Are pastors supposed to function as God’s morality police? Is there a better way than trying to control people’s sins and modify their behavior? In part one of this series, we looked at how “Matthew eighteening” church members we view as sinners is an abuse of scripture and people. Another Bible passage that leaders use to justify their spiritual bullying is 1 Corinthians 5:1-11. Here, Paul rebukes the church for allowing sin in their midst. 1 Corinthians 5:1-11... Read more
Church discipline is all about bullying people who don’t conform. There–I said it. A New Verb Some pastors know how to turn Matthew 18 into a verb. For example, one minister I know said, “We had a couple in our church who were living together outside of marriage, so I Matthew eighteened them.” He meant that he was bringing someone under church discipline. He didn’t realize how much it revealed about his own nature and that of his church.... Read more
It seems that COVID keeps coming out with new variants. A couple weeks after my fiftieth birthday, I just got my second booster. As a Health Department employee, I encourage people to keep getting vaccinated, washing your hands, wearing masks, and distancing. Even though more recent strains are not as deadly as the original variants, this virus still kills. But it’s not just the disease that’s deadly. Emotional Contagion: Deadly or Life-Giving Since the beginning of COVID-19, there has been... Read more
I’ve lost a lot of “friends” on Facebook over the last couple of years, because of my stance on social issues. Most of these don’t bother me—but a few have been people I once considered dear. There’s a difference between “friends” on social media, and actual friends. It hurts the most when precious people argue with you on the internet’s public forum, or when they drop you altogether. Is the Carnage Virtual? Studies show that when we’re on social media,... Read more
No, I didn’t get the title backwards. Contrary to the popular Christian aphorism that says, “Love The sinner; hate the sin,” many Christians do it the other way around. I’m reminded of Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church. Picketing funerals and other events, they brandished signs that read, “God hates fags.” Their brand of Christianity turns my stomach and illustrates the fact that they really love the sin and hate the sinner. Something to Oppose They love... Read more
Last week, someone called me an “Effing Yank!” This is particularly funny to a Southerner from Virginia, where we grew up thinking Yankees were people born north of the Mason-Dixon line. So, for me to be called a Yank makes me chuckle. But, coming from a non-American, it was meant to be hurtful. It got me thinking about borders. I’m drafting this article while sitting in line at the border between the United States and Canada. I live north of... Read more
Spoiler Alert: I paused my horror movie to draft this article. That first sentence sorta gives away the ending, doesn’t it? Read on, though—and we’ll take a serious look at the question. Also, Warning: Some of the language below describes graphic violence. Patheos asked its writers to work on a project called “People Are Asking,” tackling the top one hundred inquiries readers have about the world’s different religions. So far in this series, I’ve answered the question, “Can Christians... Read more
Take a journey with me as we visit the Holy City, on a day when Passover was not passive, and a man of peace helped Jesus carry his cross. Jerusalem teemed with Jewish travelers from all over the Roman Empire, who had come to the holy city for Passover. Though they all worshipped the Jewish God, they came from many cultures. Tarshish, Babylon, Egypt, and Ethiopia all boasted Jewish populations in the Diaspora—and many people, indigenous to those regions,... Read more
“Dad, I’m bisexual.” “Mom, I’m a lesbian.” “Pastor, I’m gay.” “Boss, I’m transgender.” “Friend, I’m questioning my sexual identity.” What can you, as a conservative Christian, do when someone comes out to you? This is Pride Month–so this issue may hit home sooner than you think. I hope you’ll keep reading–because I’m not going to try to convince you to believe anything different than you already do. Plenty of books and articles exist, making theological arguments on both sides. If you have... Read more
Christians have a lot of unwritten rules when it comes to cussing, cursing, swearing, or having a “potty mouth.” But what does the Bible say about cussing Christians? Rules for Cussing Obscenity laws are written to limit what you can and can’t say in public, to protect public decency. Unwritten rules, on the other hand, get enforced by society in general. There are all kinds of unwritten rules about cussing. Let me write down three: Certain people shouldn’t hear you... Read more
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