In this series, I’m discussing The Lord’s Prayer, and why I believe it reflects some of Jesus’ most radical and challenging ideas. The prayer is meant to be descriptive of how to pray, not prescriptive on what to pray. In Part 6, we look at the difficulty in following God’s desires. (Read Part 1 here and 2 here and 3 here and 4 here and 5 here). When you pray, say… “May we not be severely tested.” Like Jesus, in his life and teachings, The... Read more
In this series, I’m discussing The Lord’s Prayer, and why I believe it reflects some of Jesus’ most radical and challenging ideas. The prayer is meant to be descriptive of how to pray, not prescriptive on what to pray. In Part 5, we think about the connection between forgiveness and forgiving. (Read Part 1 here and 2 here and 3 here and 4 here). Jesus taught the disciples that prayer should first acknowledge God as “father,” that they (we) should ask God to bring the... Read more
In this series, I’m discussing The Lord’s Prayer, and why I believe it reflects Jesus’ most radical and challenging ideas. The prayer is meant to be descriptive of how to pray, not prescriptive on what to pray. In Part 4, we think about what it means to ask God to give us our daily bread. (Read Part 1 here and 2 here and 3 here) Jesus taught that our prayers should first acknowledge God as “father,” and that we should... Read more
In this series, I’m discussing The Lord’s Prayer, and why I believe that it is one of Jesus’ most radical and challenging ideas. The prayer is meant to be descriptive of how to pray, not prescriptive on what to pray. In part 3, we’re looking at Jesus’ understanding of “the Kingdom,” what it meant to him, and why his interpretation would have been radical. (Read Part 1 here and 2 here) After Jesus had taught his disciples to pray to... Read more
In this series, I’m discussing The Lord’s Prayer, and why I believe that it is one of Jesus’ most radical and challenging ideas. It is mean to be descriptive of how to pray, not prescriptive on what to pray. In part 2, we’re looking at Jesus’ name for God, what it means, and why it would have been controversial in his culture. (Read Part 1 here) The very first word of The Lord’s Prayer would have been considered shocking in... Read more
Most Sundays, The Lord’s Prayer can be heard echoing in dull monotone from churches around the US, as the faithful recite the well-known words in unison. “Our father – who art in heaven – hallowed be thy name – thy kingdom come…” Many of us feel comforted or peaceful when we recite what are possibly Jesus’ most famous words, but I’m wondering: do you ever feel…challenged by The Lord’s prayer? Because you should. When you pray The Lord’s Prayer, do... Read more
Dear Bernie, I hate to admit it, but I was wrong. A few years ago, when I was having lunch with my friend and award winning writer, Diana Butler Bass, I told her that I didn’t think we’d ever have another person like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King again. As a matter of fact, I said I felt that, with the accessibility and freedom of social media, the people collectively would be the next MLK. With the rise of... Read more
Politics, much like mega-churches, have become a cult of personality. We’ve seen it for years with the GOP in candidates like Sarah Palin and, more recently, Donald Trump. But, the troubling thing to me is how Democrats seem to have fallen into the same trap this year. Both Bernie and Hillary supporters are willingly turning a blind eye to the very real and sometimes troubling shortcomings of their candidates. That’s why I believe the “Progressive Christian Voter’s Guide” that The... Read more
There’s a cartoon by Andy Marlette making its way around social media that depicts Jesus standing next to Bernie Sanders while Bernie points at him and says, “What he said.” That, my friends, is why I endorse and am voting for Bernie Sanders. No, not just because of the cartoon. I’m voting for Bernie because I agree with what Marlette’s cartoon implies. It doesn’t imply that Bernie is like Jesus. It doesn’t even imply that Bernie is following the teachings... Read more
Even with the gruesome reality of Jesus’ suffering on “Good” Friday, our modern understanding of Holy Week and Easter has undersold the dangerous reality of the implications of the Easter story. The Easter story should leave us all quivering in our boots. It should also inspire us to acts of great love that might put us at great personal risk. To truly grasp the terrifying implications of Easter in contemporary society, let’s first look at the “historical” realities of Holy... Read more
The God Article with Mark Sandlin
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