Humble Walks

I’m often surprised how many protests I get from my atheist friends about Christianity that I can effectively deactivate by just saying, “I’m a universalist so I don’t think that.” I write, “deactivate,” instead of, “answer,” because I don’t think many theological questions can be definitively answered with pithy responses. It takes a lifetime of… Continue reading Beyond Judgement

Recently, The Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines, Senior Minister of University Christian Church in San Diego, posted a sermon snippet on original sin. If you’re not yet following Caleb and you like pastors who are dynamic, persuasive and progressive, then you should start following him on the socials. He made an interesting point that I… Continue reading Original Sin

A clobber verse that gets carelessly tossed around a lot by conservatives who fear LGBTQ+ people is this: Deuteronomy 22:5 “A woman shall not wear a man’s apparel, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for whoever does such things is abhorrent to the Lord your God.” But I say, why stop at this verse… Continue reading Deuteronomy Should Not Tell You How to Dress

I was grumpy in Bible study this week. I didn’t know why. Something was nagging at me about the lectionary gospel reading (I’m quoting a bit longer here than the lectionary text because I think the whole story is important): Luke 4:16-30 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went… Continue reading Make Them Run You to the Cliffs

I just wrote about similar topics three months ago so it kind of pains me to do it again so soon. But that dullard Mike Johnson has made yet another attack against the Bible, against Christian faith and against our trans sisters and brothers. While making a victory lap after passing a bill banning transgender… Continue reading Does Mike Johnson Read the Bible?

I describe myself as a universalist. What do I mean by that? First, I don’t mean Unitarian Universalist, although I tried that once and hold them all in high regard. I’m a Jesus freak schooled in primarily UCC theology, a mystic at heart and I currently attend a very loving Lutheran church. I happen to… Continue reading Support for Universalism in Scripture, Logic and Love

As we enter a new year, I don’t think I’m alone as I obsessively scrutinize the widening gulf between the views of the right wing in the U.S. and the teachings of Jesus. On the one hand, I’m pretty sure it will provide a lot of blog fodder for me this year and beyond. On… Continue reading Responding with Love and Compassion

“Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?” These words by Janis Joplin in her 1970 song are a terrific critique of materialism, culture and the white protestant focus on privilege and prosperity. It’s ironic, it’s tongue-in-cheek and it does a better job at calling out hypocrisy than many sermons. So when Mercedes-Benz licensed the… Continue reading Literalism is Disrespect

Imagine this: you are born into the Roman Empire in the year zero. Oppression is everywhere. You smell it in the marketplace. You see it on the tired expressions of the friends around you. You hear it in the clamor of armor on the soldiers marching through your streets. Every day, the threat of violence… Continue reading The Humble Birth of God

The birth story in the Gospel of John is barely a story at all. You don’t get singing angels, shepherds in the field or gift-bearing magi. What you do get is one of the most profound statements of Christian theology ever written. And you get a little bit of John the Baptist. It’s not sentimental.… Continue reading The Word Became Flesh