June 1, 2023

A few decades ago, Christians were arguing over whether or not it was a sin to drink alcohol. Those who supported prohibition were largely Protestant Christians, from both the Republican and Democratic parties, and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union which also helped to drive a grass-roots movement that eventually led to victory. That victory led to a nationwide, constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. We call it the Prohibition era.... Read more

May 26, 2023

SAYING 56: Jesus said, “Whoever has become acquainted with the world has found a corpse, and the world is not worthy of the one who has found the corpse.”   This may be one of the most straightforward sayings of its kind in the entire

May 25, 2023

In his novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, author Philip K. Dick imagines a futuristic religious movement called “Mercerism.” This new global faith movement centers around a messianic figure known as Wilbur Mercer. Not much is known – or explained – about who Mercer really is, but what we do know is that he is someone who endured intense hatred and persecution during his life and who persevered in spite of the violent opposition against him. Practitioners of Mercerism... Read more

May 19, 2023

  SAYING 55: Jesus said, “Those who do not hate their fathers and their mothers cannot be disciples of me, and those who do not hate their brothers and their sisters and take up their cross like me will not become worthy of me.”  

May 12, 2023

Saying 54: Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor, for yours in the Kingdom of God.”   Taking into consideration all we have learned so far from Jesus in this Gospel of Thomas, it should be quite evident what this short saying is all about. The

May 7, 2023

  Imagine, just for a moment, finding a place where you feel safe being who you are. Imagine finding yourself in a room full of people who know how you feel and who accept you just as you are. Your questions are welcome. Your doubts are acknowledged. You feel at home in your own skin. You can breathe. You feel yourself relaxing. You feel seen and known. As you look around you see faces familiar and new. They’re interested in... Read more

May 5, 2023

Saying 53: His disciples said to him, “Is circumcision beneficial or not?” He said to them, “If it were beneficial, their father would beget them from their mother’s womb already circumcised. Rather, the true circumcision in spirt has proved completely profitable.”   This saying suggests

May 1, 2023

This morning I realized something profound: I don’t have faith anymore, I have freedom. Here’s what I mean. Faith is belief in a doctrine or a religion or a god. That’s not really my focus these days. I don’t put my faith in a systematic set of beliefs or doctrines and I’m not certain about who or what God might be, although I’m convinced God exists within the endlessly obscure layers of mystery that surround them. So, I wouldn’t say... Read more

April 29, 2023

  Saying 52: His disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and they all spoke (to us).” He said to them, “You have omitted He who lives in your presence and have spoken of those who are dead.”   Once again, Duffy’s translation

April 20, 2023

               Let me start off by telling you a story first. See if you’ve heard something like it before. What if I told you there was a person who was born of a virgin whose name was Mary, had a step-father named Joseph, and was birthed in a cave where animals were kept, and his birth was announced by an angel, there was a great star in the sky overhead as a sign, and there were shepherds there. When he... Read more


Browse Our Archives

Close Ad