A Reasonable Middle-Ground For Being A Christian At Halloween

October 26, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

It’s almost Halloween, and kids everywhere are already bracing for the impending sugar rush that is about to commence. This is also the time where Christians sometimes begin discussing the holiday, often leaving the impression that there are two options for the Christian. Of course, the fundamentalists go bonkers at Halloween; last year someone gave me a tract that said it was the high-holiday for satanism and that cats would disappear throughout the neighborhood as the satanist conducted their yearly... Read more

Toddlers Killing With Guns: It’s Not a Gun Issue, It’s a SIN Issue

October 20, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported an issue that’s likely raising some eyebrows: toddler shootings. Now, this isn’t toddlers being shot, but toddlers actually pulling the trigger on someone else. As the Post reported, there have been over 43 shootings by toddlers just this year– that’s an average of one per week. Certainly, this is a tragedy– and the stories are difficult to read about. Last year there was the two year old who found a gun in his mother’s... Read more

90% Innocent: How America Is Creating Terrorists Faster Than We Can Kill Them

October 19, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

People aren’t born terrorists. No one crawls out of their mother’s womb, finishes weaning and learning how to walk, and then finds their first words to be words of hatred. No one is predestined to become a terrorist, and terrorism isn’t some genetic issue. Rather, terrorists are created out of otherwise beautiful image bearers of the true and living God. To create a terrorist, there are ultimately three factors that need to be cultivated inside the heart of an individual: fear,... Read more

Mike Huckabee Endorses Selling Poor People As Slaves (not even making this up)

October 16, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

Republican presidential candidate and Baptist preacher, Mike Huckabee, is endorsing a policy that sounds reeeeeeaaal Christian like. In a radio interview with Iowa’s Jan Mickelson, the two spoke of America’s broken justice system- a topic I’ve written about at TIME, previously. Certainly, our justice system is broken with a capital B. Between an incarceration rate that is over-the moon (especially if you’re a black male), mandatory sentencing guidelines that tie judges hands and prevent any level of mercy, and our failure to... Read more

If The Bible Commands Us To Bless Israel, It Commands Us To Bless Muslims Too

October 16, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

With violence erupting between the nation of Israel and the Christians and Muslims referred to collectively as the Palestinians, so also have American Christians taken to the airwaves to pledge their unwavering support for Israel. Certainly, for those of us who grew up in fundamentalism, blind and unwavering support for the modern state of Israel was a core component of our belief system. However, this view has spread beyond fundamentalism and gone so much further that even today, our national foreign... Read more

How To Live Relatively Safely, Without Owning A Defensive Firearm

October 10, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

I’ve always wondered why the gun lobby seems to keep sending us the message that a gun is the best way to ensure personal and home safety. Strike that– I know why they send the message: the gun lobby sells guns. Despite the fact that having a gun in your home increases your risk of gun-death, somehow we buy into the belief that being safe = gun ownership. However, this idea that your two options are (a) own a gun or (b)... Read more

Using the Bible To Run From Jesus (What If Jesus Actually Is Enough?)

October 9, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

Growing up, I learned a lot about Jesus. As an adult, I’ve learned even more. One of the common threads that has been part of my journey was the idea that “Jesus is sufficient” or what is sometimes called the “sufficiency of Christ.” In my fundamentalist world, the sufficiency of Christ was a theological descriptor relating to the issue of salvation, and simply meant that what Christ accomplished through his life, death, and resurrection, was sufficient– nothing more needs to... Read more

6 Billion Reasons Why The American Gun Lobby Loves Them A Good Mass Shooting

October 6, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

I’ll admit it: I’m officially to the point where I believe that the gun lobby in America actually loves mass shootings. I don’t mean that as hyperbole either, I actually think mass shootings are very, very good for them and must be something they rejoice over. Let me explain a bit: A good rule of thumb when evaluating motive is “always follow the money.” While it seems simplistic, in our world this is often a good place to look. Regardless of how... Read more

Why Standing Against Islamic Violence Forces You To Rethink Biblical Inerrancy

September 23, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

I’ve written a fair amount about contemporary issues regarding our relationship with Muslims. As a people group I love dearly and long to minister to for years to come, I have been quick to stand against xenophobia and Islamophobia. In our current climate in American Christianity however, there is fast and hard push-back when I stand with my Muslim brothers and sisters. Standing with them, of course, does not mean I stand with everything done in the name of their religion–... Read more

The Road To Death Camps Is Paved With Fear-based Rhetoric

September 22, 2015 By Benjamin L. Corey

In our divisive political climate, Hitler comparisons are far too common and grossly misused. Most of the time, the comparisons are simply inappropriate. However, as I have been pondering this issue for some weeks, I’ve realized there is an appropriate time and place to make a Hitler comparison. Making a Hitler comparison is far game if/when someone does exactly what Hitler did. I’ve been grieved over the growing level of fear and hatred I see permeating throughout American culture, especially... Read more