Here are the five most-read articles published in 2020 at Authentic Theology:

1. “Church of Christ in Quarantine After Assembling Despite Warning, Then Positive Covid-19 Test,” Authentic Theology (March 20, 2020)

—– A church held services in March, despite warnings against from the governor and others, and a few days later learned that someone at the service afterward tested positive for COVID-19, sending many into quarantine

2. “10 Reasons Churches Should Not Have In-Person Services for a Time: COVID-19 and Flattening the Curve,” Authentic Theology (March 14, 2020)

—– 10 reasons churches should not meet in person during the pandemic

3. “Drive-in Church Threat to Family: Car Cabin Maximizes Covid-19 Infection Risk to Whole Family by Unaware,” Authentic Theology (April 19, 2020)

—– One in a series of articles regarding unrecognized dangers with drive-in church relative to COVID-19

4. “Female Elders in a Church of Christ: Interviews, One Year Later,” Authentic Theology (December 8, 2020)

—- Interview-based article on a church selecting two female elders

5. “Interview — Female Church of Christ Preacher, Poet Who Reached Millions, Kaitlin Hardy Shetler,” Authentic Theology (February 4, 2020)

—- A short sermon in the form of a poem by an advocate for women and justice and an occasional preacher likely reached more than twice as many people as there are members of the Churches of Christ in the United States within 48 hours of its publication on social media, likely now more than 10 million people, but Churches of Christ leaders and press ignored it

More of Interest

This sixth article was not in the top 5, but I thought it was the most interesting:

6. “The Churches of Christ Language Problem on Race,” Authentic Theology (June 16, 2020)

—- With recent national attention on racial issues, church leaders increasingly refer to the immutable characteristic of race using words like “equal” and “love,” words whose normal meaning does not include discrimination against others, but those words are commonly used, and consequently defined, in churches that bar women from various roles in the church differently than their normal meaning:  a meaning that instead includes  — even mandates — discrimination against other people based on another immutable characteristic, sex

And I enjoyed writing a series of three articles reviewing recent books on women in scripture, books by Renee Sproles, John Mark Hicks, and the ICOC Teacher Service Team. Here is the first in the series:

7. “On Gender” by Renée Sproles (Book Review), Authentic Theology (Sept. 18, 2020)

— Reviewing strengths and weaknesses of the three books, with this as the first in the series.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading in 2020!

I hope 2021 is a good year for you and for us all.

Please let me know what topics you would like to see addressed at Authentic Theology this year at the Contact page.

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Sources & Notes

Most-read articles at Authentic Theology consider

  • in-person and drive-in church during the pandemic
  • interviews of ground-breaking women regarding Churches of Christ restrictions on women, and
  • a female preacher reaching millions, largely ignored by her home tradition

Also highlighted, articles on:

  • language problem regarding race
  • Sproles, Hicks, and ICOC books on women and girls in church

What are your thoughts on these articles and subjects?

Of the 21 articles published at Authentic Theology in 2020, 7 related to discrimination against women and girls in the church, 7 were on church-related aspects of the pandemic, and 7 were on other topics (law, justice and mercy, being a beloved child of God, questioning God, Jesus preparing a place for us, race, and the Holy Spirit).

Updated: 12/30

Picture by sentidocomun.