Why I'm Not

I shared the statistics regarding the SBC. Here's a link to a CT article on how they SBC lost nearly half a million members in 2025: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/05/southern-baptist-membership-drop-baptism-rebound-sbc/ Here's an NPR story on Bono and the song: NPR, "U2's 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'"

It’s a strange thing to hear about people talking about your convictions—not just challenging them, but labeling them. Lately, I’ve found myself placed into a couple boxes by some have been critical of things I’ve shared: Let’s call them drifting and grifting. Then there’s a label I would use of my process, which is shifting.

One of the most common discussions points I’ve had about the podcast is about what I mean when I use the term fundamentalism. I unpack what I mean by fundamentalism – and why I’m trying not to be one – in episode two. But it seems a bit more clarification might be helpful. In a recent conversation about the podcast with a Southern Baptist leader, I used a metaphor from C.S. Lewis that seemed useful. Lewis once compared Christianity to a great house. The central hallway is the shared core of the faith—belief in Christ, the creeds, the big essentials. In this podcast, I oultine a few ways we drift into fundamentalism using Lewis' house metaphor.

Welcome to the Flip Side. If you rode along for Why I'm Not — my experiment in verbal processing and theological reflection on my journey in, and through Christian fundamentalism — then buckle up, because like any good vinyl record, there's always a Side B. Side B is filled with some reflections on the journey.

Rumors of my deconversion are greatly exaggerated. I’ve had some folks I’ve worked with in the past speculate I’m walking away from faith. I heard it through the grapevine. Trust me, it’s not true. As if. Some of y’all need to take a chill pill. They’ve said that’s me in the corner, that’s me in the spotlight, losing my religion. I’m not. I’m losing their fundamentalist version of it. And I’m glad to see it go. So today, I want to say this plainly, calmly, and without apology. I may be over fundamentalism. But I’m not getting over Jesus. What Will Happen in Churches When All the Baby Boomers Are Gone? (Church Answers) The Coming Silver Tsunami: A Volunteer Crisis in Aging Congregations The 2022 Data on the Southern Baptist Convention is Out (Ryan Burge) Why Is the SBC Membership Declining? (Ryan Burge)

Dr. John Stott on annihilationism: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1232&context=pd Three Christion Views of Hell (Dr. Preston Sprinkle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-DfzRSLFP8 Conditional Immortality (Dr. Preston Sprinkle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemKBJoCoKI Debate between Dr. Albert Mohler and Chris Date on annihilationism. Link: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable/podcasts/episodes/should-christians-rethink-hell-dr-al-mohler-amp-chris-date-debate-the-traditional-amp-conditionalist-concept-of-hell-replay You might need to set up a free account to listen. I had to. You can judge for yourself, but this debate was a bit of tipping point for me in taking a serious look at annihilationism as the arguments for it are far better than what are given against it, which mostly consists of doubling down on the fact the ECT is the traditional view wihtout much substantive arguments. I would encourage you to look for places where instead of dealing with the arguments for annihilationism, they are simply dismissed as not being "the normal reading of the text." Kirk Cameron video on hell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RflbA8Vt_Y Ray Comfort's response to Kirk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1BAU7cdh8Y Kirk Cameron's response to all the pushback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NrwM3Qy-5w Kirk Cameron and a panel of experts talking through this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds3UbUsIaQs This website is a repository of articles, videos, and publications on the topic: https://rethinkinghell.com

Some doctrinal positions require so much cherry-picking you’d think we were baking a pie. We’re all capable of it. That’s why sensitive topics deserve honest engagement with all the relevant texts—not just our favorites. Because of the complexity of the biblical texts, and the theological whack-a-mole way conservatives handle it, I'm really not big mad about people who might disagree with me. SHOW NOTES: Danvers Statement on Biblical Complimentarianism: https://cbmw.org/about/the-danvers-statement/ Baptist Faith and Message 2000: https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/ Who Killed Junia: https://juniaproject.com/who-killed-junia-part-one/ Junia, a Woman Apostle: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1561521 (BRILL) Two Minor Textual Variants in Romans 16:7 "Tne variant is Ἰουνίαν (“Junia,” feminine)and the other Ἰουλίαν (“Julia”). It has become clear in recent decades, however,that only “Julia” is a genuine textual variant to the (unaccented) Ἰουνιαν; that the masculine form, “Junias,” is a non-existent name and must be discarded ; and that the feminine form, “Junia,” must be restored in the text" (emphasis mine).Another quote from this article regarding the eventual change back to the femine version of Junia: "This change was long overdueand fully justified, for the Apostle Junias (male) was the creation of certainmale scholars – exegetes, lexicographers, and grammarians – and churchmenin Europe, Britain, and North America, who, as is apparent (and occasionallyon their own admission), found it difficult to admit that a woman in earliest Christianity could have been an apostle . . ." Junia – A Woman Lost in Translation: The Name IOYNIAN in Romans 16:7 and its History of Interpretation "Both male interpretations lack evidence to support their existence. The female form, on the other hand, is widely attested outside of the New Testament and, consequently, is not just the wishful reading of female scholars like Brooten but the most natural reading of the text. In light of this evidence, there is not just no good reason to replace the known female name Junia for a hypothetical male name Junias, there is not even the slightest reason to even mention a male alternative to Junia." Video: N.T. Wright on women in ministry I find that a compelling argument against egalitarianism can be made from church history and the Global Church outside of the West. Gavin Ortlund makes a good case for that here. This point that keeps me from changing my position: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/X-Q_ew-u-Zg

I still have nightmares about a movie my fundamentalist church made me watch as a kid: A Thief in the Night. It was a groovy 1970s horror film built on bad theology—and a lot of fear. That theology was dispensationalism, a system invented in the 1800s by John Nelson Darby and later popularized in the 1900s in America by C. I. Scofield through his reference Bible. Scofield didn’t just explain the text; he smuggled Darby’s ideas into it. Literally. Some critics joke it should be called the Darby Bible because of the level of plagiarism. In this episode, I'll describe why a theology that sees Palestinian Christians as an obstacle to God's work should be left behind. NOTES: N.T. Wright's article “Farewell to the Rapture”: https://ntwrightpage.com/2016/07/12/farewell-to-the-rapture/ While I say Darby invented dispensationalism, it can be argued it was more due to the way his views were developed by his followers. To further explore this, here's an interesting interview by Dr. Albert Mohler with Dr. Crawford Gribben from Queen's Colelge about his book, "J.N. Darby and the Roots of Dispensationalism": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow9bN5RXVa4 You can read more about the displacement of Palestinians here: https://bylinetimes.com/2024/01/17/the-palestinians-and-israel-a-modern-day-trail-of-tears/ Here's the Faith on the Road episode I mentioned where we interviewed Palestinian theologian John Munyaer: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1oVKrJmDKrkiggq7TswBlb?si=umPaoeJCQYSfbhmDpsnAIA Opinion piece on why Christians tolerate Israel's genocide against Palestinians: https://politicstoday.org/why-do-evangelical-christians-support-israels-genocide-against-palestinians/ Replace Theology is a Heresy by Jack Sara: https://www.comeandsee.com/view.php?sid=1453

I've heard people bark in the Spirit. I've seen people roll in the Spirit. I've also sat in Baptist churches that might not know the Spirit if He slapped them in the face. What's a Christian to think? In this episode, I unpack why I no longer buy into arguments that the gifts of prophecy and tongues have ceased. While avoiding extremes and spectacles, we should expect these gifts to function until Jesus returns—even if that makes us a bit uncomfortable. SHOW NOTES: Tom Schreiner article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/cessationist/ Sam Storms article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/continuationist/ Sam Storms on spiritual gifts throughout church history: https://www.samstorms.org/enjoying-god-blog/post/spiritual-gifts-in-church-history--1-

Some people try to put God in a box. In this episode, I try to put him in a bucket. Listen all the way through, and you'll figure out what I mean. I’m sharing this episode, not just because I’m not a young earth creationist and want to explain why. It’s really more than that. I think this issue has become needlessly divisive among certain Christian tribes in the United States—my tribe included. NOTES: I highly recommend John Lennox's book Seven Days That Divide the World. I also highly recommend John Sailhamer's Genesis Unbound . First Charles Spurgeon quote from this sermon: https://www.spurgeongems.org/sermon/chs30.pdf Second Charles Spurgeon quote from this sermon: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/election/#flipbook/

In 2006, Calvinism was making a comeback. Evangelicalism was buzzing, and Christianity Today gave the moment a name: “Young, Restless, and Reformed.” Southern Seminary was given the label “ground zero.” I was there—fresh PhD, junior faculty member, associate dean, newly minted Vice President for Communications. I had a book contract, expanding opportunities, and a front-row seat to the resurgence. But over time, Calvinism lost its appeal. I found it increasingly difficult to use in making sense of the Bible. Like when a restaurant turns down the lights and turns up the ambient music, it became a struggle to read the text and hear the over-arching message. This episode is why I elected to leave T.U.L.I.P. in the dust. SHOW NOTES: Christianity Today article "Young, Resltess, and Reformed": https://www.christianitytoday.com/magazine/2006/september/ Book "Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists": https://www.amazon.com/Young-Restless-Reformed-Collin-Hansen/dp/1581349408 New York Times Article (though late - still analyzes the same movement): https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/04/us/a-calvinist-revival-for-evangelicals.html

Did you know one of the most influential figures in American fundamentalism was a con artist who ditched his family, did time in jail, and then got rich selling a study Bible? In this episode, I get personal—sharing about my own years in Bible college and how I was shaped by a system built on shaky foundations. I expose the scandal behind the Scofield Study Bible, a book that quietly molded the curriculum of countless Christian colleges through its connection to C. I. Scofield. And I lay out five reasons why I’m deliberately trying not to be a fundamentalist anymore. Show Notes: Kansas gov website with reference to Scofield: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/history Article with overview of Scofield: https://www.acton.org/religion-liberty/volume-35-number-2/ci-scofield-gods-self-made-man Overview of influence of the Scofield Reference Bible: https://textandcanon.org/the-bestselling-reference-bible-that-remade-american-evangelicalism/ Academic thesis on Scofield: https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2571&context=etd From the conclusion of the thesis: "This thesis reveals that C. I. Scofield’s claim to be a decorated Confederate hero, a successful lawyer, and a Bible scholar merely reflected a reputation he sought after his political and personal ruin in Atchison, Kansas in 1873. C. I. Scofield used opportunity, confidence, and the good will of others to disguise an unrepentant ambition for recognition as a professional minister. Reverend Scofield’s claim of being a decorated veteran, successful lawyer, or Bible scholar each seem less than compelling individually, but considered together as part of his life story reveals the complex nature of the man and his theology." https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/blogs/historical-society-blog/beginnings-fundamentalism Lyman Stewart and gift to Scofield's Bible project and he and his brother's funding of The Fundamentals of the Faith . This connection doesn't demonstrate anything sinister or unethical, but rather shows the close connection between Scofiled's views and the coining of the term "fundamentalist." Scofield is one of sixty-four authors of the articles in The Fundamentals of the Faith .

Was Jonathan Edwards a heretic for believing he could own other humans? How can we give him a pass for being a product of the spirit of his age, and then critique others today for views we believe are too influenced by our times? These are some of the points I'll hit as I introduce "Why I'm Not," a journey of verbal processing and theological reflection on my journey in and through Christian fundamentalism. SHOW NOTES: Precious Puritans by Propaganda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTZFjzY_0eg&list=RDlTZFjzY_0eg&start_radio=1 Baptists, Slavery, and the Road to the Civil War: https://thelondonlyceum.com/baptists-slavery-and-the-road-to-civil-war/ Deliver Us From Evil:Baptists, Slavery and Freedom: https://abhms.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Deliver-Us-From-Evil-booklet.pdf Defending the Indefensible: https://srmp.wfu.edu/to-stand-with-and-for-humanity/defending-the-indefensible-wake-forest-baptists-and-the-bible/ Report on Slavery and Racism in the History of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: https://cf.sbts.edu/sbts2023/uploads/2023/10/Racism-and-the-Legacy-of-Slavery-Report-v4.pdf?_gl=1*ixe2ex*_gcl_au*NDgxNzk5MTg1LjE3NjczNjUxMzc.*_ga*MTA2MDcxNzkzOC4xNzY3MzY1MTM3*_ga_RV75BBRJ5K*czE3NjczNjUxMzckbzEkZzEkdDE3NjczNjUyMTAkajYwJGwwJGgw