Courtesy of Christian Nightmares, behold one of the worst examples of bad theology that I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying a lot considering the Church’s addiction to warping its own theology to appeal to a particular demographic in hopes of getting some of them to say that all important Sinner’s Prayer. But this. This is just…wow. I mean, they just came out and said that Christianity is a bunch of hocus pocus. Top shelf hocus pocus, mind you, but still just... Read more

(Credit: Wikipedia) Last Friday, I was part of a roundtable on HuffPost Live. My 15 minutes of not-even-close-to-fame on almost TV were fun, even though I was cut off from finishing a thought by another panelist who I actually agreed with and…well…it doesn’t matter. During the segment, the host asked me if as a Christian – and particularly as an ordained minister – I felt compelled to publicly differentiate myself from the Duggars and make the point that not all Christians are like... Read more

There’s an interesting encounter Jesus has in the eighth chapter of Matthew’s gospel with somebody he should have nothing to do with. Ok, there’s nothing particularly unusual about that. Jesus met and ate and associated with all sorts of people he wasn’t supposed to talk to or hang out with. But this particular miraculous meeting seems good to remember as we get ready to celebrate one of our most patriotic of holidays, Memorial Day. Personally, I like Memorial Day. I... Read more

(Credit: InTouch Weekly, Getty Images) When I first heard the terrible news about Josh Duggar, my first reaction was “Whoa.” I did not see that coming. I mean, sure, like any family in the spotlight long enough, you expect a few skeletons to eventually make their way out of the closet, but whoa. My second reaction was, “I feel so incredibly bad for all of the girls involved, but particularly the Duggar girls.” Why? It’s not that the assault on the... Read more

(Credit: Sheila Wilson Photography) Welcome to the final episode of podcast series I’ve called Saints of Darkness. It has featured folks who are doing really interesting, creative, and important social justice work. The series is available as a free podcast that you can stream from this site or download either from iTunes or Podbean and listen to later at your convenience. ++++++++++++++++ I wouldn’t say I’ve saved the best for last just because I’ve genuinely loved each and every person I had the chance to... Read more

(Credit: Guilherme Freitas, Flickr Creative Commons) For many of us in the Church today, using the Bible as the go to, definitive, and final answer for everything is how God intended the Bible to be used. Otherwise, God wouldn’t have chopped it up into nice chapters and verses that we could weaponize at the drop of a hat, right? [Fun Fact: The chopping didn’t start until at least a 1,000 years after the New Testament was written.]   But what... Read more

(Credit: José Carlos Babo, Flickr Creative Commons) By now I’m sure you’ve heard about the new Pew Research study that revealed a significant drop in the number of adults in America who identify themselves as Christian. It’s not exactly shocking information. We’ve known about this ecclesiastical exodus for quite some time now, so I won’t bother going over the latest figures in too much detail. If you want to dissect them yourself, go for it. It is interesting in its own right,... Read more

Welcome to a new series I’m calling Saints of Darkness. It will run on Mondays from now until May 18th and feature folks who are doing really interesting, creative, and important social justice work. The series is available as a free podcast that you can stream from this site or download either from iTunes or Podbean and listen to later at your convenience. ++++++++++++++++ There are few topics more taboo in the Church than mental illness. We don’t like talking about it. We don’t know... Read more

(Credit: Bill Emory) During my time at Yale I had the chance to take Systematic Theology with Miroslav Volf. To say I was excited about the class would be an understatement. In fact, I may or may not have had a minor theology nerd meltdown the first day when Volf shared a joke his professor, Jürgen Moltmann, used to make about Karl Barth and his Church Dogmatics – “The truth cannot be that long.” If you’re a theology nerd like me, you’ll understand... Read more

Welcome to a new series I’m calling Saints of Darkness. It will run on Mondays from now until May 18th and feature folks who are doing really interesting, creative, and important social justice work. The series is available as a free podcast that you can stream from this site or download either from iTunes or Podbean and listen to later at your convenience. ++++++++++++++++ Mixing things up a bit today from the original schedule to bring you what may be my favorite interview of the... Read more