Kyle Roberts
Patheos
Minneapolis, MN, United States
Contact Kyle
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Kyle:
Liberal or Liberation Theologians on the Virgin Birth?
In Thinking About God: An Introduction to Theology, Dorothy Sölle describes what she sees as the difference between liberal theology and liberation theology. She explains that a crucial difference between the two approaches is that that liberation theologians explicitly utilize the present social (and economic, etc.) context as a valid location through which theological … → Read More
The Political Power of Bible Translation (Tyndale's New Testament)
One of the first things you learn in seminary–assuming you pay attention–is that all translations are interpretations. There’s no better illustration of that than what we find in Peter Marshall’s impressive tome, Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation. As the 500 year anniversary of the Reformation approaches, we here all sorts of things about … → Read More
Would You Use the Flag as a Strainer? (What the Anthem Conflict is Really About)
Let’s talk about the flag and the anthem. But let’s try to get closer to the bottom of all the brouhaha–the indignation directed toward the simple action of taking a knee during the national anthem. American football is supposed to be, you know, American–like apple pie. But these players who are choosing to protest racial … → Read More
7 Reasons Why I Won't Sign the New Protestant Confession of Faith
There’s a new Protestant confession in town. It’s called–perhaps surprisingly– “A Reforming Catholic Confession.” The adjective “Catholic” intends the original meaning of the word,”universal.” Public Domain (CC0) via Publicdomainpictures.net But this confession isn’t really that universal, because it’s a distinctly and intentionally Protestant confession. Confused? The occasion for the drafting… → Read More
The Problem With Liberal Christianity (From the Perspective of a Radical Christian)
Dorothy Sölle, a radical Christian theologian (her memoir is sub-titled Memoir of a Radical Christian), begins her book, Thinking About God, with an incisive critique of modern liberal Christianity. She was no fan of fundamentalist evangelical theology, but she provides an interesting and perhaps still timely two-pronged critique of the liberal end of Euro-American Christianity. … → Read More
The Inconsistent Docetism of Evangelical Theology
OK, here’s another thought I had about the so-called “Nashville Statement” that’s been buzzing around social media. Conservative evangelicals are some of the most docetic Christians around, in my experience. By docetic, I mean they tend to differentiate between spiritual and material, and elevate the spiritual over the material. Docetism was an early Christian … → Read More
Removing Racist Monuments Doesn't Destroy Culture, But Transforms It
Donald Trump thinks that the removal of confederate monuments is tantamount to destroying culture. Recently he tweeted: Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson—who’s … → Read More
Is Unity With God the Main Theme of All Religions?
“All major religions agree on one thing: the deepest desire of the human person is to get in contact and to live in union with his or her God.” And then, “The search for unity with God is undoubtedly the leading motif in religions.” Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, begins his book, One With God: Salvation as Deification [Read More...] → Read More
Almost the Greatest Heresy of All
What was Martin Luther's great heresy? (Hint: It's not what you're thinking.) → Read More
When Churches Conflate Christianity and Nationalism (10 Consequences)
Recently a Southern Baptist church in Dallas made headlines with their "freedom Sunday" service, a grandiose display of Christian nationalism. → Read More
When Churches Conflate Christianity and Nationalism (10 Consequences)
Recently a Southern Baptist church in Dallas made headlines with their "freedom Sunday" service, a grandiose display of Christian nationalism. → Read More
When Prejudice is Holding a Gun
Philando Castile, an African-American man from St. Paul, MN, died in a hospital on July 6, 2016, from a gun wound inflicted during a traffic stop by Jeronimo Yanez, a St. Anthony (MN) police officer. This past Friday, on June 23, 2017, a jury acquitted Yanez of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge [Read More...] → Read More
Dear Christian: Would You Be Angry Hell is Empty?
When I taught theology at an evangelical seminary, I ended every lecture on heaven/hell by posing the option of “hopeful universalism.” To be a hopeful universalist is to assert something like the following: I don’t know whether in the end God is going to save everyone, but I sure as hell (!) hope so, and [Read More...] → Read More
It's Not About Paris, It's About Our Planet
Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement is probably the most pompous “America First!” policy change that Trump has announced thus far. It’s also the most short-sighted–and unless the 4-yr timeline prevents it from actually happening–likely the most tragic. Care for the environment is not a nationalist concern, it’s a planetary [Read More...] → Read More
Believe it or Not, People Still Go to Church for the Preaching
The primary reason people give for going to church may surprise you: Good preaching and teaching. At least, that’s what Gallup found in a recent poll (March 2017). The poll listed common activities of church, asking respondents whether they rank as a major factor, a minor factor, or not a factor, in their reason for [Read More...] → Read More
The Virgin Birth and Christianity: Is it All Or Nothing?
Not long ago, I assumed my spot in my favorite coffee shop to work on final edits for A Complicated Pregnancy (subtitle yet to be decided), my forthcoming book about the virgin birth. I overheard two college-aged students discussing religion. The young man was a tried and true skeptic of religion, with a particular distaste [Read More...] → Read More
Four Ways to Interpret the "Rock," the Foundation of Jesus' Church
In Matthew 16, Simon (soon to be renamed “Peter”) makes his famous declaration that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” As is often pointed out with Peter, this is one of the few times he gets something right. Jesus’ response is more famous yet: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! [Read More...] → Read More
The Fundamentalist Heresy: Jesus was a Superhuman Person
I haven’t blogged much lately. The reason for that is I’ve been finishing a draft of my book on the issue of the virgin birth (more technically: virginal conception). I’ll be saying more about that book in days to come. Through the process of writing this book I’m come to appreciate the humanity of Jesus [Read More...] → Read More
Is Evangelicalism Now Just Right-Wing Politics in Religious Garb?
For those of you brave souls, crying out in the wilderness, who still want to reclaim white evangelicalism from the “Trumpism” that has now come to largely define it, good luck. Neil J. Young just splashed a lot of cold water on you. In a piece called “Time to Face Facts: White Evangelicalism Has Always [Read More...] → Read More
If Augustine's Theory of the "Fall" is Right, What About Righteous Noah?
Augustine’s theology of “original sin” has dominated and corrupted western theology for thousands of years. According to Augustine’s reading of Genesis 3, the disobedience of Adam and Eve results in severe consequences: a dramatic change in human nature, which means that all subsequent human beings are sinners, too — from the point of conception. We [Read More...] → Read More