Leave it the Apostle Paul to make a prison cell sound like a spiritual oasis. Throughout much of the New Testament, he’s trapped, you know, imprisoned by the Roman Empire for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Time and again,…
Grace and peace to you — at the tip of a sword
For weeks now, I’ve been teaching verse by verse through the book of 1 Thessalonians on Sunday mornings. Last week and this week, we hit the hinge between the last verse of 1 Thessalonians and the opening lines of 2…
Putting Jesus and Paul ahead of personal freedom
Yesterday on my way home, I went to the supermarket to pick up a few things. Arriving at the door at the same time as a young mother and child coming from a different part of the parking lot, I…
Pride month and the unhindered gospel
One of the key words of Acts is “unhindered.” The last word of the book is in the adjective form, saying that Paul near the end of his life preached the gospel of the kingdom “unhinderedly.” The whole book is…
On the importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead
On occasion I have heard someone declare that one thing or another serves as the foundation of their faith. Sometimes it is the Bible. Sometimes it is the love Jesus taught. Sometimes it is even Jesus Himself. But the fact…
The ethics of Christian blackmail
Yesterday, while pondering the Christian reaction to the initial World Vision decision, I wrote a short article (unpublished) on how (not) to talk about World Vision on the Internet – don’t be hateful, clam down before you publish, and other…
Duck Dynasty and the Struggle Over Christianity
There is no such thing as Christianity. I’ll repeat myself so you know I really meant to say it: there is no such thing as Christianity. Instead what we have are reifications and definitions. As with all definitions, the various…
It floats (or what it’s like being on Satan’s payroll)
Whenever I’m asked to describe my job as a professional Christian, I usually stammer something along the lines of: “I talk about God for a living.” Or, if I’m feeling especially cynical: “It’s mostly marketing, some plagiarism, and a bit…
In + Out: a few thoughts on breathing
Some time ago, thanks mostly to the Comcast home page usually concerning itself with tracking the intricate and myriad movements of the Kardashians, I came across an article ranking the “most stressed out” countries in the world. In the study…