I’ve been blessed by two very smart sons, one of whom has been engaging me on philosophy of mind over the last month or so. Through these discussions, I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking through what I really believe about consciousness. I come at it with a trio of prejudices. First, my faith… Continue reading God and Mind
Is There Knowledge in the Most High?
I’d love for you to take a deep breath right now. The world has lost its mind. But this is nothing new. In fact, after that deep breath and before you proceed to read below, I’d like you to read Psalm 73. Didn’t that feel like it could’ve been written this week? The world has… Continue reading Is There Knowledge in the Most High?
Finding Forgiveness Through Empathy and Humility
We’ve entered special time in America under the Trump regime. It’s a time of complete regression as those in power seek to set us back by decades in terms of social justice, environmental protections and civil rights. It’s a time of despair as we see all three branches of government acting together to erode democratic… Continue reading Finding Forgiveness Through Empathy and Humility
There are No Immigrants on Earth
I recently wrote about how I believe the Bible fully supports inclusion for transgender people. I used Isaiah 56 as support. In this chapter, God commands Israel to welcome the foreigner and the eunuch into temple worship. Because transgendered people are under attack right now, I spent the majority of the article writing about them.… Continue reading There are No Immigrants on Earth
The Bible Directly Supports Full Transgender Inclusion
It’s always interesting to me how much emphasis some people put on the stories in Genesis. Now please understand, there are great lessons there. I’m not minimizing Genesis in this post, I’m trying to elevate what I see is an arc in the Christian story. It’s an arc that in many places – especially when… Continue reading The Bible Directly Supports Full Transgender Inclusion
What An Atheist Friend Taught Me About Church
I recently wrote some simple thoughts about Christian universalism and mentioned that a question I get a lot when I share my universalist beliefs is, “then why even be a Christian?” That always strikes me as strange and transactional, but the fact that I get this question from both believers and secularists makes me think… Continue reading What An Atheist Friend Taught Me About Church
Beyond Judgement
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
Original Sin
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
Deuteronomy Should Not Tell You How to Dress
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
Make Them Run You to the Cliffs
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