Repent! For the end is near! In fact, it’s already here. Remember a couple of weeks ago when the world ended, as it always does? Now is the time of the after-thought, the metanoia, the thinking in the after. The world is chaos, welter and waste, and the Spirit of God hovers over the top of it, coaxing it back …
In Essence
At the end of our conversation, Josh asked a question that I’ll try to paraphrase: “While you’re saying that people aren’t evil, are you also saying that there is something intrinsic to people that makes them do evil things?” I think that was the gist of it. I don’t think I adequately answered the question, but it gets at something …
Suffering and Redemption
Because Lent is a time when we tend to talk a lot about sin, I endeavored on Sunday to explain my framework for thinking about sin. Some folks asked for a write-up, so here it is if you’re interested. The reason this alternative view is important is that sin, in the Christian mindset, is thought to be responsible for evil, …
My Understanding of Sin
Because Lent is a time when we tend to talk a lot about sin, I endeavored on Sunday to explain my framework for thinking about sin. It differs from things we might have heard growing up in a modern American Christian context, whether Catholic or Evangelical. In the spirit of this church’s emphasis on questioning and conversation, I am not …
The Gospel According to Buffy
I am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have watched the entire series, including the Angel spin-off, about six times. I’m watching it again now. Part of that is comfort; I know the show and know that I will enjoy it, so it’s easy to put on when I just want to relax. However, when I want …
Come, Ye Sinners
I lamented in church last Sunday that I miss the altar call. Certainly, it is damaging in a lot of ways. However, what I like about it is it puts a person to a decision. If Jesus is, in the words of theologian Schubert Ogden, the decisive re-presentation of God in that the words and works of Jesus put a …
Sin and Suffering
We had a rich and wide-ranging discussion on Wednesday night after dinner. We began discussing the long-promised fifth chapter of Marcus Borg’s Heart of Christianity, which concerns the place of Jesus as central to the Christian faith. As discussions of Christianity often do, this one eventually turned to the Bible. Specifically, we talked about how our witness to the life …
Into the Wilderness
Jesus’ baptism was a spectacular event. The heavens open and the Spirit of God in the form of a dove lands on Jesus’ shoulder. Then a voice from the sky says: “This is my child, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” It is an unquestionable validation of who Jesus was. So he leaves. The Synoptic Gospels say that …
Jubilee: Gwyneth and her goop
I was watching Bill Maher this week in tiny increments between paper writing as I nibbled on a sandwich. One of his guests was Jimmy Kimmel, who I, if I may speak openly, do not care for too much. Normally, Bill’s guests are asked questions about pressing issues of the day, but Kimmel was asked about television industry decisions and …
What I Meant to Say Was…
On Sunday, I was highly critical of Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Dallas, as well as others of his ilk that are famous for their criticism of homosexuality. You can read my comments here, but the main point was that any ethical stance must risk something. This follows from Jesus’ claim in John 15:13: “No one has greater …
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