Wednesday Sermon: The Children’s Crumbs

September 2, 2015 By Tom Truby

Pastors have a frequent question when they begin to discover mimetic theory. “That’s great. But how does it preach?” Reverends Tom and Laura 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 Tom and Laura’s sermons as an example of preaching the Gospel through mimetic theory. Year B, Pentecost 15 September 6th, 2015 By Thomas... Read more

And If I Die Before I Wake: On Death and Praying with Children

August 31, 2015 By Adam Ericksen

When I was a boy, every night my Dad would tuck me into bed and lead me in prayer. We would close our eyes and fold our hand as my Dad would pray for individual members of my family, my friends and teachers, and for world peace. At age 36, I can tell you that this bed time prayer ritual is one of the most important gifts that anyone has ever given to me. While my Dad no longer tucks... Read more

Hold On Until Love Wins

August 28, 2015 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

I was working on another article, but I can’t concentrate on it now. It’s hard to concentrate in a world with so much hatred, so much distrust, so much fear, and so much senseless murder. I wonder how many people worldwide are shocked out of their daily routine by a tragedy. I wonder how many people must plow through their daily routines that tragedy is a part of. The news is still coming in about a shooting in my home state of... Read more

The One Thing: God, Faith, and a City Slicker

August 27, 2015 By Suzanne Ross

This article is part of my blog series inspired by Jesus the Forgiving Victim: Listening for the Unheard Voice by James Alison.* Do you remember this scene from the movie City Slickers? Unhappy city slicker, Mitch, has gone in search of what’s missing in his life. Problem is, he knows he’s unhappy but he has no idea why. On a real life cattle drive he encounters Curly, a real life cowboy who knows just what he wants and how to get... Read more

Wednesday Sermon: Four Questions

August 26, 2015 By Tom Truby

The Ashley Madison Sex Scandal, Josh Duggar, and the Place of Shame

August 25, 2015 By Adam Ericksen

A woman who discovered that her husband was a member of the Ashley Madison website gives this advice to women through CNN: “To women who have no suspicions, I say: check anyway. It’s sad.” The Ashley Madison sex leak is sad. Not because men are getting caught with their pants down, but because the website whose tagline is “Life is short. Have an affair,” has 32 million users. 32 million! It’s hard to wrap my mind around such a large... Read more

American Christianity’s Great Scapegoat: Part 2

August 24, 2015 By Guest Contributor

This is a guest post by Matthew Distefano. It is part 2 in his series, “American Christianity’s Great Scapegoat.” You can read part 1 here. Matthew’s forthcoming book “All Set Free” will be published by Wipf and Stock. Read more of Matthew’s excellent work at his website All Set Free and at the Raven Foundation. In Part I of this series, I discussed how many within “mainstream” Western Christianity believe the LGBT... Read more

Satan on the Throne: A Parable about Heaven and Hell

August 21, 2015 By Adam Ericksen

You have lived a long and faithful life. You have done your best to follow Jesus in working for justice. Most importantly, you have just learned that faith isn’t so much something you try really hard to have, but is something you relax into. Faith, you have discovered, is relaxing into the love that God has for you, and sharing that love with those you meet. Now you find yourself here, on the other side. You walk on clouds, which... Read more

[Video] Dr. Seuss and the Gospel: Yertle the Turtle and the “Wrath of God”

August 20, 2015 By Adam Ericksen

Dr. Seuss’s book Yertle the Turtle is about a King who rules through violence, oppression, and scapegoating. But the more he builds his kingdom on the backs of his subjects, the more likely his kingdom will come tumbling down into the mud. [Video Below] What does Yertle the Turtle have to do with the Gospel? In his book, Must There Be Scapegoats, Raymund Schwager discusses St. Paul’s statement about that the “Wrath of God” in Romans 1. The “Wrath of... Read more

Wednesday Sermon: Jonah’s Disappointment

August 19, 2015 By Tom Truby

Pastors have a frequent question when they begin to discover mimetic theory. “That’s great. But how does it preach?” Reverends Tom and Laura 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 Tom and Laura’s sermons as an example of preaching the Gospel through mimetic theory. In this sermon, Tom and Laura explore the story... Read more