(Credit: James Shepard, Flickr Creative Commons) A little while back I wrote a post asking “Are Bible Verses The Worst Thing Ever?” This past week or so as I’ve read Christian defenses of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s call to kill Muslims and heard Christian rallying cries for more guns in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shooting, I’ve wanted to answer that question once again with a resounding “yes.” Sure, there are obviously things worse than the Bible being divided into... Read more

(Credit: Liberty University chapel video screen grab) Several months ago a Pew Research study sparked what almost seemed like shouts of glee from those who were eager to declare the impending death of Christianity in America. According to the report, Millennials are leaving the Church in droves and, the theory went, if the next generation isn’t there to fill the pews, the future of the Church in America is bleak. Which makes sense. Not surprisingly, many Church leaders were quick to denounce such... Read more

(Credit: LA Times, Twitter) I’ve really struggled to figure out what to say since I first heard the reports of yet another mass shooting on American soil. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? What statistics could I point to that won’t be ignored yet again by people who refuse to accept the proven fact that gun ownership makes you less safe, even and especially in your own home? How many times can I say that it’s not just a mental... Read more

(Credit: Wikipedia) I’ve been unplugged for most of the past week. When I heard about the Paris attacks, I was packing up for a 2 week trip to Nashville. I spent the next day driving across the country. About a day or so after arriving in town, we made an unexpected trip to the hospital (thankfully everybody is ok now). When I finally plugged back in, I returned to a world – and a Church – gone mad. Though always terrible and... Read more

(Credit: Snopes) The Christmas warriors have officially jumped the shark. In a bizarre, disturbing (who brags about sneaking a gun into a coffee shop??), and lie filled rant (no, Starbucks wasn’t mad and no, they didn’t hate what happened), self-appointed religious watchdog Joshua Feuerstein decided to lob the latest volley in the make believe War On Christmas™ by portraying a subtle design change in Starbucks’ holiday cups as some sort of heinous attack on the Christian faith. A subtle change that in no... Read more

By now you’ve surely heard Ben Carson’s claim that the pyramids were built by the biblical character Joseph in order to store grain, a belief he’s since double-downed on despite the fact the actual builders of the pyramids recorded exactly why they built them. Given Dr. Carson’s incredible confidence in such an audacious claim, I can’t help but think his view of the rest of world history is a bit, um, unorthodox. Unfortunately, Ben is in the middle of a... Read more

(Credit: KOMO News) On Monday, I shared my thoughts on the story of the Bremerton High School football coach who was suspended for refusing to heed the school district’s order to stop praying in the middle of the football field after games. I talked about why, despite the rhetoric, this sort of action is not taking a stand for your faith and, in fact, stands in direct opposition to Jesus’ teaching about how (and how not) to pray. Not surprisingly, I... Read more

(Credit: KATV News) Last week, Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy was placed on paid administrative leave by the school district which employs him. If you only read the news headlines or the sensationalized versions of this story that were popping up in your Facebook news feed, you might be lead to believe that this was an attack by an evil Christian hating school district against a humble Christian coach who just wanted to pray with his team.... Read more

(Credit: Peretz Partensky, Flickr Creative Commons) It never fails. Whenever there is an outcry for change, there are always some who oppose that change who attempt to silence the outcry by demanding a detailed plan for change from those calling for it. It’s an incredibly weak, yet sometimes surprisingly effective attempt at maintaining the status quo. Of course, having a plan for achieving the desired change is a great, if not essential thing to have. But one need not have... Read more

(Credit: Beth Cortez-Neavel, Flickr Creative Commons) The Internet is a funny thing. On the one hand, our Internet powered smartphones allows us to carry the totality of human knowledge in our pocket. Which is incredible. On the other hand, social media has all but eradicated our critical thinking skills. Instead of searching out all available information (which is easier to do now than at any point in human history) and spending time formulating a well thought out and well informed opinion... Read more