etc. I can allow mention of churches and denominations (etc.) so long as they are [...]

Luther and “Double Predestination”

So, my article on “election” was published in Christianity Today’s January/February issue (2013). Predictably, a letter responding was published in the current issue of CT (April). The letter writers (a Lutheran pastor in Iowa) takes issue with my claim that Martin Luther held a view of election similar to that of the Reformed theologians Zwingli [...]

Does “Christian” Guarantee Honesty in Business? (Case Study: The International Adoption Industry)

(Disclaimer: No specific business or agency is being referred to, even indirectly, in this post.) I live and work in an area of the United States many people call the “Bible belt.” Some has labeled the city where I live “Jerusalem on the Brazos” because of all the churches. There is about one Baptist church [...]

Evangelicals and Liberation Theology

I recommend a great new book by a budding young Brazilian theologian (one of my former students) Joao Chaves: Evangelicals and Liberation Revisted. https://wipfandstock.com/store/Evange... This is the only book I know of its kind–a thorough, up-to-date treatment of Latin American Liberation Theology (LALT) and its relation to evangelical theology (and vice versa). LALT has allegedly [...]

A Question for Conservative Christians and GLBT Rights Advocates: Why Not Civil Unions?

A Question for Conservative Christians and GLBT Rights Advocates: Why Not Civil Unions?             One of my earliest posts to this blog was a proposal to settle the controversy over “gay marriage.” Earlier I had written my proposal in a column published by the local newspaper. Both the column and the later blog post received [...]

A Message for My Fellow Evangelical Arminians (Others Welcome to Listen In)

A Message for My Fellow Evangelical Arminians (Others Welcome to Listen In) Not many non-Wesleyan evangelical theologians have been so bold as to publicly proclaim themselves “Arminian” in the last thirty to fifty years as Reformed theology has become dominant and even normative among evangelical leaders. In 1992 I picked up the first issue of [...]

“Christ is risen! … He sure is!” (Easter memories and thoughts)

Years ago I took a theology class to an Eastern Orthodox Easter divine liturgy. The cathedral was packed, but I had called ahead and my friend, the dean of the cathedral, had reserved seats for us in the back (as requested). I had told my undergraduate theology students not to go forward for the eucharist [...]

Why Do We Call It “Good Friday” When….?

Why Do We Call It “Good Friday” When….? Today is “Good Friday.” To many students whose schools are on holiday and to many workers whose companies close for a long Easter weekend, it’s “good” because they can sleep in, go shopping, take a trip or whatever. But my question today is why Christians call it [...]

Where Have All the Theological “Public Intellectuals” Gone? (An Invitation to Participate)

Where Have All the Theological “Public Intellectuals” Gone? (An Invitation to Participate) Recently I have been lecturing and writing (again) about some of the “giants” of modern theology: Schleiermacher, Bushnell, Hodge, Ritschl, Rauschenbusch, Machen, Troeltsch, Fosdick, Barth, Brunner, Niebuhr, Tillich, Bonhoeffer, John Courtney Murray, Carl Henry, Hartshorne, et al. Some of them, perhaps all of [...]

Links to my “Forum” appearance at Seattle’s City on a Hill Church (March 17)

The subject was Calvinism and Arminianism. The setting was City on a Hill Church in suburban Seattle (Federal Way). The reason was to explain Calvinism and Arminianism and answer questions about both. The audience was mostly young people from many churches–some as far away as Sacramento (CA).   Part One: http://vimeo.com/62468956 Part Two: http://vimeo.com/62474379