Wednesday Sermon: Resurrected!

Last updated on: March 30, 2016 at 5:00 pm By Tom Truby

Pastors have a frequent question when they begin to discover mimetic theory. “That’s great. But how does it preach?” Reverend Tom Truby shows that mimetic theory is a powerful tool that enables pastors to preach the Gospel in a way that is meaningful and refreshing to the modern world. Each Wednesday, Teaching Nonviolent Atonement will highlight his sermons as an example of preaching the Gospel through mimetic theory. In this sermon, Tom reflects on the resurrection of Jesus. In the resurrection... Read more

The Resurrection is No Myth, But It Is Dangerous

Last updated on: March 29, 2016 at 6:45 pm By Adam Ericksen

The resurrection is often packaged around cute little bunnies and plastic Easter eggs full of candy. But resurrection isn’t soft and cuddly. Resurrection is dangerous. It is risky. It is not safe. Resurrection is dangerous because it transforms how we relate to our fellow human beings, specifically to our enemies. And it transforms our understanding of the divine. Throughout human history we have been caught up in cycles of violence – and we thought the gods were caught up in... Read more

Jesus Was Killed For National Security Reasons: Good Friday, Fear, and Muslim Surveillance

Last updated on: March 26, 2016 at 12:51 am By Adam Ericksen

Why was Jesus killed? There is no more important question to ask on this Good Friday. Christians have come up with many answers throughout the last 2,000 years. Some of those answers claim that Jesus was killed by the Father to assuage His wrath or reclaim His honor in the face of human sin. But that’s the wrong answer. Jesus wasn’t killed to appease God. Jesus was killed because he was a threat to national security. That’s the answer that... Read more

Jesus is our Brother, But What About Judas?

Last updated on: March 24, 2016 at 8:44 am By Adam Ericksen

One of the many things that I love about being a progressive Christian is the frequent emphasis that Jesus is our brother. He’s one of us. He took on the fullness of humanity. The joy and the hope and the friendship and the love. But also the pain and the anger and the grief and the suffering. Jesus, the One who was fully divine was fully human. Our brother. Our friend. It’s a beautiful thing. Indeed, Jesus is our brother,... Read more

In Remembrance Of Me

Last updated on: March 24, 2016 at 5:07 pm By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

I am this broken and bleeding world. I am Brussels, blown apart, the strewn limbs, the piercing wail of a mother for her baby. I am Yemen, at the marketplace, charred bodies of children face-down in the dust. I am Syria, families cramming into boats as guns and missiles chase them from the shore. I am Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, pockmarked by bomb blasts, orphaned children hiding away from clear blue skies. I am the growling empty bellies drowned... Read more

Wednesday Sermon: Washing Feet or Threatening Violence

Last updated on: March 23, 2016 at 5:32 pm By Adam Ericksen

Victory Over Death

Last updated on: March 21, 2016 at 2:25 pm By Guest Contributor

This post is by guest blogger Jeremy Myers. For more of Jeremy’s work, you can read his blog Redeeming God and purchase his book The Atonement of God. On the cross, Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and the devil. Some Christians struggle with how Jesus was victorious over death, since we look around us and see death everywhere. We even have a saying that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. So since death is a... Read more

The Subversive Politics of Palm Sunday

Last updated on: March 19, 2016 at 6:41 pm By Adam Ericksen

Make no mistake: the Gospel is political. Politics refers to “the affairs of the city” and “influencing other people on a civic or individual level.” Throughout his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus was political. He influenced people to live into the politics of the Kingdom of Heaven. For Jesus, Heaven is not essentially some place off in the distance where you go after you die. No, Heaven is a way of life to be lived right here, right now. We see... Read more

The Real Reason Senate Republicans Are Blocking the Supreme Court Nominee

Last updated on: March 18, 2016 at 2:45 pm By Adam Ericksen

President Obama recently announced his nominee to fill the seat left vacant on the Supreme Court after the death of Antonin Scalia. By all accounts, Obama’s pick is a politically safe choice in a Republican controlled Senate. Merrick Garland is known as a moderate, so much of a moderate that many Progressives are criticizing him as, “an extraordinarily disappointing choice.” I don’t know much about Garland, but I have no problem admitting that I think he’s adorable. I mean, after... Read more

Bad Analogies, Good Relationship: Thoughts On The Trinity On St. Patrick’s Day

Last updated on: March 17, 2016 at 10:41 pm By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

I can’t observe St. Patrick’s Day without watching this modern classic from Lutheran Satire: Hilarious, isn’t it? I think so. But there was a time when I wouldn’t have been so amused. The Trinity has caused me much anxiety throughout my lifetime. Or perhaps I should say, not the Trinity itself, but the desire to understand it, the need I felt to grasp it intellectually in order to be able to trust in my faith. I wanted assurance for my... Read more