Every Wednesday I gather with a small group of guys for what I affectionately refer to as a “non-praying prayer group.” For the past six or eight months we have done our talking while we walking around Bernal Hill. It’s a beautiful loop with sweeping views of the Bay and the City. On a clear day you can see both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. And there on the right, as we come around the last bend... Read more
Monday after the Triumphal Entry, Jesus' destiny gets set. Read more
If you celebrate Easter, if you observe Holy Week, here is something you don't want to miss! Read more
What happens when we read the Gospels as the story of Jesus rather than looking for a revelation of God? Read more
Gender and Sex in the Eschaton: another trajectory to follow to gay inclusion in the church. Read more
It is sometimes easy to forget that there are different kinds of goods. We get used to something good. It becomes our normal. And we start to think of other options as bad. We might miss that they’re actually better. Many of us are used to, perhaps even drugged by, the good of abundance. It is a tremendous good to have access to food and drink. It is good to have access to entertainment and news. The season of Lent... Read more
I cannot vote for hope. I can only wait for it. Read more
The following is an encore presentation of a favorite post from my old blog site. I love magnolia trees. I owe this to my North Carolina connections generally, but to my two years at Wake Forest in particular. There’s nothing quite like a tree that soars 50 feet (or more) into the air, with the prefect branch system for climbing and making mischief. So, of course, I plant them at every opportunity. I planted two at the first house we owned,... Read more
There’s a dirty little secret that almost every seminary student, professor, and pastor knows: the Bible isn’t what most people say it is when they stand up to preach on a Sunday morning. The Bible has a long and complex history, a pre-history that has nothing to do with us before it finally comes around and, in the end, has everything to do with us. Aric Clark is a man on a mission to let the cat out of the... Read more
When it comes to gay inclusion, here’s a stumbling block that many of us trip on: while there is a trajectory within scripture itself toward greater freedom for slaves and women, the Bible provides no parallels when it comes to inclusion of gays and lesbians. If anything, the New Testament makes Old Testament prohibitions stronger. I heard this assertion on the Q “Gay Conversation” podcast. Someone asked me about it in a Facebook comment this week. And I have made the... Read more
Storied Theology
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