Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. A million monkeys typing for a million years would eventually produce Shakespeare. And once in a blue moon, Televangelist and 700 Club head Pat Robertson and I agree on something. When asked about his position on the decriminalization of marijuana, Robertson said the following: “I just think it’s shocking how many of these young people wind up in prison and they get turned into hardcore criminals because they had... Read more
It seems lately that the Republican party is painting itself into an angry corner that it can’t find its way out of. Rush Limbaugh’s recent loose-lipped “slut” comment is a clarion call to his significant conservative base to forge ahead in a direction that leads nowhere good. Basically, he cast negative, sexually charged aspersions at Sandra Fluke, a college student who publicly advocated for health insurance that included birth control. As this piece in the Christian Science Monitor notes, his... Read more
It’s nice to be able to talk publicly about this after several months. My wife, Amy, has been called to serve as the new senior minister of First Christian Church in Portland, Oregon. I’ll be on staff part-time as well, heading up growth and development. My title is still a work in progress, but basically, I’ll be helping grow the reach and presence of the congregation in the community. We’re thrilled, humbled and a little sad all at the same... Read more
Here I am, urging people to deconstruct their preconceptions about God, and this guy finds Jesus in a tortilla. Russ, my father-in-law, lives outside of Espanola, New Mexico. He can tell you from years of living there that the area is jumping with religious mysticism. One of the most famous sites in the state is the church at Chimayo, where people visit to touch the holy dirt and be healed. There are photos of people who claim to have been... Read more
I’m speaking at an area assembly in Pittsburgh, Kansas, next week and the local paper called for a piece they were writing about it. Nice to get these ideas out there, and good to find attentive advocates in the media. PATRICK’S PEOPLE: Christian Piatt hopes for spiritual awakening By NIKKI PATRICK The Morning Sun Posted Mar 03, 2012 @ 07:30 AM PITTSBURG , KS – The nation may be on the verge of a spiritual awakening, but it could bring... Read more
There was a movement back in the 1960s that many of us have only read about, but some vividly remember. Philosophers and theologians explored what was labeled the “Death of God” movement. Interest in the subject has re-emerged particularly as of late because William Hamilton, one of the more prominent voices in the Death of God movement, died at age 87. The movement inspired TIME Magazine’s now-famous cover (seen here) in 1966, raising the question in the public forum: Is... Read more
Four weeks from now, on April 1st, Chalice Press will release my first memoir, titled PregMANcy: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date. I wrote it back when Amy was pregnant with our second child, Zoe. As you can tell from the chapter below, it took a while for me to warm to the idea of having a second kid. Basically, the book follows Amy’s pregnancy from beginning to end, but also my own changes throughout the process,... Read more
The four Gospels in the Bible are central to the Christian faith. But they don’t always agree on the facts. So which is right? Which is most important? And does it even matter if certain stories are told differently from Gospel to Gospel? Some who feel the need to interpret the Bible literally have to do some pretty interesting literary juggling to reconcile some of the differences among the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And for others, it... Read more
So I got a little bit of heat for the last one of these I posted, but this is definitely one of my favorites. I just can’t help myself!!! Something about Ron Paul telling himself “I’m pretty, I’m pretty, I’m pretty,” over and over again kills me every time. Read more
Everyone who calls me to speak somewhere, it seems, wants me to address the issue of declining church membership, and particularly how to connect with younger adults. The problem is that sometimes the invitation is built on a false premise. It’s the hope of many churches that if they can find a way to connect with younger people in a relevant way, those young adults will join the church and save the institution for future generations. And while this is... Read more
Christian Piatt
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