Finding Ones Footing  As was noted in the introduction , Randal Rauser, in his book Progressive Christians Love Jesus Too , intends to argue that conservative believers—like Alisa Childers, to whom his book is directly responding—has a “ errant notion that Christianity is anchored in doctrine .”[ 1 ] He insists that Christianity is “ anchored in Christ rather than our doctrines about Christ ”.[ 2 ] However, Randal, in his hurried attempt to respond to Childers’ critiques misses the all important question that Jesus himself asked at the pinnacle of his own ministry, "But who do you say that I am?"[3] Jesus’ question isn’t one of self-focused existential inquiry but a question of genuine belief about his identity.  Indeed the question, as it was originally posed, presumes some level of relationship (teacher to disciples), a relationship that was built upon certain beliefs about the nature of such a relationship. If Christianity is truly “ anchored in Christ ” as Randal...

What does it mean to be “orthodox”? The definition provided by Merriam-Webster defines the adjective form of “orthodox” as, “ conforming to established doctrine especially in religion ”.[ 1 ]  This means that when we apply it to say, Christianity, as in (small-“o”) “orthodox” Christianity, we are describing something that has a connection to what has been believed in the past. Meaning that someone who is “orthodox” in their beliefs would agree and affirm that which has been believed by the church (speaking collectively in the historical sense) and what we find representative in the various historical creeds, say the Apostle’s or Nicene creeds, as well as a few others that can be mentioned but won’t here. “Orthodox” further means that we would find some agreement with the believers of old, such as the author of 1 Clement, who writes, Let us fix our thoughts on the Blood of Christ; and reflect how precious that Blood is in God’s eyes, inasmuch as its outpouring for our salvatio...

  Introduction If one is going to talk about that which is sexist or misogynist , these categories need to be clarified. That is to say that if it was just the former—making a clear distinction between that which is male and female—it would be bad (begs the question) and if the latter—displaying a hatred for that which is female—then it would be worse. In almost every instance of these accusations, there is rarely, if ever, any reflection on where the person stands in time. That is they do not recognize where any of the ideas or values that they profess or promote originate, nor do they question the basis of them, rather they just spray them about in a thoughtless manner.  And while sexism is a component of misogyny, and sexism can be used unjustly, sexism is a foundational reality of Scripture. After all, Scripture begins with a sexual distinction being made: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them...