S1E7 - Holiness or Wholeness?

At any major book store, you’ll find a self-help section filled with books that teach you how to have a good life or think positively. YouTube channels that offer guided methods of living well are in no short supply. There are also personality tests which help you discover your true self and unlock your hidden potential. But is there any truth to these things?

Traditionally, Evangelical Christianity has upheld prayer and personal Bible reading as the normative Christian practices for spiritual formation. Other practices that reflect self-help methods or religious mysticism are often disregarded. Yet our culture has become increasingly interested in a more holistic understanding of what it means to be human. This in turn has led to a discussion within the Church of what it means to not only be human, but also how Christians ought to interact with what are commonly viewed as shallow self-help guidelines.

In a society that accepts all paths to personal wholeness, whether that be through religion, exercise, or meditative practices, how are Christians unique? Does self-discovery have any place in the life of a Christian?  Can holiness and personal wholeness co-exist? All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

S1E5 - Statements

We live in a highly divisive and dualistic world. You’re either this or that, either on my team or on the opposition, one of us or one of them. There seems to be no middle ground. Right in the center of that, and perhaps adding to the division, multiple Christian groups have released so-called “statements” on certain points of theology and practice. These statements often have to do with a hot-button issue, such as Social Justice’s relationship to the gospel or how churches should engage with the LGBTQ+ community.

While the statements themselves can certainly provide a point of commonality between all those who sign it, there can be multiple unintended consequences to releasing them. With the advent of social media, conversations that were once internal are now open for all to see. Family conversations are now worldwide discussions which create even more lines of division. Are the advantages of formal Christian statements undercut by the polarization that follows them? What place do these modern statements have in the history of the church? When is the right time to write up a Christian statement or should we simply abandon the idea of statements altogether? All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

S0E03 - The Bible Tells Me So

The Bible. For some, it is only a great piece of literature. For others the claim is more audacious: truth. Christian traditions, to one degree or another, regard the Bible as a reliable source of it. But in the face of critical scholarship, modern science, and historical discoveries, does the Bible really hold up? Like the creedal statements of the past, the Church has attempted to clarify its view of the Bible. While most would deem this act a necessity, others would say that it is a futile effort, one that has done more to separate Christians from the world instead of driving them to cultural engagement and transformation; one that has driven Christians from their faith in the Bible, its reliability, and its authority in their lives. Are both Christians and non-Christians treating the Bible as something it isn’t?