God Hates Divorce, But Should We?
Living, as Americans, in a culture of divorce makes any dialogue on divorce and the Christian difficult. Indeed, any teaching set forward on divorce and remarriage will no longer be…
Parts is Parts: Compartmentalization & Holistic Christianity
“You are attempting the impossible,” the Dean said to me in 1992. “You can’t get a PhD, be a husband, father, and employee. If you manage to get the degree,…
And Justice for All: The Theological Thrust of Psalm 82
I’ve been asked to preach Psalm 82 in a couple weeks. I was a bit wary at first. The text is rife with scholarly controversy and I was uncertain that…
Confessions of an “Angry” Man
I like to think of myself as a nice guy. I think most people who know me would say that I am gregarious, helpful, flexible, self-sacrificing… I go out of…
Lessons in Blogging: Opinionated People Hate Opinionated People
There is a Facebook poster going around that says something akin to “How to start an argument on Facebook. Step #1: Express an opinion. Step #2: Wait.” Civility in social…
A Little Hate Goes a Long Way
It seems to me that hate sells. That often unidentified mass of souls known as the media love hate. They should write a book, Haters Who Love to Hate Hate.…
Impossible Conversations about Race & Victimhood
The problem with most race conversations is that, at the core, the message is wrong. It’s the same wrong message that we preach as a society to everyone who feels…
Lessons in Blogging: Many People Read Things Emotionally Not Reasonably
Nothing surprises me more than when I make a basic true statement and end up with a meltdown, accusation, or insult. If the word modesty shows up in any conversation…
Rubber Ball Follies: A Lesson in Discernment
The painful lessons of life make the deepest impact on our delicate, and yet ever so dull, minds when we are children. Indeed, I’ve come to refer to pain as…
One of the Most Annoying People I Ever Met Became My Friend
I just saw one of those Facebook posters that read, “Repost this if you know someone who is still alive because you can’t afford a hitman.” It reminded me of…
Shock, Scandal & The Gospel of Barnabas
A recent article being passed around Facebook, headlines, “1500 Year Old Bible Claims Jesus Christ Was Not Crucified – Vatican In Awe,” The subtext reads, “Much to the dismay of…
My Life with Love Languages: a Meditation on “I Didn’t Love My Wife When We Got Married.”
Here I go again, sticking my big nose into someone else’s blog post. I feel a little like a techno-savvy Gladys Kravitz. (For any Millennials who might be reading this,…
Negative Rights are Positive & Positive Rights are Negative
I had a discussion with a 19 year old the other day about the LGBT agenda, which, while not shared by all LGBT people, is being championed by progressive politicians.…
Confronting Your Own Pain This Mother’s Day
If you are determined not to subject yourself to all those insensitive jerks at church this Mother’s day, who show no regard for your loss, infertility, pre-mother status, or some…
Please, Stop Saying All Sin Is Sin: The Death of Wisdom in the Death of Christ?
It is often the case that in a misguided attempt to combat one thing, human beings inadvertently destroy something else… or cause the very thing they seek to avert. It’s…
Joseph, Jessica & Redeeming Love: A response to “A meditation on ‘My Wife has Tattoos: Marriage, New Birth and the Gospel.'”
I wanted to share a letter I received from a woman named, Jessica. She wrote to honor her kind and forgiving husband, who has been so instrumental in her own…
Mother’s Day Massacre: A Response to “An Open Letter to Pastors (A Non-Mom Speaks about Mother’s Day)
Last year, a dear friend shared a link to an article called “An Open Letter to Pastors (A Non-Mom Speaks about Mother’s Day).” Its main goal is to wrap Pastors’…
Responses to “A Meditation on “My Wife Has Tattoos: Marriage, New Birth and The Gospel.”
In my recent post, “A Meditation on “My Wife Has Tattoos: Marriage, New Birth and The Gospel,” I sought to counter what I perceived a certain naivetĂ©. As the father…
A Meditation on “My Wife has Tattoos: Marriage, New Birth and the Gospel.”
This is a sensitive post for me today. I want to respond to another Christian blogger’s post. Unfortunately, by doing so, I set myself up to look bad, to look…
My Ethics of Ethics
It is a complex world with complex problems. The desire for sure answers and ethical certainty in my own religious community has not, however, historically, driven them to examine issues,…