I left Evangelicalism mostly because of lies about how God answers prayer and keeps all faithful Christians safe. Those lies clear God of all responsibility for human horrors but still insist He (always “he”) stays in total control of everything. Dear Thoughtful Pastor: What good is prayer, in a practical sense? When I try to pray for the nation these days, I remember the many people who prayed for their lives during WWII. What use is prayer, at the doors... Read more
The megachurch infection may lead to the eventual death of Christian connection, also known as the church. Let me explain. In 2014/2015, I did a series of “Mystery Worships” where I visited a different church each week and wrote a newspaper column about it. After noting a “meh” response to one church we attended, I thought I’d better analyze what happened. In truth, the worship itself was quite well done. A varying team accompanied me on those visits. Age range: pre-teen to... Read more
After spending much of 2014 and 2015 visiting churches, I have become increasingly aware that people flock to church groups with tight doctrinal standards. As many note, these still show growth both in the US and overseas. The more theologically progressive mainline denominations with looser doctrinal boundaries show declining numbers. The more rapidly growing churches rarely ordain women and, as a rule, exclude females from top-level decision-making bodies. Many are almost viciously anti-gay; others offer a limited welcome to the gay/lesbian population, making... Read more
The audience, weary of burdens and regulations laid upon them by pompous Pharisees, would have tears of laughter at the “swallowing-the-camel” image. Dear Thoughtful Pastor: My son laughed in church when he heard the New Testament reading of Jesus chiding Peter about his lack of faith after he was the only one with enough faith to trust Jesus’s invitation to walk on water to reach him and started to sink when he was within arm’s reach of Jesus. A concordance... Read more
Hypocrisy is the ultimate death blow, whether it be politics or religion. And in the US, the two are inextricably linked together. Shame on us both. From the full article reprinted below, this comment leaped off the page: One Republican bundler who has worked closely with the Republican National Committee in the past was incensed, saying that Trump had actually done the very things that conservatives had fretted Hillary Clinton might hypothetically do — intentionally or not — when it... Read more
Trump serves as the village idiot, speaking the truth while he masks it in his web of unending lies and mental craziness. Even the “We love everything Trump and think the GOP can do no wrong” Wall Street Journal had this as its front page headline: “Trump Shared Secrets With Russians.” The article is behind a paywall, but the first paragraph reads: President Donald Trump shared sensitive intelligence obtained from a close U.S. ally with Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador in... Read more
The dominant world enriches itself endlessly when it makes room for the less-dominant to have a voice. Those on the margins: left-handed, minority, poor, mentally and physically challenged, non-cis-gendered—anything that is different from the dominant, mainstream culture—have voices that must be heard and embraced. Right-handers comprise 85-90% of the human population. Many tools—table saws, scissors, manual can openers, for example—are nearly impossible for left-handers to use properly. Don’t believe me? All you right-handers out there: pick up a pair of... Read more
To those who hold to literal end times prophecies, the earth, as a living entity, has no particular value. The quicker they facilitate the destruction, the sooner they bring about a new heaven and earth. Dear Thoughtful Pastor: How do you view the natural disasters, economic problems, and increased persecution of people today with the predictions of what we will see in the End Times prophecy in the Bible? The contention that there is going to be a specified end... Read more
Right now, the UMC, bound by institutional clutter, is unfree, rigid, divisive and has regulated creativity out of the system. I’m a sucker for the “25 things you need to get rid of” article. Clutter drives me crazy. I used to watch those hoarding TV shows. In so doing, I became aware of the ease of slipping into patterns like that. It takes constant effort to stay on top of it. I’ve developed a habit of daily “tidying” to maintain... Read more
When abusive people, those who misuse the power entrusted to them, face accusations of misconduct, they deflect the blame toward the one who has been abused. Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Why is it always the abusers and their advocates that concoct numerous ways to forgive them? Here is my experience. Abusers are usually sincere. They don’t think they’re abusing. So they justify and validate their behavior with rationalities. But when they do realize they inflicted abuse, they impose legislation on the... Read more
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