Was Jesus Really a Socialist? (Part 5: Charity as Discipleship)
Recap In part 3 of “Was Jesus Really a Socialist?” I list the claims made by those attempting to present Jesus as this very thing. In part 4, I pushed…
Was Jesus Really a Socialist? (Part 4: Jesus, Charity, and Property Rights)
Recap In Part 3 of “Was Jesus really a Socialist?” we considered 20 different arguments made by believers to defend the idea that real Christianity is socialist… that Jesus Himself…
Was Jesus Really a Socialist? (An Important Excursus)
Sorry for Being a Troubler-Maker In part 3 of “Was Jesus Really a Socialist?” I list the claims made by those attempting to present Jesus as this very thing. Amusing…
Was Jesus Really a Socialist? (Part 2: Torah and Natural Rights)
Recap In Part 1 of “Was Jesus really a Socialist?” we considered more than the fluffy and emotionally satisfying notion that socialism means sharing and caring. Some Christian leaders with…
Was Jesus Really a Socialist? (Part 1: Three Kinds of Socialists)
If you are an emotional thinker, it is easy to respond emotionally rather than logically and rationally to bumper sticker claims like, but not limited to “Jesus was a Socialist,”…
🅱️ BUMPER STICKER BINGO!
The game where clichés collide and logic dies laughing. 🃏 THE PREMISE Tired of long conversations that demand nuance, facts, or logic? Play Bumper Sticker Bingo! A New Game for…
Top ten most outrageous moments I’ve Had in Church
Two pieces of prolegomena: 1. Sorry for the length. 2. This is not just a whining session. I’m going somewhere with all of this. I think it will be worth…
“Egad! You Painted Yourself as Jesus!”
I am not an art historian, but as I understand the matter, it was not uncommon for great painters of old to put themselves into Biblical scenes as either the…
Empathy, The Christian, & Charlie Kirk (Part 3: Desire vs. Need)
The Story of Our Trilogy We began this three-part discussion looking at the manipulative presentation of Charlie Kirk’s statements about empathy. His enemies took them out of context and gave…
Empathy, The Christian & Charlie Kirk (Part 2: Useful Idiots & Emotional Thinkers)
In our last session together…1 Please, feel free to lie down on the couch, that’s why it’s there… Gooood… is that comfy? So, in our last session together, we discussed…
Empathy, The Christian, and Charlie Kirk (Part 1: Context Matters)
Oh that darnable quote from Charlie Kirk, “I can’t stand the word empathy. Actually, I think empathy is a made up new age term… that it does a lot of…
Fear, the Future, and A.I. as a Tool for Believers (A.K.A. Why and How I Use A.I. as a Believer)
I have no intention of mocking people who are concerned about the astounding power of A.I. I too grew up on movies like Colossus, Westworld, and Terminator. I’ve seen all…
A Big Easy Lazy Lie
Once “they” convince you that all the suffering in the world is caused by one easily identifiable group of people (Oppressors) with all the advantages and all the power… people…
A Monochromatic Blaze from Multispectral Anguish… Yeah, You Read that Right
Ephesians 4:26: Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger. Proverbs 15:1: A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word…
Shamefully Shaming Shame (The Importance of Shame)
Shame is bad… right?! Our whole society today cries how terrible it is. Only people who shame others should be made to feel shame. So shame must be bad, right?!!…
I Hate Father’s Day—a Tribute to Fathers
I was at a low place one Father’s Day when I’d first begun my PhD. I did not know it at the time, but I was six months down my…
Wisdom, Folly & “Blaming the Victim”
I recently saw a picture of young woman from India holding up a sign that read “Don’t ask your daughters not to go out, Ask your SONS to BEHAVE.” (sic)…
I Pity Stunningly Beautiful People
There is an Episode of 30 Rock, called “The Bubble” in which Liz (Tina Fey) begins to date a character played by John Ham, whose good looks have allowed him…
Contempt for the Fearful: A Response to “The Greatest False Idol of Modern Christianity”
I’m the last person who should criticize another person for writing an aggressive article that seeks to make a single point in exclusion to a myriad of other points that…
Mao + Stalin + Hitler + Modern Technology = X. Solve for X.
The struggle for power is as natural to human nature as love and hate. On a sociological scale it is as fundamental to the patterns of history and culture as…