Help! The refugee crisis: What’s the Christian way to reduce terrorism?

Last updated on: January 31, 2017 at 12:45 pm By Christy Thomas

Should the government move to restrict egress based on nothing but “what might happen,” especially refugees seeking asylum are fleeing home-grown wars, then there is only one proper Christian response: “Bring them to me. I will care for them.” Dear Thoughtful Pastor: “Is there a better, more Christian way to minimize terrorism threats in the long run from immigrants coming to the U.S. from Muslim majority nations than to ban them outright until extreme vetting is completed?” Let me start... Read more

“The Christians”–both the play and the reality

Last updated on: January 30, 2017 at 4:37 pm By Christy Thomas

The vote supports Pastor Paul, but it doesn’t take long for Pastor Joshua’s new church, affirming the reality of hell, to drain the mother congregation. I saw The Christians on Sunday. Lucas Hnath wrote this play about Pastor Paul, a man who had skillfully grown his church from a tiny storefront to a huge megachurch, complete with coffee shops and bookstore. Suddenly, he announces to his congregation that his core theology has changed. He no longer carries as assurance that... Read more

The year everything broke

Last updated on: January 27, 2017 at 2:44 pm By Christy Thomas

All of us live in the tensions between creation and re-creation. Nothing is stasis or particularly stable or immune from breaking. Last night, the dishwasher broke. (The repair service showed up promptly, fixed the problem but indicated that the fix is only temporary–we will be needing to replace it soon). Before that: The new coffee grinder quit working (replaced with excellent customer service by DeLonghi) The new and barely used vacuum cleaner quit working (replaced with excellent customer service by Bissell)... Read more

Help! Does an all-powerful God cause the innocent to suffer?

Last updated on: January 25, 2017 at 5:08 pm By Christy Thomas

The easy answers like “It’ll all turn out OK in the end. If it is not OK, it’s not the end” nearly make me sick to my stomach. What does that say to those who are suffering horrifically in this very moment? Dear Thoughtful Pastor: One of my lectures was on innocent suffering and how that can occur in a world “governed” by an omniscient, omnipresent and all-good God. I covered about 30 answers, none of which appeared to be... Read more

My name is “Christy” and I DID march

Last updated on: January 23, 2017 at 11:57 am By Christy Thomas

My name is Christy. And I did march. That other “Christy” gets to stay home because countless other “Christy’s” have been speaking up for women for centuries. Apparently, a woman named “Christy” posted on Facebook her reasons for not participating or supporting one of the Women’s Marches on January 21. The full text of her explanation is at the bottom of this post. But the essence is stated well in her first paragraph: I am not a “disgrace to women”... Read more

Musings on the march: DJT, the people speak

Last updated on: January 22, 2017 at 10:03 am By Christy Thomas

What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now. ~DJT inaugural speech, Jan. 20, 2017 We took him seriously. We spoke. Millions and millions of us. Probably not the people DJT had in... Read more

Sixteen tons and deeper in debt: reflections on the DJT anointing

Last updated on: January 20, 2017 at 6:22 pm By Christy Thomas

The theological/anointing/savior themes and subtext leaped from the radio to my ears. “I didn’t watch it. I’m still in disbelief about it all. Having a hard time accepting this.” So my hostess said after I arrived in Austin in preparation for the Women’s March on January 21. I didn’t watch either, but I listened. I listened to the entire thing as I drove from Dallas. Before I left, I noticed that a person on social media has indicated that today... Read more

Why I will listen to DJT take the presidential oath of office

Last updated on: January 19, 2017 at 4:56 pm By Christy Thomas

Can a man whose world revolves primarily, or even only, around himself and his need to be powerful make a decent and responsible President for the whole of the US? Friday, January 20, I head to Austin. I’ve explained the reasons why I chose to march there more fully here. I will be on the road at the time of the actual transfer of power from Obama to Trump. I know many are choosing to boycott the inauguration, either by... Read more

Help! How come the innocents, not the perps, get hurt?

Last updated on: January 19, 2017 at 3:15 pm By Christy Thomas

But one leader, totally absorbed in him or herself and the need to hold onto perks of leadership and prestige, can wreak havoc on the larger civilization. Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I am reading about Prometheus and the good stuff he did for humanity. Zeus does not punish Prometheus for his trickery but punishes humankind, the innocent bystanders instead. I was wondering about similar cases in the Bible where the person who does something wrong does not get punished for it.... Read more

The conservative longing for a dictatorship

Last updated on: January 16, 2017 at 12:53 pm By Christy Thomas

At our core, we want a “savior” who can fix things. In this case, it is likely our country has set upon a road to anarchy with its accompanied rise of a dictatorship. Below is a reprint of an article written by a true-blue “I love America” person. It insults all liberals, calls Obama a Muslim and suggests that God put Trump in place. I assume the author represents much mainstream support for the P-E. One quote that leaped off the page, ” In... Read more