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I remember one time I was reading Bart Ehrman’s book, Did Jesus Exist? and I left it on my coffee table when a friend came over. The friend was instantly ruffled by the book’s title, and no doubt, the name of the author. “Of course Jesus existed, what a waste of time!” I can understand… Continue reading Reading Bart Ehrman Will Not Turn You into An Atheist

We’ve been handed some strict ideas about the Bible that can sometimes stifle our approach to reading and interpretation. Specifically, many Christians approach scripture as a finished, infallible work that we simply take facts from. I prefer to think of scripture as part of a tradition that we constantly engage with while we listen for… Continue reading My Favorite Metaphors for Scripture

That title is provocative. But true. You see, we all read the bible differently. That is an inescapable fact, no matter how frustrating you find it to be. My more fundamentalist friends won’t like that. A lot of Christians would like to believe that there is one right interpretation. The Bible has one right answer… Continue reading I Read The Bible Differently Than You Do

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7, NSRV I’m a mystic. That is a… Continue reading Walls and Razor Wire are Never the Answer

As we continue into a new lectionary year focused on the Gospel of Mark, I wanted to dive into that book a little deeper than I normally do. Naturally, one of the first places I turned for an overview was Pete Enns and the Bible for Normal People podcast. I’m a big fan and listen… Continue reading Five Insights About the Gospel of Mark

One of my least favorite activities to witness is fundamentalists debating atheists on YouTube. Depending on who posted the video, it is always titled something like, “Biblical scholar destroys atheist,” or, “Physicist ruins Christianity.” And the arguments on both sides are usually based on some kind of literal interpretation of the Bible. The fundamentalist will… Continue reading Answering a Fool According to Their Folly

What is the purpose of your faith community? Why do you go to church? What is the point? Some people attend church because they are seeking the right rules to follow. This is the genius and the paradox of Protestant Christianity in America. There is a new denomination for every unusual belief you might have.… Continue reading Affinity, not Dogma

What does it mean to be a Christian? You get baptized, you take communion and you follow Jesus. I’m OK if you don’t want to do the first two as long as you do the “follow Jesus,” one. But following Jesus is really the hard one. It’s so hard that a lot of Christians would… Continue reading Things Jesus Never Said

The direction of our faith expressed through the Bible comes to us through very human hands. Imagine walking through a wintery Colorado forest with a friend. Just as the wind rustles through the branches of the pines, dusting you with sparkling bits of snow, you feel God’s presence and hear God’s voice more clearly in… Continue reading Graffiti in the Forest

Has another Christian — probably an Evangelical — ever asked you, “are you saved?” Sometimes conversing with other Christians makes me more uncomfortable than any other kind of human interaction. Invariably the small differences in our theology seem large in the context of our mutual love of Jesus. At some point in talking with an… Continue reading Are You Saved?