Revisiting the narrative of the first Christmas Myth #1: Was there actually no room in a “hotel” (inn)? As Christmas is approaching, it’s a good a time to revisit the story of the first Christmas. Many of us grew up hearing the story of how Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary needed a place where the Baby Jesus could be delivered. The version of the story commonly told is that Joseph and Mary (who was about ready to deliver) arrive... Read more
The danger of being so heavenly minded we are of no earthly good A ministry that shares an acronym with the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) has been in the news recently for yet another scandal. This essay is not about the current scandal or the on-going investigation, but rather about some of the teachings of that ministry. According to a commentary by a former member, the staff were subjected to questionable teachings and even discouraged from... Read more
Image by Blogging Guide on Unsplash Healthy, wealthy and happy! I recently heard a message about a book titled “Jesus wants you to be healthy, wealthy and happy” that someone found in a store, and promptly placed in the “Christian fiction” section. This gave me the idea of writing a series of essays on “Christian fiction.” The first one focused on the prosperity gospel’s approach to health. This essay will focus on financial prosperity. The idea that God wants us... Read more
The dire consequences of ignoring reality A few years ago, when the news about the Ravi Zacharias scandals broke out shortly after his death, reactions were extremely mixed. As expected, some remained in denial as they could not imagine their spiritual hero doing the things that were eventually confirmed through a third- party investigation. One YouTuber had an explanation about how there was “smoke before there was fire”. His version of “smoke” was something to the effect that Ravi was... Read more
The prosperity gospel as applied to health I recently heard a story about a woman who saw a book in a thrift store with a title that declared that Jesus wants us to be healthy, wealthy and happy. She picked up the book and placed it in the “Christian fiction” section of the store. What this woman did represents what I (and many others like me) have had to do in a figurative sense. So much of what we have... Read more
Magical thinking, ignoring context and fear-mongering 1. Using the Bible as a charm I once heard about an interesting practice within a church denomination. When weddings are conducted in any of their branches, instead of the traditional exchange of rings, the couple exchanges Bibles. A friend of mine who was familiar with this practice told me that an aunt of hers, who was divorced, lamented that perhaps her marriage would have lasted if they had exchanged Bibles instead of... Read more
When parents attempt to control their adult children Jill Duggar Dillard of the famous Duggar family, who had a reality TV show on TLC for several years, recently released a memoir, Counting the Cost, which she co-wrote with her husband, Derrick Dillard, and Craig Borlase. I have not read the book yet (I only have so many hours in a day), but this is a book I actually intend to read. Even without reading the book, I feel as... Read more
What happens when the “expert” has a change of mind? Author’s note: The focus of this essay is on the importance of making our own decisions. I was planning to write this essay long before I found out that Shannon Harris had written a book about her experience, so despite the appearance, the second part of the title of this essay is not about her. Given that I now know about her book, it seems appropriate to at least mention... Read more
Abstinence-based recovery and faith healing In my specialty of addiction medicine, we routinely recommend that our patients attend mutual support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA). Regular participation in such meetings has been found to be very helpful for many in recovery. However, patients often say that when they attend these meetings, they cannot admit to others that they are on medications like methadone or suboxone, because the general feeling in those groups is that being... Read more
It’s been a long time since I attended churches where the prosperity gospel is preached, but I still hear about their messages and even occasionally see their videos. Do the terms ‘seedtime’ and ‘harvest’ have anything to do with $1000 ‘seeds’? Over the past few years, videos of a preacher sharing her message of prosperity have been circulating. (Yes, in this case it actually is a woman!) In one video, she tells listeners that she has been so blessed,... Read more
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