My essay “Christian: You Are Upset About the Wrong Things” on Patheos certainly sparked a lot of interest, views, and social shares. I don’t normally respond to the comment section on Patheos as it usually ends up being counter-productive (from what I can tell when other authors have done so) and can end up in a time-wasting back-and-forth. And, frankly, I just don’t have the time to respond when there are over 800 comments. So, I like to let my... Read more
Some have told us we shouldn’t hope for the failure of the pilot flying the plane we all happen to be riding. True. Here’s something else that’s true: You don’t let a drunk, or incompetent, or unfit pilot get on the plane in the first place. And, if you do, if you were fooled, if you just didn’t see the signs, didn’t care, didn’t like the other pilot, whatever, once you realize there’s a problem, you immediately get someone’s attention... Read more
What does it mean to be saved from something? And, does being “saved” from something exempt us from suffering? We use the word in many different ways. In Christian thought, there is the idea we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. There is a past, present, and future sense to our salvation. In that sense, where is the “saving” located? Locating salvation in time and what it means is difficult, because it is not a... Read more
In a follow-up to this post, there is another aspect of evangelism that needs to be re-thought for those coming out of fundamentalist or evangelical backgrounds. Many of us were taught to think of evangelism as “winning souls.” We were to engage, speak to, and “win” the person to Christ. Yes, we knew we had to pray, we knew the Holy Spirit had to work, but we still were taught to think about this process as “winning.” The very language... Read more
People need to be seen. People need to know they exist, that they matter. People need to know they have gravity, weight, that they bend space and time. It is a slow quiet death when a person feels like no one can see them. Imagine knowing you exist, have feelings, dreams, and desires but are treated like a ghost—you can see others but they can’t (or won’t) see you. A significant damaging effect of the fundamentalist (evangelical?) mind-set, in my... Read more
Sociologist Tony Campolo has been known, when speaking to Christian audiences, to begin by saying something like this: “I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact I just said “shit” than you are that 30,000 kids died last night.” When citing this, I have... Read more
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