In Portland, Oregon, an Iranian refugee came home from a few days out of town to find his home had been horrifically vandalized while he was away. And, I’m not talking just some spray paint on the outside of his garage door– the house was broken into, and every room in the house had been vandalized. From slashing his couch, to spray paint on the walls and mirrors, the racist vandals wanted to send a message: Muslims are not welcomed here.... Read more
This morning I woke up with the above headline in my newsfeed– which is shocking since we supposedly live in a country where we’re told that Christians are the ones on the receiving end of anti-religious persecution. As reported by KKTV, an unidentified man vandalized the mosque at the Fort Collins Islamic Center around 4:00am on Sunday, breaking windows and throwing a Bible into the mosque. While the individual who did this is just one person, and even though at this... Read more
Anyone who has ever read the Old Testament knows there’s a lot of laws listed in those books– over 600 to be exact. In many circles of Christianity there’s often much debate as to what degree, if any, a Christian ought live by these laws. In the past when I have suggested that Christians are not obligated to abide by any of these laws at all, commenters will often quickly object, saying that “Jesus didn’t abolish the law.” While that fact... Read more
I think every character in the Bible has worthwhile things we can learn from, and Judas is no different. Read more
Fundamentalists of the “young earth” variety will often claim that the earth is just 6,000 years old. Their reasoning? The Bible says so. In fact, I’ve been following Ken Ham lately, and some of the stuff being put out by Answers in Genesis (Ken has blocked me on Facebook, FWIW) to see if they’ve had any new arguments. I’m continually amazed at how the young earth view of the universe is considered a foundational bedrock of their Christian faith. In... Read more
Growing up we learn that Judas was the disciple who betrayed Jesus, and that’s true. What is also true is that Judas, I believe, is profoundly misunderstood. The truth is, while he did screw over Jesus, I don’t think Judas was a bad guy– I just think he made a tragic miscalculation, like we all do at times. As I’ve said over the years, the cultural context where the story takes place matters. Jesus and the disciples were living under a... Read more
I love the Bible. It’s why I spent eight years of my life in seminary, why I’ve served as a church pastor even when they couldn’t afford to pay me, and is why even now I end up finding Greek flashcards in the most random places in my house. But my love for the Bible includes honesty. When we love someone or something, it’s easy to grow to see them the way you want to see them in your mind, often... Read more
Pat Robertson has said some crazy things over the years. Some of them are amusing. Some of them are dangerous… And some of them are pure idolatrous. The other day on the 700 club, Pat said something that stepped far outside of any legitimate form of Christianity, and strayed so far into idolatry, that he might as well boil down his jewelry and make a calf out of it. A reader wrote in a question as to why so many people... Read more
If you grew up in Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism, you probably grew up with a doom-and-gloom view of the future and “end times.” Me? I grew up with the whole deal: raptures, tribulations, the Antichrist, and even warnings that those things we first called “barcodes” might actually be the mark of the beast. End times belief is so much more than an area of theology. It is a complex world-view that shapes every single aspect of our faith and the way we see... Read more
In the Israel/Palestine conflict, is Israel guilty of genocide against the Palestinians? Yes– absolutely. The other day I wrote a short piece on why the Bible does not command us to blindly stand with the modern state of Israel, and one of the points I made is that Israel is guilty of genocide. There were no shortage of internet commenters who objected to my use of this word and felt it was over the top. However, I stand by my... Read more
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