Beyond the Box

It’s that time of year when evangelicals start complaining about a “War on Christmas”–the alleged attempt by the evil liberals to steal the baby Jesus out of the manger and replace him with a Richard Dawkins book. Well, since it’s what evangelicals are doing, Ray and Steve have something to say about it!   And [...]

Somehow, our western culture has become completely enamored with “experts”.  Have a medical situation? Consult a doctor. Have a financial question? Consult an investment professional. Have a theological question? Consult a pastor. In the midst of this progression over the last couple of centuries, we have gotten to the point where we seldom even give [...]

Communication…dialogue…conversation  — these are not necessarily words that are used in conjunction with understanding theology.  Too often, theology is set into codes, creeds, confessions and formats that serve to squelch dialogue about the particular issues.  While many would view this as a good thing, giving us a firm foundation for our faith, it can often [...]

A rather recent news article about an unnamed school in the eastern US prompted this episode.  Ray and Steve discuss the use of prayer as a weapon in public (not Christian-specific) settings, and whether or not prayer should ever be used in that form of making one’s point. As often happens in the discussions on [...]

After three episodes outlining various views of atonement theory, Ray and Steve conclude the series by wrapping up their thoughts on the subject and summarizing the views discussed. We hope you enjoyed this series, and that it has sparked some thinking about the atonement and why it can be very important in our view of [...]

After devoting entire episodes to both of the two most widely-held theories, Ray and Steve present a potpourri of other theories in one episode.  Four different views are presented in this discussion, including the third of the “top three” views of the atonement. Far from being a dry topic, Ray and Steve infuse their own [...]

Continuing on in the series on views of the atonement, Ray and Steve turn their focus to what has been referred to as the “classic view”, allegedly held as the predominant view of the atonement for the first 1,000 years of western Christianity, and still widely held in the Eastern churches.  This view, commonly called [...]

Beginning first with a response to a listener question regarding the deity of Jesus, Ray and Steve then move into the first segment in what will be a multi-part series.  In this series, they take a look at different theories of the atonement. While that may sound less than exciting for many people, Ray and [...]

One of the side-effects of stepping out of the customary way of practicing Christianity, and exploring life in Christ outside of the institution, is a feeling of uncertainty as to where one actually fits in.  For many of us, we were so accustomed to wearing certain labels, being “members” of certain organizations, and being identified [...]

In a continuation of last week’s episode, Ray and Steve continue to talk about a variety of issues related to what we speak and how it affects what we believe and experience.  If you haven’t already listened to part 1, go listen to that first. By the way, Beyond the Box has a new twitter [...]