“Fruit” and “Genesis” is a juxtaposition with a long and infamous history. It recalls a story passed on from generation to generation, connecting us to our ancestors, for good and for ill. Fruit, in the first instance, is about fruitfulness. Originally, we are told, the earth was luscious and vivacious, teeming with flora and fauna….

I benefited from reading Cabal and Rasor’s book in a variety of ways. It is written in a clear and accessible style and covers a lot of ground in an admirably concise fashion. Its particular strengths in my view are: 1) its attention to the history of these discussions in the church, 2) its focus…

In my last post, “Identities of Accused Witches,” I listed the most common identities of those who are said to be witches. The question for this post is, “how do we know and identify a witch?” Basically, the question is that of epistemology and it is an important one in dealing with the whole question of…

One of the critical features of the way that people talk about “witchcraft” in African contexts is the idea that witches do not usually identify themselves publicly. After all, they are engaged in antisocial behavior, and so it is to be expected that they would want to remain hidden from view.[1] The challenge for ordinary…

The four educators highlighted in my last post all ground their theories of experiential learning in a philosophy called constructivism.  What is constructivism?  Is it compatible with Christianity? What follows are my in-progress ruminations on these questions.  By no means have I found definitive answers.  Regardless, I continue to think about these issues because they…

Every fiber in my body tensed up.  In my mind, I immediately began barraging the man sitting to my left with questions.  I was baffled.  No sooner had I read the last word from a passage in Hebrews than he blurted, “I don’t agree with that.” That comment plagued my thoughts for several days.  What…