Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
I was taught in seminary to always determine the original meaning behind a text. Study the Greek or Hebrew. The literary, cultural, and historical contexts. Comparative passages and themes. That way I would get to know what the author meant. Good work that must be done. However, what happens when I discover that what the …
Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there any other prophet of the Lord whom we could ask?” “There is one other man who could ask the Lord for us,” Israel’s king told Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad.” – 1 Kings 22:7-8 The problem with the Bible isn’t the Bible but how people …
The biblical writers believed in a flat earth. It was the stationary foundation of their world view. Under the flat earth was Sheol, the place of the dead. The sky was the domed firmament that held back water. Above it all was heaven. This sounds so, well, ancient. Good science at the time, but bad …
According to an article in the Christian Post, the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church recently passed a resolution affirming belief that God created the world “in six natural days.” This might come as a surprise to the Creator, since we know earth to be over four billion years old. There’s irrefutable proof of that, as Bill …
Early in Mark’s Gospel (3:1-6, CEB), Jesus loses his temper. Since Mark writes in a compact and impatient manner, it’s easy to overlook this story. When you linger a bit with it, though, you discover it’s a watershed point in Jesus’ ministry. It changes his trajectory. It may for us as well. The Incident The …
One of the best nature/science documentaries I’ve seen is National Geographic’s “One Strange Rock.” Narrated by actor Will Smith, it reflects on the marvels of our planet as seen through the eyes of astronauts. If you see all ten episodes, you will never view life on this amazing, mysterious rock of ours as you had …
After the United Methodist General Conference approved the Traditionalist Plan, which kept restrictive language against homosexuality in the denomination’s Book of Discipline, there was great rejoicing in the world of far-right evangelicals. On February 27, 2019, Franklin Graham posted his happiness on Facebook. He saw this as a victory for “God’s Truth” and the “clear …