Everything we know about Jesus reveals him to be a social person. He taught, healed, debated, blessed, protested and worshiped in social groups. His death was public, as were his resurrection appearances, ascension and his expected return. Jesus taught his…
Maybe we need God
Sorry for sounding so much like a preacher, but I don’t know where else to turn. I keep hearing we’ve had more mass shootings in the U.S. than days in 2023. We seem out of control, and despite their claims…
What’s driving objections to ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ at the Super Bowl?
I had an interesting conversation yesterday with the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin about the breathless objections by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to a pre-Super Bowl performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song informally known…
The birth of Aya: Harbinger of Lent’s staggering promise
Invocation. “When in the dark orchard at night / The God Creator kneeled and prayed / Life was praying with the One / Who gave life hope and prayer.” —English translation of lyrics from “Wa Habibi,” a Christian hymn of…
John MacArthur is wrong about so much more than keeping women in abusive marriages
A righteous furor has erupted in the past week over a credible report published by Christianity Today telling more stories of women who sought help through “biblical counseling” at John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church and were told they must remain…
One expression of faith creates refugees; the other resettles them
Religion remains one of the most powerful forces on the planet, sometimes for good and sometimes for evil. Religion can summon us to our highest ideals, treating each and every person with all reverence due their divine origin. Of course,…
The Church of England’s compromise on same-sex relationships is disastrous for everyone
The Church of England’s formal separation from Rome five centuries ago began over a dispute about marriage. Now, it appears it will soon end as we know it over a dispute about marriage. Despite a busy news week that included…
Describing the State of the Union response from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders by another word
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary identifies “defining moment” as a time that shows very clearly what something is really about. If that definition is taken seriously, the response by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
This Galentine’s Day, make new friends but keep the old ones
In February 2010, the writers of Parks and Recreation introduced a new holiday to American pop culture: Galentine’s Day. As this memorable episode opens, the sitcom’s exuberant main character, Leslie Knope, is distributing gift bags to women gathered around a…
Perhaps ‘He Gets Us’ better than we thought
There is great weeping and gnashing of teeth happening on my Facebook feed about the “Jesus commercial” that aired on the Super Bowl broadcast. The ad is the work of an organization that calls itself The Servant Foundation. These folks…
What we know and don’t know about the SBC’s sexual abuse hotline
“I gave her the name of my perp, I sent the scanned felony paperwork, the link to his being on the Texas sex offender list, and still, I do not see his name on the SBC list.” That’s what…
Let’s do the Satanic Panic once again
Sam Smith has poked a very old bear with their performance at the Grammys last Sunday. And I think they knew exactly what they were doing. Sam was leaning into all of the online hatred hurled at LGBTQ and gender…