I have a hunch that some translators may be trying to avoid the misogyny in the original text. Yet these translations produce demonstrable bodily harm to a group of human beings, and that fruit should warn us about their roots. Read more
June 10, 2021
Misclassifying As Weeds (Part 2 of 3)
June 10, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
Similarly, the call to affirm, embrace, and include LGBTQ Christians in the church is not a call to affirm things that are intrinsically harmful but a call to help us recognize that the LGBTQ community should not be on the “harmful” list in the first place. Read more
June 9, 2021
Misclassifying As Weeds (Part 1 of 3)
June 9, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
This week’s reading is asking us to check our assumptions about what we have classified as weeds. What if we’ve made a mistake? What if we’ve judged something to be a harmful weed, but that judgment is quite incorrect? Read more
June 4, 2021
Binding the Strong Man (Part 3 of 3)
June 4, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
Today our strong man could be capitalism, White supremacy, Christian nationalism, cisheterosexism, and more. All of these working separately and together comprise the strong men that we must bind in our time. Read more
June 3, 2021
Binding the Strong Man (Part 2 of 3)
June 3, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
These are not just stories of mythical demons and exorcisms. That shallow understanding misses the broader point. These stories are political. Read more
June 2, 2021
Binding the Strong Man (Part 1 of 3)
June 2, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
Outgrowing these values is often part of the work we must do to participate in making our world a safe and equitable home for everyone. We must build on the good we gained from our families and also be willing to evolve beyond the harmful. Speaking out when one’s extended family is aligned with the opposition is difficult. I know this personally. Read more
May 27, 2021
A Better Way to Tell Our Stories (Part 3 of 3)
May 27, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
Do we find teachings lifted up in the Jesus story that aid our work of healing our world’s pain today? If we do, then it is in this healing that our passage rings true. Read more
May 26, 2021
A Better Way to Tell Our Stories (Part 2 of 3)
May 26, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
Classifying our flesh, bodies, and material world or nature as, at best, unimportant or disposable and, at worst, evil or something to be saved from has yielded deeply harmful, destructive fruit throughout Christian history. Read more
May 25, 2021
A Better Way to Tell Our Stories (Part 1 of 3)
May 25, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
We encounter the fruit of this today whenever Christians speak negatively of social justice and related movements for a more equitable society. Read more
May 20, 2021
Spirit of Advocacy (Part 3 of 3)
May 20, 2021 By Herb Montgomery
The Jesus of John calls us to not let go of life but to take hold of it, to stand up for that which is life-giving, and to stand alongside the oppressed in our fight against injustice and death in all its expressions. Read more
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