Jesus & Lao Tzu: The Way of Love Vs. Violence

Last updated on: December 15, 2025 at 8:41 pm By Gregory T. Smith

This week reminds us how quickly physical and verbal violence can rule headlines and hearts. When tragedy strikes, it matters how we respond. Whether it’s another campus shooting, an attack on a house of worship, or a high-profile murder, politicians, pundits, and pastors jump on their soapboxes to use headlines to push their agendas. In polarized times like these, even condolences can get twisted into contempt and point-scoring. After the killings of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer... Read more

How Purity Culture Ruins a Fun Christmas Song

Last updated on: December 7, 2025 at 8:03 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

Here’s how I ruin a perfectly fun Christmas song. Or, rather, how purity culture ruins a good song, and I point it out. In my house, the Christmas music comes on right after Halloween. I’ve lost Whamageddon every year, long before the season even really starts. But that’s not the song that gets me jamming, laughing, and wincing all at the same time. Every year, I forget my beef with this song until the chorus hits. I hear the early-2000s... Read more

Jesus & Lao Tzu on Mission: People Aren’t Projects

Last updated on: November 29, 2025 at 1:40 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

Maybe your grandpa used to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” What if that wisdom applies to people, too—and people aren’t projects? Sometimes, tinkering with something that isn’t defective breaks its balance and creates problems you didn’t have before. Similarly, starting with the assumption that others are defective could actually prevent any positive influence you might want to have. What if Your Neighbors Aren’t Projects? Of course, whenever you try to fix something, you’re saying that there’s... Read more

Renaming God: Could “Peace” Be Another Name for the Divine?

Last updated on: November 19, 2025 at 9:13 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

Most of us don’t think much about peace until we realize how badly we need it. What if “Peace” is another name for God? It’s the relief you feel after a sleepless night when the doctor finally says, “It’s treatable.” Or the sound of the door closing late at night, when you can finally rest because “they’re home.” It’s the calm after the storm. Peace arrives in the margins of real life. You know what it feels like, without needing... Read more

Get Real! Toxic Positivity Is Not a Fruit of the Spirit

Last updated on: November 6, 2025 at 10:30 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

Toxic positivity in Christian spaces silences honest emotions. Real faith makes room for grief, lament, and presence—without the fake smile. Somewhere between Halloween and Christmas, we pack away the werewolves and vampires and start donning different kinds of masks. As we approach the Holidays, we’re expected to exchange the skeleton grins for something even more frightening—fake smiles telling the lie that everything’s fine. We shift from spooky season to sparkle season, from “boo” to “blessed,” and it’s easy to feel... Read more

Holy Spirit – God’s Supernatural Ceasefire

Last updated on: November 9, 2025 at 12:37 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

Before he died, Jesus wanted give his followers the peace of the Holy Spirit, who would counsel them and guide them in all truth. We all know that loss comes to every family, and rarely on our schedule. Sometimes it arrives without warning, and the news leaves us in shock. Other times it comes at the end of a long struggle—when the body has fought hard and the spirit is ready for the next life. Some resist to the end;... Read more

Moral Injury & ICE: When Doing Your Job Breaks Your Soul

Last updated on: October 25, 2025 at 1:38 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

As we protest ICE activity, let’s remember agents’ humanity and the moral injury some suffer. “Loving your neighbor” includes these guys. Have you seen the videos of women old enough to be ICE agents’ mothers, confronting young men in masks and Kevlar? Wagging their fingers like disappointed moms, they chant, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” The more they chant, the more the agents back away. When the agents turn and retreat, the crowd cheers. Public Shaming When I saw the images,... Read more

Jesus & Lao Tzu: Winnie the Pooh and the Serenity Prayer

Last updated on: October 17, 2025 at 7:41 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

What does Winnie the Pooh have to do with the Serenity Prayer? Both display truths found in Jesus and the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. The beloved bear and the Serenity Prayer teach us to embrace the world as it is, without trying to change it. Lao Tzu, the Taoist author of the Tao Te Ching, compares this state of innocence to becoming like an Uncarved Block. Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Chapter 28 J.H. McDonald Version Know the masculine,... Read more

Renaming God: The Unmoved Mover and The Center

Last updated on: October 17, 2025 at 7:28 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

Renaming God as the Unmoved Mover and the Center displays the Divine as stillness in motion—where Greek, Christian, and Taoist wisdom meet. Last night in my living room, four generations discussed language meaningful to each but unrecognizable to the others. One group might not understand “the bee’s knees,” while another can make no sense out of “skibidi rizz.” What’s meaningful to one group might sound like nonsense to another. That’s why generations must learn each other’s language if they are... Read more

Retrain Your Brain: 7 Steps from Outrage to Inner Peace

Last updated on: September 21, 2025 at 1:29 pm By Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

When unwelcome and alarming posts keep appearing on your feed, you can retune your algorithm. Here’s how to retrain your brain, too. My last article, “How to Retune Your Algorithm for Spiritual Peace” offered six ways to retune the algorithm on your social media feed. But inner peace involves more than just changing your technology. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Here’s how you can do that…... Read more

What did Jesus wear on His head during the crucifixion?