I’ve asked this before but, I’ll ask it again: Why is it that Deborah can lead an army but in, God only knows how many, modern day churches a woman can’t lead a bible study? I’m working on getting better at healthy dialogue which includes learning how to be okay with disagreement regarding heated “issues.” So, I write this with the knowledge that I’m not going to change anyone’s opinion overnight; I write this with the hope and intention... Read more
Was Trump’s 2016 Election Rigged? “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 1:9 New International Version (NIV) What election hasn’t been rigged? There is voter suppression, discriminatory ID laws, confusing “butterfly ballots”… again, I ask, when has the election not been rigged? When someone finds a point in time our election hasn’t been rigged I’m sure someone else will show them a time they’ve been duped.... Read more
The Most Post-Christian Cities in the U.S. Ever wonder what the most post-Christian cities are in the U.S.? Neither have I, but, admittedly I did find it interesting to see where my current city of residence (Philadelphia) ranked on the list. I’ve said it so many times before that I’m beginning to role my eyes in response to myself when mentioning the decline of church attendance, religious affiliation, belief in God, prayer and Bible-reading… Yeah, it’s a thing that’s... Read more
Where Identity Politics Fall Apart… “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.” – Nietzsche Hypothetically speaking, what if your enemies weren’t really your enemies? What if “those people” tweeting “#AllLivesMatter” were not trying to negate the fact that #BlackLivesMatter? What if their struggle had more similarities to your struggle than we’ve been lead to believe? Many of you probably saw the Trevor Noah bit on identity… (if you haven’t, then you can watch it... Read more
What is Cheap Grace? There’s so many different forms of grace: Hyper-grace, free grace, costly grace, and then there’s what we’re discussing here today, cheap grace or, cheapened grace. What is Cheap Grace? Cheapened grace, similar to cheapening or watering down the gospel is what happens when we water down the message of Christs to make it a bit more “palatable.” This term is usually attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer as many recognize it from his influential book, The Cost of Discipleship.... Read more
Was Jesus a Magician or a Miracle-Worker? Outside of multiple-choice testing, whenever somebody presents me with a limited set of options I’m typically inclined to internally wonder, “What options are not being presented and, why?” This was my first thought when learning about C.S. Lewis’ infamous trilemma… it was this discussion regarding the topic of whether or not Jesus was actually God (I write more about that here); although, many scholars contest this argument suggesting that Jesus never even said... Read more
Research Suggests Inclusivity is Actually Hurting the Church “But here’s the punchline: The strategies that Eaton, Evans, and BuzzFeed insist will bring millennials flocking back to church are consistently destroying congregations and denominations that implement them[5].” You see, mixing politics with your church, these days is like pouring orange juice into your cereal…You don’t even want to taste it because you already just know [instinctually] it’s not going to be good; similarly, mixing politics with religion is a sure fire... Read more
The Year of Redefining the Fourth of July Whenever I see a truck driving around with an American flag stamped on its bumper or waving as they zoom by I just feel a bit disgusted. It never feels encouraging or uplifting. It feels a bit authoritarian… it’s not saying “united we stand” so much as it’s saying, “in your face!” Because, freedom? But also, I’m not anti-America. I don’t not like living here. One of the more moderate sides of... Read more
Refuting the Most Common Arguments Against Immigration… Since 1996 the federal government has reportedly deported “at least 1000 people per day.” Personally, I had no idea until I watched this video that ICE has a quota of 400,000 deportations they’re required to meet annually. Here’s the thing: I’m not saying that immigration is a black and white issue. What I am saying is that we need to be careful to not unnecessarily become self-defeatingly inhumane. It’s no secret but Trump... Read more
“Until the Lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter…” If we’re being honest, most of us don’t know too much in regard to why certain writings or manuscripts have been accepted while others have been rejected. We normally have just gone about, for one reason or another, in blind trust; indoctrinated from a young age with repetitive songs including chorus’ telling us to believe how much “Yes, Jesus loves us… because the Bible tells me so.”... Read more
Andy Gill
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