Here’s a very nice letter recently in. If all “Dear John” letters were like this one, no one would ever fear getting one. Dear John, I’ve been reading your blog now and then for some time now. I went to Catholic school as a kid (because of the available subjects, not due to family or personal beliefs), and about that time came out to some friends. The consequences were quite devastating for the most part, but some reacted well, and... Read more
I received this morning the following heartbreaking letter from a woman named Erin: Dear John, What happens when you do something that you can’t get forgiveness for? My husband committed suicide three years, four months, and 14 days ago. He needed me, and I wasn’t there. I was too wounded; I was masking it; I pushed him away—and he couldn’t hold on. I left him at the precise moment he needed me the most. He is gone, forever gone. I’ll... Read more
“As many of you may know, I was raised in a household that did not believe in God. And my father in particular proclaimed himself as agnostic. He didn’t believe in God, let alone the church. He did not have any use for either. He regarded Christianity as foolish, and Christians as hypocrites. That they were prone to lift themselves up as being better than others, yet they were not always good to others, let alone to other Christians.” (more…) Read more
I’m in a bit of time-bind today (closing in on finishing the LGBT letters book), so I thought I would just share with you the letter below, which I got in this week. I’m not sure why I found it particularly touching. I think it’s just because it kind of breaks my heart, to think of this excellent woman unable to find a church where she can, through the joy of the Holy Spirit, share with others her love of... Read more
(I last week received this very moving letter.) Dear John, Sometimes I think that being able to see from the perspective of a mother what my daughter (who is now my son) went through before his admission of his true self shows why God is with us, no matter what. (more…) Read more
Last week I got in this letter: Dear John, I have a simple-minded question for you. It’s about abstinence from premarital sex. How does this work? No, not the “How do I resist temptation and remain pure?” part. Let’s say that your purity is completely assured. You have quenched your sexual thoughts and desires, and you have not done any sexual experimentation. You are saving your first kiss for marriage. Then, the day of your wedding, you go home to... Read more
Here's what Jesus left out of the Great Commandment---and why. Read more
Today is Reformation Sunday. It is not only a day when those who remember wear red. It is not only a Church Festival when we remember that historical rupture of the Christian Church when Martin Luther would nail 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church and begin the Protestant Reformation. It is a day that marks something that we take utterly for granted. (more…) Read more
A mi Dios le importan los corazones, no las entrepiernas. by John Shore por John Shore John, ¿por qué escribes tanto acerca de los gays en tu blog? Con todas las cosas que suceden en el mundo, ¿por qué pasas tanto tiempo obsesionándote con ésa cuestión? Eso es parte de un email que recibí recientemente. No es la primera vez que me hacen esa pregunta. Así que aquí está la info en ese tema en particular: De los más de... Read more
Two day ago I enjoyed a coffeehouse chat with Gareth Higgins, founder and producer of the Wild Goose Festival. He asked to meet with me by way of extending to me an invitation to speak at Wild Goose 2012. In the two weeks since our meeting, I have not heard from Gareth. I can’t say that I expected to (though do let me hasten to add that I found him a positively charming fellow). I’m pretty sure Gareth found me,... Read more
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