“I settled the suit with no admission of guilt.” It was Donald Trump’s best line in the presidential debate. He said this in response to the charge that he had been sued for discriminating against black people in rental properties that he owned in New York City in the 1970’s. But there’s something poignantly theological about Donald’s statement. It describes a certain perverse understanding of atonement, in which accounts can be settled with God without an admission of guilt. I... Read more
You will never be inspired If you refuse to be breathed into If you always look straight ahead If you never let your windows down Or take out your earbuds. There is a wind For those who live without air-conditioning. There is a light For those who step out of the shade. There is a healing For those who are done with self-medication. There is a beauty For those who have seen enough ugly. No one has ever arrived at... Read more
“His disciples came by night and stole his body while we were asleep” (Matthew 28:13). That is the official report from the Roman soldiers tasked with guarding Jesus’ tomb about Jesus’ alleged resurrection. The claim of Jesus’ resurrection comes to us through unofficial eyewitnesses without any established credibility: filthy fishermen, former prostitutes. If first century Palestine had a modern news agency reporting on Jesus’ resurrection, they would say, “Roman soldiers report that executed Jewish criminal’s disciples have stolen his body... Read more
“If anyone among you wants to be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me.” There are so many bad interpretations of what Jesus means when he says that. But to the early church, it was clear. Taking up your cross meant refusing to offer sacrifices to Caesar and facing a death sentence as a result. The martyr Ignatius of Antioch would be horrified to learn that American Christians are excoriating a man for refusing to stand... Read more
I noticed a problem in the Bible that I’d never noticed before in church last week. The sermon was about the story of the golden calf, which as everyone knows is the incredibly egregious sin the Israelites committed against God after he brought them out of Egypt. Because God told them in the second commandment that they were forbidden from worshiping any graven images of the divine. The Ten Commandments happen in Exodus 20. The golden calf happens in Exodus 32.... Read more
There is nothing more anxiety-inducing about growing up Southern Baptist than the obsession with having a “sincere” salvation experience. You can’t be saved by your works, but if you “ask Jesus into your heart” emphatically enough, then your life will change so drastically that it will be clear and obvious to everyone. Which means if your life doesn’t change drastically, then you weren’t really sincere when you asked Jesus the first time, so you need to try again. See, it’s... Read more
Basket of deplorables. What an odd phrase that Hillary Clinton chose to use. She was probably exhausted from fighting pneumonia. If there was ever any question about whether our entire nation is a basket of deplorables, it has been answered by the way we responded to an elderly woman getting sick and almost fainting after a ridiculous work schedule. Not an ounce of sympathy or genuine concern for her well-being. Just another excuse to attack her. Saying that we’re a... Read more
Dear Wesleyan Covenantal Association, First of all, I’m not afraid of you. I don’t think you’re being malicious and deceitful to gather with a group of like-minded Methodists to be inspired and synergized. I know that you see an analogy between what you’re doing and the original Methodist movement which sought to revitalize the Church of England. I share your longing for a spiritually vital, theologically robust Wesleyan movement. In many ways, the WCA is where it makes sense for... Read more
If for some reason you don’t know “Science Mike” McHargue, he’s someone you need to know, especially if you’re nerdy and Christian at the same time. Science Mike hosts two awesome podcasts, Ask Science Mike and The Liturgists, which he co-hosts with Michael Gungor. His new book Finding God In the Waves is an incredible story about his journey from faith to atheism and back. It’s one of the most encouraging and compelling spiritual memoirs I’ve read. And it’s way more... Read more
On September 12th, 2001, I was sitting with a bunch of anarchists in an illegally occupied apartment in Washington, DC, while military vehicles were humming in the streets around us. I really thought that we were going to get rounded up and thrown into jail. We had been planning a political protest for the October gathering of the World Bank. It had to be called off of course. September 11th completely killed the momentum of the anti-globalization movement at a... Read more
Mercy Not Sacrifice
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