How can post-evangelical Christians talk about a loving God when the God described in many biblical texts appears to be otherwise? We must explain why, evaluated by the standards of Jesus, God comes off so badly in much of the Bible.
Shining the light of reproductive justice and progressive theology on the strategy of 6-week abortion bans
Six-week abortion bans result from the theology of one group of Christians. However, they restrict access to abortion for all people, regardless of their religious convictions. In so doing, these bans violate core Baptist commitments to separation of church and state and religious liberty, as well as freedom of the individual conscience.
Anxious worshippers are present every Sunday. But concern for safety must never displace welcoming ‘the other’
Our churches are filled with people like me who tend to be fearful and anxious. Keeping our sacred spaces safe is essential, but it must not be at the expense of welcoming “the other” in our midst.
Earth Day: an urgent call to creation care and environmental justice
Earth Day is a reminder that environmental justice and climate change solutions must move beyond a new appreciation of creation to include listening to and learning from the poor and marginalized of our own communities and the voices of those from around the world.
Fire in the Cathedral of Notre Dame: a history of the present moment
As Good Friday moves toward Easter, churches across the world reassert their calling as the Body of the living Christ, not arcane museums.
Contrary to the view of Triumphant Christianity, Easter is for failures
A Christianity that brings newness to deadness, even if the newness was something we would never have chosen for ourselves, is the sort of thing that just might blow the doors off the universe if we’ll let it. At the least, I know this kind of Christianity manages to empty my tomb year after year after year.
Embracing Good Friday’s pain even when Easter’s hope seems galaxies away
Good Friday isn’t just a set-up for Easter Sunday and the ham and new shoes that accompany that day. Good Friday is about grief. It’s about death and dying, pain and loss, emptiness and hopelessness. To beam the light in too quickly will render us unable to see.
For survivors of clergy abuse, watching a beloved cathedral go up in smoke felt viscerally familiar
The scene of Notre Dame in flames was painful to watch. But those who have experienced church and clergy abuse have been watching our sacred spaces burn for years, maybe decades.
Holy Week and ‘Game of Thrones’: hospitality and welcome when our ‘winters’ inevitably come
How ironic that the final season of “Game of Thrones” debuted on Palm Sunday, when Christians remember how people welcomed Jesus and hailed him as the Messiah, though all the while, winter was coming.
The unforgettable, holy moment when my 7 year old washed my feet on Maundy Thursday
Nothing could have prepared me for the experience of watching my 7-year-old son kneel before me on Maundy Thursday to wash my feet in a basin, following the example of Jesus.
Notre Dame in flames: grieving the cremation of holy place and divine connection
Looking at the devastation wreaked by fire on the Notre Dame cathedral, it’s easy to get lost in all that is gone. But within the structure that remains is the hope of the millions who have gone before us, reminding us that hope is stubborn and connection runs deep.
What if the monsters we love to hate became the people we love to help?
Jesus says “love you enemies,” and I say, “Christ, of course I love my enemies. I love to hate them.” Heroes love to hate monsters, for without a monster to conquer, who would feed our egos?