Sarahbeth Caplin's Blog, page 20

Two Christian camps, two approaches to Scripture: Part II

Welcome to Part II of my Bible comparison series! In Part I, I examined a common evangelical approach to reading Scripture. Today, I tackle Peter Enns’ book The Bible Tells Me So, which represents a progressive-leaning – and dare I … Continue reading →

Two Christian camps, two approaches to Scripture: Part I

For the last few weeks, I embarked on a personal project that compares two books, each one representing two strands of Christianity and their approach to reading and interpreting Scripture. The first book is Women of the Word by Jen … Continue reading →

Important announcement about ‘Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter’

I often joke that it was a bad idea to publish a memoir at the age of 22 because the shiny, child-like faith I had back then is now frozen in time. I’ve evolved quite a bit since, but only … Continue reading →

This is how it starts

I was talking to my brother on the phone the other day: “You know, lately I’ve been thinking about the anxiety Mom had when we were growing up, about Nazis coming to America. And we all thought she was crazy.” … Continue reading →

Is Judaism inherently legalistic?

In the company of Jewish friends, I went way out into the wilderness where I could see my tradition through their eyes instead of my own. They taught me what messiah means to a Jew, which is quite different from … Continue reading →

It’s okay to change your mind

I’m no longer the same person I was when I wrote Confessions a Prodigal Daughter, yet it continues to be my best-selling book. There was a purpose for the journey I had made up until that point, and I’m grateful … Continue reading →

My favorite interfaith resources

There are some books I make a point of rereading on a regular basis, and Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner is one of them — a short but profound book on certain Jewish rituals and practices that Christians ought to … Continue reading →

Judaism is declining, but Jews are not

Reform Judaism is dying, according to an article by Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin in Forward. As secularism increases, the number of synagogues decrease. The same happens to churches, too, except Christians don’t make up less than 1% of the population … Continue reading →

The Bible’s optical illusion: Jesus or Israel?

I have written before about what I believe it means to practice Christianity “Jewishly”: that is, by asking hard questions and expressing spiritual doubts. But there is another, and perhaps more important, way of doing Christianity “Jewishly” — one that … Continue reading →

Why so bitter?

“Bitter” is a negative buzzword in Christian culture: it’s holding on to anger and resentment, refusing to let it go. It’s the opposite of forgiveness. In some circumstances, what some Christians call “bitterness” is actually trauma, depression, or anxiety. But … Continue reading →