Articles — Jonathan Merritt

Can you be religious without knowing it?

An interview with David Dark on his book "Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious" in which he argues that even though the word “religion” gets a bad rap these days we shouldn’t just stop using it.

Arts + Entertainment, Culture, Politics, TheologyJonathanJune 30, 2016Atheism, books, DAVID DARK, Donald Trump, Pope Francis, religion, religious, Spirituality

Russell Moore on LGBT at Justice Conference: hateful or helpful?

Church, Culture, Media, Politics, TheologyJonathanJune 15, 2016Christianity, civility, Controversy, courage, ethics, Homosexuality, Justice Conference, LGBT, LGBTQ, Russell Moore, Sexuality

The secret Christian message in a highly-anticipated horror film

Arts + Entertainment, Culture, TheologyJonathanJune 15, 2016demonic, Ephesians 6:12, gospel, Hollywood, horror movie, supernatural events, the conjuring, the conjuring 2, theology

The Gospel Coalition and how (not) to engage culture

Church, Culture, Media, TheologyJonathanJune 15, 2016blog, critique, cultural engagement, Culture, Doug Wilson, evangelical bloggers, Rachel Held Evans, social media, TGC, The Gospel Coalition

The Book that Revolutionized 'Christian Manhood'

An interview with John Eldredge 15 years after 'Wild at Heart'

Culture, TheologyJonathanApril 25, 2016books, Controversy, Gender, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Eldredge, manhood, masculinity, men, theology, Wild at Heart, Women

Trump's Bible Fail

Trump names his favorite verse, but doesn't know what it means

Politics, TheologyJonathanApril 25, 2016Bible, Donald Trump, Exodus, Judaism, politics, theology, Trump, voting

The resurrection of Mark Driscoll

How should Christians respond to his return to ministry?

Current Events, TheologyJonathanApril 1, 20161 Timothy 3, Bible, church, churches, leadership, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill, materialism, Ministry, Pastor, theology

3 untrue Christian cliches you've probably used

Many common Christian phrases are well intentioned, but dead wrong.

TheologyJonathanMarch 30, 2016Adam Hamilton, Bible, Christianity, Homosexuality, Jesus, Jonathan Merritt, language, LGBT, myth, pain, suffering, theology, words

Following Jesus in this crazy American moment

Jonathan talks about faith, church, and Jesus.

Culture, TheologyJonathanFebruary 29, 2016church, gay marriage, Jesus, politics

The Selective Outrage of the Anglican Church

The Episcopal branch was suspended for accepting same-sex marriage.

Current Events, TheologyJonathanJanuary 18, 2016Anglican Communion, church, Episcopal Church, gay marriage, Homosexuality, hypocrisy, LGBT, Marriage, Sexuality

Heaven and near-death experiences: Separating fact from fiction

New Testament scholar Scot McKnight weighs in.

TheologyJonathanJanuary 1, 2016afterlife, animals, children, grace, heaven, Judgment, justice, Love, Near-death experiences, pets, rewards, salvation, Scot McKnight, theology

What does 'evangelical' mean?

Everything you want to know but were too scared to ask.

TheologyJonathanDecember 10, 2015Barna, Bebbington, Bible, conversion, David Kinnaman, evangelicalism, evangelism, George Marsden, gospel, History, Jonathan Merritt, Lifeway, politics, The Atlantic

Mass murder and the problem with prayer

Prayerless action is mere activism. Actions prayer is useless piety.

TheologyJonathanDecember 5, 2015Activism, Bible, California, gun laws, gun reform, guns, ISIS, Islam, murder, news, politics, prayer, shooting, theology, violence

Tim Keller finds Jesus in the Psalms

"There are two ways to read the Bible," Keller says.

TheologyJonathanNovember 21, 2015Bible, Devotional, Evangelical, evangelicalism, God, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, justice, Kathy Keller, King David, Music, New Testament, Old Testament, Psalms, sin, theology, Tim Keller, Timothy Keller, violence

What Christians need to know about transgender issues

Christians should begin with the personal, not political.

TheologyJonathanNovember 12, 2015books, counseling, culture war, culture wars, Gender, intersex, law, Mark Yarhous, Megan DeFranza, politics, psychology, Science, Sex, Sexuality, transgender

Is "God" becoming a trigger word?

The divine descriptor has negative associations, and some are swearing it off.

TheologyJonathanOctober 22, 2015Barbara Brown Taylor, church, Episcopalian, God, James Martin, language, liberalism, Princeton, Rob Bell, theology, twitter

The man who dismantled the ex-gay movement

Alan Chambers shares his story in a new memoir.

TheologyJonathanOctober 7, 2015Alan Chambers, counseling, evangelicalism, Exodus International, LGBT, reparative therapy, Sexuality, theology

Can evangelicals’ flip-flop on ex-gay therapy improve their credibility?

Galileo would be proud. Well, sort of.

TheologyJonathanOctober 7, 2015Alan Chambers, Albert Mohler, Baptist, ERLC, gay marriage, heterosexuality, Homosexuality, LGBT, politics, Sexuality, Southern Baptist Convention, theology

Confucius for Christians?

An Christian college professor has an unlikely message.

TheologyJonathanSeptember 21, 2015apologetics, Bible, Biola University, Christianity, Confucianism, Confucius, Gregg Ten Elshof, interfaith, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jonathan Merritt, philosophy, theology

How Christians have gotten temptation wrong

How can Christians reclaim a biblical view of life's forbidden fruits?

TheologyJonathanAugust 31, 2015Bible, Christianity, church, failure, Jesus, John Owen, John Wesley, lies, pop culture, sin, temptation, theology, Tim Chaddick, truth