The Show Must Go On

I’ve enjoyed some of Rob Bell’s NOOMA films, and some of his writings. But the Rob Bell Tour is a tad much. His speaking engagements are called “shows,” and to hear him you have to buy tickets through Ticketmaster and similar venues. Tickets to his upcoming UK “shows” are £8, or about $16. This 2006…

John Whitehead contra bellum

John Whitehead, founder of the Rutherford Institute, criticizes Christian support of Bush’s War. This infuriates Mark Tooley, head of United Methodist Action at the Institute for Religion and Democracy. … Whitehead’s political musings reveal a neo-Mennonite separatism that is faddish in some evangelical left circles. They excoriate other non-pacifist Christians as sell-outs to the “empire”…

Evangelism

Terry Mattingly remembers Robert Webber. He begins, During one of his early visits to London, Billy Graham was confronted by an Anglican leader who causally dismissed the entire crusade effort. “Young man,” said the priest, “I do not approve of your style of evangelism.” “I’m sure that what I’m doing isn’t perfect,” replied Graham. “But…

100 Years of “The Social Gospel”

At WSJ, Joseph Loconte reflects on the centennial of the publication of The Social Gospel by Walter Rauschenbusch. … [E]ven a brisk reading of Rauschenbusch’s work suggests crippling weaknesses, at least from the standpoint of faith. We’re told that the larger social message of Jesus’ teaching–especially his concern for the poor–was sidelined by the cultural…