Sometimes political candidates get wrongly labeled as a theocrat (one whose policy decisions are directly influenced by divine guidance) simply because they’re conservative. So when I heard the “T” word being batted around with regard to Rick Santorum, I hedged. Until this past weekend, that is. As the old saying, wrongly attributed quite often to Mark Twain, goes: “Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Well, it seems... Read more
I got emails from my mom and uncle about Nana, my last living grandparent. The news isn’t great. She’s struggled with dementia for some years now and hasn’t recognized me the last several times I’ve seen her. But while her mind has been betraying her for a while, it’s her health now that seems to hang in the balance. Not that it’s a surprise at ninety years old. And it’s also not like we’re particularly close anymore. Aside from living... Read more
My friend Travis Mamone posted a follow up video to his first, Shit Emergent Christians Say. Check out his new video below, and you can also keep up with him as co-host of the Something Beautiful Podcast HERE. Read more
My son, Mattias, was in a religious school in town for a while for preschool. We knew going in that their beliefs did not align in a lot of ways with ours, but there are limited options in a town the size of Pueblo. I’ll admit it was pretty funny the day we got a call from the principal, telling us that Mattias had engaged the pastor in a rather vocal and public debate about the Lord’s Prayer, right in... Read more
The bad church signs were quite a hit last week, so I thought I’d share some more of my favorites. And if you didn’t see the first batch of bad signs, check them out here. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Anyone who can guess what part of the country this was found in wins a copy of Larry the Cable Guy’s translation of the Synoptic Gospels. OK you convinced me. I’ll convert out... Read more
It’s bad enough when Christians sit silently by while LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) folks are marginalized, ridiculed, abused, raped or even killed for who they are. It’s another when Christians actively engage in the exclusion of people based on their identity or orientation. And then there’s John Piper. It seems Piper has a Twitter problem. Maybe he doesn’t see it as such, because with less than 140 characters, he can stir up quite a storm of controversy.... Read more
I’ve written quite a bit about churches like Mark Driscoll’s Mars Hill and the concerns I have about a lack of accountability, given that they’re not part of a denomination or other larger body of oversight. Churches led my ministers like Driscoll and John Piper seem to be independent, yet pressing a surprisingly consistent agenda in many ways, when you consider they’re not connected. Well, maybe a little bit connected, it turns out. I have to give evangelicals due credit... Read more
As a blogger, I could not ask for a more interesting presidential candidate than Rick Santorum. Not only does he exhibit latent ambitions to preach from the pulpit; he also LOVES to talk about sex. While most candidates will talk around matters of sex and sexuality, Rick goes right for it. He takes on sexuality with the passion of someone who, well, spends an awful lot of time thinking about the many kinds of sexual acts we’re supposedly not meant... Read more
My friend, Travis Mamone, did a short video about all the stuff emergent Christians are prone to pop off about. Yeah, he pretty much nails me in it. Check out Travis’ blog at the link above on his name, and, dig the Something Beautiful Podcast where he’s a co-host. Read more
A ruffled-tuxedo, big-fro, cho-mo, super-bangs reminder of what Ash Wednesday is all about. I actually did this song with Michael Collins, an old friend of mine, at a high school talent show, but there’s NO WAY we were this awesome. And by awesome, I mean reminiscent of a troupe of mutant circus freaks. Read more
Christian Piatt
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