Dear Christian Haters, Bigots, and Homophobes, Forgive me if this letter comes across as nothing but a jumbled mess, a stream of consciousness better fit for a journal than anything else. But, given that this is my first Pride Month as an openly bisexual man, I didn’t want to hold in what I am feeling nor let those of you who continue to demonize us off the hook for the harm you have caused and continue to cause people whom... Read more
I recently read an article by my friend Keith Giles that got me thinking (I know, dangerous, right?). It was about how we should explore the idea of having a fresh canon of Scripture. Of course, he was being a bit tongue in cheek, but I understood his point. Marcion had his own set. Origen had his own set. Athanasius had his own set. So why can’t we? However, as Keith points out: “I actually think creating any sort of ‘Canon... Read more
A few weeks back, I was watching an online debate between my friend Keith Giles and some dude I’ve never heard of (sorry, bro, I can’t remember your name). The topic was “how to read the Bible.” Keith took a more Christocentric approach (meaning: if it doesn’t look like Jesus, it’s probably wrong) while the other guy was closer to an inerrantist (meaning: all of it is correct to some degree). Overall, it was a pretty interesting debate, but when... Read more
The moment when you take your first step through the gates of hell, the only thing you will hear is all of creation standing to its feet and applauding and praising God because God has rid the earth of you. That’s how not good you are. ~ Paul Washer For most Christians, even to this day, hell is eternal. It is a place of either literal or figurative flames. Most “sophisticated” thinkers argue for figurative flames due to the grotesque nature... Read more
The other day, my man Derrick Day ironically shared to Facebook an asinine article called “10 Rules of Sex for Wives.” Here’s how it begins (bold font is my emphasis): Hello Sir! I’m so glad that I found your site! It’s hard to find a Christian blog that is honest about sexuality and marriage. I wish that you had been around when I got engaged. I got married when I was only nineteen and had a lot to learn, it would... Read more
I have friends who believe that theology doesn’t matter, and while I respect where some of them are coming from, I can’t agree with them. Of course, on the one hand they are right; theology is NOT of utmost importance. Meaning, our theology is not our identity. But on the other hand, whatever we believe about God matters in how we actually live our lives. As you’ve probably heard me talk about over and over ad nauseum, we are mimetic... Read more
Most Christians I’ve met say they believe in hell. Typically, it’s reserved for non-believers who have never heard the name of Jesus. Worse yet, though, is the hell former believers – apostates, reprobates, back-sliders – will experience. You know, because we are deceiving the masses, and all that. I’m here today to call B.S. on this. I don’t think most of these people actually believe in hell as eternal conscious torment. Either that, or they are sociopaths. Why do I... Read more
The Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus is a go-to passage infernalists use to argue for eternal conscious torment. This is unfortunate, though I will admit that a prima facie glance at the story from Luke does seem to suggest that there is a hell with a “great chasm” that can’t be bridged. However, I don’t think that is what is really going on here. We have to dig much deeper. As we will discuss on an upcoming episode... Read more
The cool thing about being a writer is that if you do it well enough and for long enough, you’ll get to meet other writers who are out there doing their thing. Some time ago, Karl Forehand was one of those folks I had the pleasure of meeting. Of course, by “meet,” I mean that we’ve only spoken online, chatted on each other’s podcasts, and now, have even become colleagues here on Patheos. Oh, and we’ve each published multiple books... Read more
A few weeks ago, The Gospel Coalition released a book about deconstruction called Before You Lose Your Faith. Yes, those predominantly Reformed Churches who believe the Bible is the Word of God, that men have headship over women, that humanity is “corrupted in every aspect of their being,” and that on the cross Christ propitiated God and “bore in our stead the punishment due us for our sins,” don’t want you to deconstruct your faith. I wonder why. Now, they... Read more
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