I am so over it. My tolerance has hit a big, ugly wall longer than the Southern border I understand the concept of demonic possession in ways I never have before now. The tragedy of 2016 is involved. But truth be told I was rapidly approaching my limit before then. Spiritual Fatigue Here is something I realized only recently. I no longer argue with people about the issue of homosexuality. It was not a conscious decision. I must have experienced... Read more
Spirituality and wisdom are inseparable. The two are so intertwined in Christian thought that you cannot have one without the other. The root of Christian belief is practice. “As the church prays so the church believes.” Theologically educated people learn this fact. But what many of us fail to understand is that faith and practice continue to inform each other. Christian revelation does not end with the Bible, Church Councils, or even The Reformation. For Christians, revelation is an ongoing... Read more
My previous post on Biblical Illiteracy drew a few good criticisms. Some readers thought I cut the article short. The nature of blogging makes for shorter writing pieces. It is frustrating sometimes. But it is good discipline as well. I left off in the discussion of proof texting as the means many use to establish “biblical teaching.” The old adage; “it means what it says, and says what it means” does not clarify what’s said. It merely sounds like it... Read more
It happened again. Someone on social media accused me of denying “biblical teaching.” This particular biblical teaching is the one about “women preachers.” I once was against women being employed full-time service as a leader in the churches because 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36 and 1 Timothy 2:12-15 said so. Obviously, the teaching was absolute because 2 Timothy 3:16 said all scripture was “god-breathed” or inspired. Women could not serve as pastors because the Bible (not me) said so. If I tried... Read more
I learned the phrase the 80/20 rule while in a meeting of Cub Scout leaders. We were discussing how we could connect to other community programs. “It’s interesting how we all are either involved in or know someone in these other programs,” I remarked. The committee chair replied, “It’s the 80/20 rule.” “What’s that?” “80 per cent of the work is done by 20 per cent of the people. We know the rest of the 20 per cent.” 80/20 Origin... Read more
Groucho Marx dreamed he had died and gone to Heaven instead of Hell. Once there God called him to the dinner table. From the divine dinner table, Groucho could look into Hell and saw all the people having a feast. He was appalled when God served him a leaf of lettuce and crackers. “Why are we only eating this when people in Hell are having a feast?” God replied, “Do you know how hard it is to cook for only... Read more
I want to talk about the Wesleyan Covenant Association. The organization claims to be grounded on Biblical authority and historic Christian tradition. These are two slogans I am tired of hearing. Every person is orthodox in his opinion. Every Protestant church claims some kind of historical orthodoxy. Unitarian-Universalists claim to hold to a doctrine of God that predates the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. But evangelical-renewal groups really sell their product as doctrine that gets results. Churches are tempted... Read more
The film Denial is about Historian and now Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt’s legal fight to prove malicious intent on the part of a professional Holocaust denier. The film is about her desire to demonstrate the truth of the Holocaust. She consistently runs up against legal definitions of truth. These “standards” are foreign to her experience as a scholar. I am impressed by the story telling in this film. An obvious truth can be denied by construing the information in such a way... Read more
I was wrong. That is all there is too it. I was angry. And I made a decision from a place of anger. I was not along. The whole country claimed it was mourning. But we were really just angry. Here are 5 lessons about how me and others got it wrong. We Were Wrong About the Victims The campaign against Al Queda and its Taliban allies began 1 month following the September 11 attacks on The World Trade Center... Read more
The bullies made their stand again. This time it was school boards attacked. The anti-vaccination and anti-masking conspiracy theory activists showed up and threatened. And what did the majority do? They went about their daily lives. Doctors and nurses were threatened. Some of the bullies believed God was with them. Where were the majority of clergy to stand up for these other professional people? Why aren’t we doing better? Good Sense Refuses to Stand People with good sense are usually... Read more
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