Start here
A vile poetics & a crowded table
Fellow Pilgrims,
What am I up to here at Church Blogmatics? What am I hoping for when I ask you to join me here?
To speak truth, I’m bad at identifying and naming an audience (with apologies to all my editors, ever).
If I told you Church Blogmatics was for pastors, or for people who want to know more about theology, or for supporting women in ministry, or for those new to the faith, or for Christian leaders, or for folks frustrated with bad and false Christian teachings, or for book lovers or . . . well, then I’d have an audience, but the truth is, I hope Church Blogmatics is for all of you—people in all the categories I’ve just named—and more. I hope that you can stumble into this community with a Ph.D. in theology and be glad to join the conversation, and I hope you feel welcome and comfortable here if you’ve never read a word of scripture before.
Maybe that’s the best way to define my audience: I hope this is a place of Christian welcome, where a wide variety of people feel welcome at a crowded table, and we can share a little taste of the goodness of the Lord.
And I believe with all my heart that we can learn from one another, that we shouldn’t be limited to our own little worlds.
I’ve been running this newsletter for more than a year using the following description:
What does that mean? Well, like my sense of audience, it’s a bit nebulous, and I like it that way. That’s part of what I’m getting at with “more poetry” and “less geometry.” How could a God who is Transcendent and Other and Holy and Eternal be known other than in mystery?
And when John Wesley calls us to vileness for the sake of the gospel, he recognizes that the Transcendent Other MYSTERIOUS One dived into love for our sake, for the sake of the vile, so that mystery could be born, an infant in Bethlehem, mystery could wear diapers (or swaddling clothes, I suppose), and mystery could wrap us (swaddle us? ) in the embrace of LOVE.
And that means there is no place theology can’t go, nothing theology ought turn up its nose at. Maybe it means that theology gets to resist defining an audience? Maybe it means theology gets to play with lots of topics and genres?
Vile theology isn’t for pragmatism or for prudence. Vile theology is for love.
I’m very glad you’re here with me, and I hope what you hear from me is WELCOME. Welcome, to those who’ve been here awhile, welcome to new readers, welcome to anyone interested in the idea that the Love Who made the universe wore diapers for the sake of love.
I hope you’ll take a seat at the table, and, if you’re not already subscribed, I invite you to join this community.
This is Dwight, my #theologycat
If you’re interested, you can learn a little more about me at the Church Blogmatics “About” page. Most of my work here is available for free, but I’m enormously grateful to those of you who give support with a paid subscription, which helps me continue to make space for this work.
Supporting subscribers also receive the following benefits:
backstage pass posts and bonus content
discounts on ticketed events
access to commenting
my hearty thanks for your support of my work!
If you’d like paid subscriber benefits, here’s a link for a discount on the normal subscription price:
Whether you choose a free or paid subscription, I’m happy to welcome you in the Church Blogmatics community, and I look forward to continuing conversation with you about the things of God!
Grace & peace,
BFJ
If you’d like to dig in further, here are links to some of the top posts here at Church Blogmatics:
The Bible and the end of patriarchy
This piece has also been reposted at the Junia Project. Gentle reader, God loves all creation. God made and loves us women. “The sex of a woman is not a vice, but nature” (Augustine, City of God 22.17). From creation (which tells us about God’s good will), women are explicitly made in the image of God. That’s revolutionary. It’s the death knell to patriarch…
Complementarian theology & gnosticism
Gentle reader, When asked if he would use a Bible commentary written by a woman, John Piper gave an odd and telling answer. The problem with women teaching, says Piper, is not that women are incompetent (thanks JP!). The problem is “the dynamic between how men flourish and women flourish as God designed them to flourish.”
Questions about hell
Gentle reader, I recently solicited questions you’d like me to address here at Church Blogmatics. A group of those questions cluster around Christian teaching about hell, a teaching which is very difficult for many of us. In today’s post, I’ll try to take those questions on (though each question could merit a much longer answer).
I don't know how she does it
Gentle reader, I’m going to tell you something I’m not supposed to say, something unspeakable. I’m going to get dumped on for saying it. I think I should tell you anyway. But first: some context and some theology of finitude. Church Blogmatics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid su…
An emptying nest
Gentle reader, I’m writing today’s piece as a letter to my son, who has just left our nest. (Yes, I cried.) The letter’s a little sappy (forgive me), but it also shares some of my heartfelt feelings about educating Christians. Don’t forget to sign up for Fall’s upcoming
Consider taking a class with me at Northern Seminary, where we talk about theology, doctrine, the bible, and many other wonderful topics.
And check out streaming video courses on theology, church history, biblical studies, and more at Seminary Now. See my course and others from leading authors and professors.
Get a 6 month trial of Amazon Prime for students.
To add your face to the Church Blogmatics gallery of women in ministry send a photo with your name and ministry role to:
churchblogmatics@gmail.com
If you were included in the original collage, please still feel free to send in a photo with your information. I’m also happy to receive links to stories or art about women in ministry.
I've really enjoyed reading your work.