In my quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Atlanta, our neighbors are competing with one another to mark Halloween in the oddly incoherent American way that has become our “normal.” We have our Harvest Festival types — friendly looking scarecrows, straw hats,…
Letter to the Editor – Responding to a commentary on heaven and hell
From Kirby D. Smith in Midlothian, Virginia
Heaven-or-hell theology may be simple, but it is neither biblical nor morally defensible. What’s the alternative?
Most of our churches have left heaven-or-hell theology far behind, but we’re afraid to offer a viable alternative. It’s time for moderate and progressive mainline preachers to talk about the biblical vision of universal redemption.
Rick Warren’s conundrum: What’s the nature and extent of salvation?
What if more of us believed in and trusted in a more loving, gracious, inclusive God? What if more of us focused on this life rather than the afterlife and understood salvation in terms of healing, wholeness, reconciliation and liberation from the life diminishing forces that possess us and oppress us, so that we are free to truly love God and love others?
Where is Jesus? Exploring what the ascension means in our time
I had the opportunity to teach Sunday school on Ascension Sunday in my Jubilee Class at Prairie Baptist, where they manage to keep me on the roll despite my frequent absences! The celebration of ascension is sorely neglected in the…
What does it mean to be resurrection people?
La versión en español está disponible aquí. Even though resurrection Sunday was some weeks ago, the liturgical calendar continues marking that Christians are in the season of Easter (Eastertide). For Christians like me, who were taught to celebrate the resurrection…
It takes a village . . . to sing us to heaven
If it takes a village to raise a child, the same is true when life draws to a close and death ushers a loved one into the greater presence of God. Loss, particularly death, is difficult to face apart from the…
Treasures in Heaven
Most of you know well Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures…
Heaven is not “up there” somewhere
Almost two decades ago I went through a crisis in my faith. The conservative Christianity of my early training had left me dry, empty, and wondering if I had made a huge mistake with my life. Surprisingly, an evangelical philosopher…
let’s get apocalyptic, baby
These days it feels as if the only 2 things I’m seemingly very good at are: watching + evaluating. I watch TV, the rattling, odorous recycling truck every other Wednesday (YOU DIDN’T EMPTY THE CAN!), and my neighbors, through an…
My Christmas Eve epiphany
I have been driven to a startling conclusion: the God who burns with compassion for the outcast is our salvation. That simple message fueled the ministry of Jesus. Jesus’ solidarity with the poor wasn’t stressed much in the churches I…
Forever Changed #7: War is hell (or a great place to find heaven again)
Today I will let you pick the title you like: WAR IS HELL or A GREAT PLACE TO FIND HEAVEN AGAIN. During the American Civil War, U.S. Gen. Tecumseh Sherman commented while torching civilian population centers that “war is hell.”…