Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 57

What Is “Christianity?”

What Is “Christianity?” An Addendum to the Preceding Post… Before I add to my immediately preceding blog post to clarify my meaning of “Christianity,” allow me to remind potential commenters about the “rules of the road” here. First of all, this is not a discussion board; it is a safe place for evangelical Christians to […]

Why Traditional Religion Is Dwindling in America

Why Traditional Religion Is Dwindling in America I have often wondered why church attendance in America is decreasing and why so many Americans seem not to feel any need of traditional Christianity. Throughout much of the twentieth century the majority of Americans were “God-fearing, Bible-believing, church-attending” Christians even if they didn’t live out true Christianity […]

Does the Doctrine of the Trinity Matter?

Does the Doctrine of the Trinity Matter? I have argued here several times that doctrine matters because God cares what we think and say about him. This is contrary to what some American Christians think. They (some) think a doctrine doesn’t matter unless it has some practical application. Over my many years of studying and […]

A Model Statement of Faith

*Below you will find what some blog readers (and others) have requested–a model Statement of Faith of a Christian community. I wrote this for the seminary where I taught for 22 years–at the request of the then seminary dean. The faculty voted to approve it as the official Statement of Faith of the seminary. I […]

Why Doctrine Matters

Why Doctrine Matters This is Part Three of a series that began with Why Theology Matters. The second installment was about “systematic theology” and whether it matters. I don’t know how many installments this series has or where it is going, exactly. It doesn’t even have a title! So stay tuned… How many times have […]

Faith Not Fatalism (Guest Post)

*The following is a guest blog post by my former student and now pastor Ross Shelton. I do not expect Ross to respond to questions or comments; that is up to him to decide. If you decide comment, please make sure your comment is civil, respectful, relatively brief, and shows that you read the whole […]

But Does Systematic Theology Matter?

But Does Systematic Theology Matter? So, then, it’s settled that theology matters. (See the immediately preceding blog post.) Theology matters because God cares what we think and say about him. But another question emerges: Does systematic theology matter? Let me explain the question. “Theology” can mean a lot of things. One variety of “theology” is […]

Why Theology Matters

Why Theology Matters I have often been asked, in various words, why theology matters. I have devoted much of my life, all of my adult life, to the study and teaching of theology—focusing on Christian theology. I admit that I have grown weary of hearing the question and answering it. I also admit that it’s […]

The “Joker/Jester” Asks Christian Fund Raisers…

The “Joker/Jester” Asks Christian Fund Raisers… For those of you who have not been following this series, the “joker” or “jester” is (my term here for) a person appointed within a church or Christian organization to ask hard questions about traditional beliefs, practices, customs, habits of that church or Christian organization. He or she is […]

The Sorry Condition of Christian Ethics

Why I Gave Up on Writing a Critical Survey of the History of Christian Ethics A publisher wanted me to write a critical survey of the history of Christian ethics—something like I wrote about the history of Christian theology (The Story of Christian Theology) and about the history of modern theology (The Journey of Modern […]