The Gospels – and let’s face it, the Bible in general – was written with a specific perspective. Each writer brought their own unique experience to the text that influenced how and what they wrote. While some might see this as a downfall, I like to see this as an opportunity to see many sides of the same God. My last post talked about Jesus as a rural preacher, but now we’ll see Jesus as something more. I was introduced... Read more
There are 4 accounts of the life of Jesus in our modern, Western Bible. However, these are not the only accounts we have, and we can assume there are many others that did not survive history. This is where we find ourselves – let’s talk about what people have written about Jesus in the past. We’ll talk about the Gospels as we move through this series, but first up is the Q gospel – what is it and why the... Read more
Deconstruction has become a buzzword in American Christianity. This single word can be a beacon of light or the boogeyman under the bed. American Conservative Christianity have demonized the movement, most notably in recent months with a book by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett. Those who criticize the idea of deconstruction favor more conservative and traditional Christian expression in America. However, this traditional American expression of Christianity is the exact thing that people are deconstructing. In Oord and Fuller’s book, God... Read more
I actually don’t like always or never statements. They cause a huge problem when talking logically. When I say “this is always how it is” or “this never happens”, it creates a huge weak spot in an argument. Because if someone can prove a single time where this isn’t the case, then the argument fails. So I’m not trying to say this is an always or never. And I am surely not trying to say I know exactly what God’s commands are for modern... Read more
America is voting in the national elections this year. This, of course, raises our awareness of what is going on in the world and how our leaders are responding. Beyond this, we have the ability to voice concerns in a real (data driven) way. Super Tuesday – a day where many states go to the ballot box to vote in the primaries – was yesterday and some things were unsurprising. Both Trump and Biden received the most electoral votes in... Read more
Grief is a central tenet of the Christian story. God grieves the loss of perfect unity in the Garden and Job grieves the loss of his family. The prophets grieve the situation Israel continues to find themselves in and Jesus grieves his friend Lazarus. Still, American Christianity has such a hard time acknowledging grief. Grief is often a point in our lives where we are forced to renegotiate what we think about the world. Our systems have been upended, and... Read more
Every year I aim to read 25 books, and every year I fail. I always come close, but each year I find myself stuck in a few books. Sometimes these books are really challenging and heady. Other times, they’re simple but profound. This year is no exception. While it’s hard to pick my favorite five books that I read this year, it forces me to reflect on the year that’s about to end. I think we’re all ready for 2023... Read more
Our last week of Advent falls on Christmas Eve. Depending on your Christian tradition, you may have to go to church twice today! However, if you’re a low-church Protestant, you can still get by with the one service. I won’t tell. No matter if you attend 100 services or none, today’s Church calendar meditates on the peace of God as we wait through the final days before the birth of Jesus. Today’s reading comes from Luke: “In the sixth month... Read more
On the third week of Advent we leave Mark’s Gospel and read the Gospel of John. We read about staying awake to the needs of our community and how it can be hard to do the work of our faith. Today, we look at John, who is by far the most theological and christological of the gospels. In John, the Light is the coming of what we have been looking for since the beginning of time. “A man came, sent... Read more
Advent is a time of waiting – we wait for the birth of Jesus. Our first week of advent was about staying alert to what God is doing in our world today. This week, we stay in the Gospel of Mark with the introduction of the story. We find John the Baptist doing the work of Advent. “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going... Read more
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