The Bible and the Supreme Court on Same Sex Marriage
Yesterday morning the U.S. Supreme Court delivered an historic decision that same-sex couples had the right to marry in the United States. Their decision reflects a dramatic …
God’s Violence in the Old Testament, Part 3: Possible Solutions
This post is a continuation of my previous two posts. Together they are an excerpt from one chapter of my new book, Making Sense of the Bible (HarperOne, 2014). The book…
God’s Violence in the Old Testament, Part 2: Possible Solutions
In my last post, I mentioned three categories of violence attributed to God in the Old Testament that leave people scratching their heads. These are crimes for which the…
God’s Violence in the Old Testament: The Problem
Among the questions I’m most often asked about the Bible is this one: “Why does God seem so loving in the New Testament but angry, harsh, and vengeful in the Old…
Who Really Wrote Paul's Letters?
I’m currently in Turkey, Greece, and Italy retracing the footsteps of the Apostle Paul. I thought this was a great occasion to include an excerpt from the chapter…
Join Me Online Wednesday as Book Tour Begins
I'm excited to let you know that I'll be speaking this Wednesday evening, April 23, at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Wednesday's gathering is the first of…
Making Sense of the Bible: An Attempt at an Honest Yet Reverent View of Scripture
I’m excited that today my new book, Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today, is out. I thought in this post I’d tell you a…
Are We Just Picking and Choosing? Making Sense of the Bible
I came to faith reading the Bible, 35 years ago. I read it every morning (right now I’m reading through Luke) and I read it again every night as I’m going to bed …
Homosexuality, The Bible, and The United Methodist Church
This week Bishop Martin McLee of the New York Annual Conferences of the United Methodist Church announced that he was dismissing a church trial against the Rev. Dr. Thomas…