As an LGBTQ Christian, one of the realities that has perplexed me from the very beginning of my journey to reconcile my faith and my sexuality was the insistence of Christians, particularly Catholics and evangelicals, that our theologies of sexuality…
I won’t buy his ‘truth’ or his Bible
One presidential candidate is now selling an American-flag-draped, Constitution-including Bible for $60! If certain American evangelicals, certain Republicans and perhaps all people who still intend to vote for him know their history — especially the history of the Reformation —…
Trump the blasphemer: During Holy Week, Trump compares himself to Jesus and hawks a white Christian nationalist Bible
For the approximately two-thirds of Americans who identify as Christian, this is Holy Week, a solemn time of participation in worship services that encourage reflection and repentance ahead of the resurrection celebrated on the holiest day on the Christian calendar, Easter…
I thought I didn’t have any more time in my Holy Week schedule, and then I learned about the Trump-endorsed Bible
Every pastor I know is busy. I haven’t come across one who tells me they have time to kill. The pastors in my circles aren’t on golf courses. They’re not at the gym or the spa. They haven’t signed up…
Racism’s absurdity in light of the gospel
We’ve just celebrated Martin Luther King weekend. The great Baptist preacher, scholar and activist would have been 95 years old. We rightly honor him. The Civil Rights Movement led by King was not that long ago. We still live with…
The roots of white evangelical desperation
The base of the Republican Party is controlled by white evangelical voters, people who punch above their weight because they have been reduced to utter despair. Animals are particularly dangerous when cornered or wounded, and American white evangelicals are both….
Skipping verses: When the Christmas Kranks read Scripture, at Advent and otherwise
John Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas got me laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. It was the same with Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Days, which evoked such uncontrolled laughter that many in the New Year’s Day crowd at the Nassau airport…
Looking beyond ‘fact or fable’ alternatives in the Christmas stories of Matthew and Luke
One of the learning activities I sometimes used when discussing the nature of Jesus in my New Testament undergraduate classes was a “forced choice” exercise. We moved the chairs to the sides of the room and all the students stood…
The Toxic Evangelical Variant
It’s not an exaggeration to say the evangelical church saved me in every way a person can be saved. They introduced me to Jesus. They became the family my childhood family could not be. They loved and affirmed me. They…