The Mistakes God Made

Last updated on: September 3, 2024 at 7:43 am By Karl J. Forehand

The Mistakes God Made (according to the Biblical narrative) I wouldn’t say I like discussing theology. Still, theologians do; sometimes, they cling to pieces of the narrative that don’t make sense anymore. Theologians love to hold conferences and write books wrestling around with multiple interpretations of Genesis, etc., instead of admitting what is most likely true that it was just a story told by someone whose worldview and experiences were very different than ours. The Bible is more of a... Read more

How Religion Lowers our Expectations

Last updated on: August 22, 2024 at 4:07 pm By Karl J. Forehand

How religion lowers our expectations Before anybody objects, just let me say this about religion: I have participated in religion for most of my life and was a pastor for 20 years. So, I know the advantages of being involved in a faith community. Since we are hardwired for connection, faith communities provide this basic community that creates a lot of hope in us. I have listened to many stories about the black community and how they see... Read more

The World I Want to Live In

Last updated on: August 22, 2024 at 2:54 pm By Karl J. Forehand

The World I Want to Live In I have to admit that I’ve never attended a political rally or even watched one on TV other than to browse through the clips and commentary of those events. When I was an evangelical, I got my political information secondhand. You might say that I was systemically indoctrinated with a certain view of the world and of politics. For many years, I just accepted what was handed to me without looking at it... Read more

What I Like About Nebraska and Tim Walz

Last updated on: August 18, 2024 at 12:08 pm By Karl J. Forehand

What I Like About Nebraska and Tim Walz Yesterday, Laura and I set out early for Omaha, Nebraska. It is about an hour north of us, which doesn’t seem like a drive because everything here is a bit of a n adventure. Reaching the grocery store takes 30 to 45 minutes, so it was an easy day trip. We decided at the last minute to attend the Tim Walz rally, even though I had some accessibility issues. We took our... Read more

Kamala and My Niece

Last updated on: July 23, 2024 at 10:53 am By Karl J. Forehand

Kamala and My Niece Saturday night, my niece and her partner spent about half a day with us as a stopover on the way to their next destination. When it was time for them to leave, the car wouldn’t start. Laura took the jumper cables out to help them, but it still wouldn’t start, which made me a little anxious. There are so many things that I can not do anymore, so I forced myself to stand in the window,... Read more

What Kind of Father is the Christian God?

Last updated on: July 18, 2024 at 4:51 pm By Karl J. Forehand

What Kind of Father is the Christian God? What would happen if your father only showed up tangibly occasionally and usually for only a few of his children? If the father blames his absence on the children, how good of a father is he? What would you think of a father who knew one of his children was being molested, and he chose not to intervene or show up for the child? What if he only “showed... Read more

My First Pride

Last updated on: July 14, 2024 at 12:41 pm By Karl J. Forehand

My First Pride We woke early on Saturday morning and traveled to Omaha to attend the Heartland Pride festival. We were intentional this year about attending Pride, but during June, it just didn’t work out, so we drove about 70 miles to Omaha, Nebraska. My best-laid plans didn’t work out because we got there an hour early in downtown Omaha, packed with people. I admit it: I underestimated how big it was going to be. After a few minutes of... Read more

An Open Letter to Christians

Last updated on: July 11, 2024 at 9:35 am By Karl J. Forehand

An Open Letter to Christians RE: Deconstruction Dear Christian, Some of you may just be realizing that many of us are deconstructing our faith. We noticed that you seem to be confused by this, so I thought I would clarify a couple of points around the usual statements I hear from those in organized religion. Misconception 1 – Deconstructionists want to sin more. I understand why you think this way, especially when everything that you disagree with is considered a... Read more

In Honor of my Friend

Last updated on: July 7, 2024 at 9:08 am By Karl J. Forehand

Yesterday, I spoke at the funeral of an old friend of mine, Mark. It was the first one I had done probably in about 10 years. It was actually just a graveside, so it wasn’t that complicated and was fairly short. I forgot about all the things like the uneven ground at this cemetery and the challenges this posed because my mobility was limited. I also forgot that temperatures and weather at a cemetery seem to be either scorching hot,... Read more