Index of Posts on Personal Heroes

• Childhood Heroes
• Richard Overton, pt. 1
• Richard Overton, pt. 2
• Menno Simons on “Evangelical Faith”
• Jerry & Sis Levin: Middle East Peacemakers
• Where Have You Gone, Ralph Bunche?
• Helen Barrett Montgomery, 1
• Helen Barrett Montgomery, 2
• Walter Rauschenbusch
• Henlee H. Barnette
• Dorothy Cotton
• Howard Thurman: Mystic as Prophet
• Tommy Douglass: “Greatest Canadian“
• William Knibb: Missionary and Social Prophet
• Martin Luther King, Jr. 1, 2, 3.
• Letty M. Russell
• James Farmer
• Will D. Campbell
• John Smyth
• Al Gore
• Oscar Arias Sanchez
• Dorothy Day
• Muriel Lester
• Desmond Tutu, 1
• Desmond Tutu, 2
• Jewish defenses of Jimmy Carter 1 & 2

Index of Posts on GLBT Persons in the Church: A Case for Full Inclusion

1. Terms and Presuppositions.
2. Use of Scripture in Moral Discernment
3. Range of Christian Views on “Homosexuality.”
4. The Sodom Story
5. Two Texts from the “Holiness Code” in Leviticus.
6. Addendum: Pro-GLBT “Over-readings” of Biblical Texts.
7. Two Brief Texts from Paul (with major issues in translation).
8. Romans 1:18-2:1.
9. Addendum 2: DVD Review of For the Bible Tells Me So.
10. Richard Hays’ Argument, A.
11. Richard Hays’ Argument, B.
12. Matt. 19:11-12: A Positive Word from Jesus?
13. Addendum: Loose Ends.
14. Sexual Orientation: Science.
15. Identifying Threats
16. Acts 10: Gentile Inclusion
17. Loose Ends 2.
18. “Final” Post: Toward a Single-Standard Sexual Ethic for All Christians.

Index of Posts on Creation and Evolution

1. Introduction and Outline
2. Working Bibliography on Related Matters
3. Creation Stories:Gen. 2:4b-25
4. Creation Stories: Gen. 1:1-2:4a.
5. Creation Psalms.
6. Creation in Job.
7. Creation in the New Testament.
8. The Nature of Scientific Inquiry
9. PBS Nova Special on Evolution and “Intelligent Design.” (This is TV at its best. Every church should order a copy and watch it as a way to start discussion.)

This series is clearly incomplete. I have several more steps in the argument, but got sidetracked (especially by the U.S. elections–oops!).

Index of Posts on Theology as a Craft or Practice

1. What is Theology?
2. The Practice of Theology, 1
3. The Practice of Theology, 2 (on convictions)
4. Branches of Theology

This was a series of brief posts on the nature of theology.  Drawing especially from McClendon (and Avery Dulles and others), I see theology as a craft or one of the practices of the church. It is therefore, by definition, practical.  Every Christian engages in primary theology (whenever they/we sing hymns, pray, preach or listen to sermons, participate in Bible study, recite confessions or creeds, etc.). Academic or formal theology is a secondary practice–reflecting on the primary theology of the church and has both descriptive and normative dimensions.

The trick of this series was to keep the posts brief while still conveying the general direction.  If I were to take up this series again, I would need to include posts showing how Christian ethics is not “derived” from theology, but is already theological–seeking to answer the question, How should/must the church live in order faithfully to be the church of Jesus Christ in this time and place?  Doctrinal theology, then, asks, What must the church teach in order so to live?

Index of Posts on Theological Mentors

Since I have now been blogging long enough that more than 100,000 people have visited this site (something I still find amazing), I am going to create some indices of popular series I have done for the benefit of new readers. This will enable me to refocus for new efforts, such as continuing my case for GLBT inclusion in churches (with a single-standard sexual ethic), etc. This is stock-taking.

Realizing that we all stand in particular traditions, I have written a fairly popular series on my theological mentors–one that I may soon resume.

1. The late Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder (1927-1997).
2. Baptist ethicist and peacemaker, Glen H. Stassen (1936-).
3. My eldest daughter’s namesake, Baptist theologian and seminary president, Molly T. Marshall.
4. Baptist historian and mystic, E. Glenn Hinson.
5. The late Baptist theologian James Wm. McClendon, Jr. (1924-2000).

Well, this is obviously incomplete and I clearly haven’t added to it recently. I need to write posts on my college NT. prof., Craig Blomberg, on George R. Beasley-Murray, Clarence Jordan, Henlee Barnette, Dorothy Day, Letty Russell, Pam Scalise, Paul Fiddes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., J. Deotis Roberts, Muriel Lester, Walter Brueggemann, Daniel Berrigan, S.J., & William Stringfellow. At least.  (I have written on some of these, but not as personal mentors.) I hope people continue to enjoy this series.