There is spiritual value to manual labor. Back-breaking work, on the other hand, destroys people. How do we practice the one without embracing the other? Let me get a few misconceptions out of the way first. I am not talking about hobbies. Some people do crafts as hobbies. And yes, there is some spiritual value in that. But this not what I am talking about when I mean manual labor. I am not talking about therapeutic value. Hobbies tend to... Read more
Lies are reality if they are told first. That is until they are proven false. Alex Jones tried skirting accusations of perjury by arguing he had believed what he said to be true. Church people are particularly adept at this game. Lies are easier to believe when they reinforce a prejudice. The more outrageous the lie, the more outrage it produces. Outrage is real even if it is based on a lie. And outrage can manifest itself into real harm.... Read more
My family, like most families of an alcoholic and or an addict, love me and hate my addiction. Often it is hard to separate the two. Families do not know what to do. They do not have enough information. They are accused of being “enablers.” Or they are accused of not loving the addict enough. How do we keep a balance? For the ones who love the addict, it feels like punishing the addiction will destroy the person. Delivering the... Read more
Healing and Peace are the great goals of the Gospel of Christ. They are the primary values for preaching, teaching, and spiritual reflection for the Christian Church. All churches should bring glory to God by fulfilling these values. The unfortunate truth is evangelicalism, revivalism, and consumerism have distracted Christian leaders into something called “church growth.” The result has been further fragmentation, ideological division, culture wars, and making the good news of the Kingdom of God into a political movement “to... Read more
It may be easier to say their is no god than to believe in one that disappoints. It is down-right un-American to say that God is not true blue and always comes through. But what about when God indeed disappoints us? Is it wrong to admit that fact? Years ago a grieving grandmother said concerning the loss of her granddaughter, “It did not turn out right.” Then she remembered she was talking to the pastor and rephrased, “It didn’t turn... Read more
The analogy is accurate. Sometimes you cannot stop a person from leaving a marriage. But you can stop them from burning down the house on the way out. And there are certain people who will do it. Such a person claims to be justified in doing it just like they justified leaving. Often we do not see the people who do such things for what they are. When we see it, there is always someone else who does not see... Read more
A friend confessed she was having a faith crisis because of Christian nationalism. She needs a way of reconstructing her faith. Reconstruction of one’s faith will come after deconstruction. People like my friend need guidance on where to begin after the process of deconstruction has taken place. It is easy for people like my friend and me to simply say, “we are not like them.” We have been doing this for a long time. But it has not helped us... Read more
Political organizations making religious claims is nothing new in the United States. The role of religion in public life has been, is, and will be debated as long as the US exists. It is due to our particular denial of congressional power in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Congress is forbidden to establish a national religion. The United States guarantees the right to freedom of and from religion. Practice your religion. Just don’t make your neighbor practice it too.... Read more
It is no surprise to anyone who reads the Bible to hear people get things wrong. There are a few minor ways to get life wrong. But I can think of 3 ways to really mess things up. If you want to commit massive amounts of evil, you can not do any better than to use these interpretation mistakes. We should be aware of them when talking about faith and scripture with anyone. Justify Your Ways Using the Bible to... Read more
A new HBO series The Anarchists is really about faking community. Briefly stated; the series is about a group of anarcho-capitalists, followers of conspiracy theorists and the ideologies of Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard. I won’t spoil the ending. I will let CNN do that. Inherent contradictions and lack of trust in one’s neighbors make communities unsustainable. John Galt’s utopia is literary nowhere. The sad fact is many Christians want to believe the phony freedom of exchange line. Shaking my head... Read more
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