Ifaqtheology
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Ron Highfield shares his expert opinions and answers to Infrequently Asked Questions, particularly on Progressivism in Christianity and Western Culture in his blog, Ifaqtheology. Ron is a Professor of Religion at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, and is also a published author on the same topic.
Ifaqtheology
4d ago
I just read Scot McKnight and Tommy Phillips, Invisible Jesus: A Book About Leaving the Church and Looking for Jesus (Zondervan, 2024). I will not do a chapter-by-chapter review, but I want to share my thoughts. The Argument I decided to read this book for two reasons. First, one of the authors Scot McKnight wrote ..read more
Ifaqtheology
1w ago
Two recent experiences provoked me to reflect on the disparity between what I want to know and how much I actually know. To live at peace with this disparity, I’ve had to develop strategies for dealing with my ignorance without falling into skepticism or dogmatism. I share three of those lessons below. Two Humbling Experiences ..read more
Ifaqtheology
2w ago
It seems that we have heeded only too well James’s admonition that not many of us should become teachers (James 3:1). But not for the same reason! James finishes his warning with these words: “because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” I doubt that the prevailing ignorance and lack of ..read more
Ifaqtheology
1M ago
Interviewers often ask FBI directors, generals and diplomats the question, “What keeps you up at night?” It’s a simple way of asking about the most pressing dangers facing the nation or the world. Today I want to answer this question in my own case. Interviewer: Professor Highfield, as a student of church history, Christian theology ..read more
Ifaqtheology
1M ago
The Postmodern University In the previous essay we examined Julia Schleck’s defense* of the postmodern university. Though she admits that the postmodern university no longer believes in knowledge, truth, and virtue in the traditional senses of these terms, she nevertheless argues that society ought to grant professors academic freedom and tenure and generous financial support ..read more
Ifaqtheology
1M ago
Many of you know that I am very interested in the current state of higher education. Lately, I’ve been reading books about academic freedom. Most of my reading focuses on academic freedom in Christian colleges and universities. Today, however, I want to share my review of a book that sheds light on the present state ..read more
Ifaqtheology
2M ago
In my previous essay I recounted my failed search for the Social-Justice Jesus. In reading through the Gospel of Matthew, I did not find a social revolutionary protesting systemic injustices or an advocate of the economic interests of one class in preference to another. Jesus was not a royalist, democrat, republican, anarchist, or a libertarian ..read more
Ifaqtheology
2M ago
I heard a fine sermon Sunday (9/22/24) about the subtle dangers of hypocrisy and the temptation to judge others by standards we cannot meet (Matthew 7:1-5). With our x-ray moral vision, we can detect microscopic faults in others but are blind to the huge train of sins we drag behind us! Ouch! It was a ..read more
Ifaqtheology
2M ago
Today I will conclude the series urging anti-creedal churches to rethink their opposition to explicit creeds, confessions of faith, and statements of belief. A Little More History The Early and Patristic Church Creeds, confessions of faith and statements of belief served different purposes in different eras of church history. Beginning with the council of Jerusalem ..read more
Ifaqtheology
2M ago
In the previous two essays I argued that anti-creedal traditions such as the Stone-Campbell Movement (S-CM) need to rethink their opposition to creeds. We no longer live in a culture that reveres the Bible and believes in objective facts and clear truths. In today’s context, the anti-creed stance will inevitably be assimilated to postmodern relativism ..read more