My Joseph Journey – The Lesson
The lesson I learned from prison involved justice, but it wasn't what I expected. [...]
Christian Living
My Joseph Journey – The Jobs and the Hustles
In prison, everyone has a job. But it's your hustle on the side that is where the "real money" gets made by the aspiring entrepreneur. [...]
Christianity and Anti-semitism
In recent years, I've come to see anti-semitism as what it is: a malignant undercurrent that occasionally manifests in horrible ways but never really goes away. [...]
My Joseph Journey – The Prison Routine
In my Joseph Journey, I learned that a prison routine was an inmate's best friend, but that's not always a good thing for believers. [...]
Defense against Offense – Scripture on Offending Others
For years, I was taught offending other people is sinful, citing verses like Romans 14:21 and 2 Corinthians 6:3. I learned Christians are supposed to be each others' morality police; if the herd says we should or shouldn't do something because they like it or don't, we should obey so we do not sin by offending their sensibilities. [...]
My Experience with Hellfire Preachers
Recently, Clara and I enjoyed a long-overdue vacation. Part of our trip included some classic tourist trappings, and we found ourselves milling about in large crosswalk [...]
Challenging Our Own Bias
Last week, a reader sent a post from a Dallas-area mom and author who had a shift in perspective about her daughter wearing bikinis. You should go read it. Seriously, [...]
My Joseph Journey – The Isolation
Was it lonely in prison? You're never alone, but being alone is not a prerequisite for being lonely. Thankfully God was with me. [...]
Misogyny and Malarkey – Silence
“When you put on your Christian garb, you become an heir, on the same level as all the other heirs. Men and women are equal as children of God.” This is basically [...]
To Drink or Not to Drink
We’ve covered all sorts of topics here, from the general site motif of sexuality to the entertainment value of foam weaponry. Christian life is far from boring, and [...]
The Bible on Cursing
Well, finding broad commands to not curse was surprisingly more difficult than finding the same for not swearing. Whereas swearing was forbidden directly and clearly, cursing seemed to be handled more circumspectly. [...]
Evangelical Malaise – When Christian Culture Doesn’t Sit Right
When I truly dug into the Bible and the life of Jesus for myself, what I found often didn't align with what I'd been taught by Evangelical culture. [...]
Gifts of Gratitude – What Thanksgiving Really Means
We've turned the giving of thanks into a courtesy. We rarely give thanks anymore. We say "thank you" as readily as we say "please". But this isn't giving thanks; it's just saying thanks. [...]
Truth in Love at a Candlelight Service
Like so many believers around the world, we have an annual Christmas tradition of attending a candlelight service. You know the scene: singing lots of Christmas music, [...]
My Joseph Journey – Introduction
A Christian in Prison It’s a new year, so let’s start things out with a bang. I’m a felon. Yeah, that’s right. I committed a crime. And got caught. I [...]
My Joseph Journey – The Prison Staff
I use the term prison staff to keep the label deliberately ambiguous. Most outsiders would simply call them “guards” collectively. Most insiders call them [...]
Building a Nation of Compromise
I’m talking about politics as much as religion in this series. At least on the surface. Feel free to move along to something more innocuous (like dwarf bunnies) if you [...]
Confronting Boundaries — Part 1
I recently wrote about my recognition that some boundaries aren’t as universally absolute as some Christians believe. Murder is wrong across the board, but can the same [...]
Pierced for Our Fashions
Apart from keeping all those small kiosks in malls busy, are there serious consequences to wearing such jewelry? Don't some people say the Bible says we're not supposed to pierce our bodies? [...]
The Prevarication of Privacy – Part 2
"Privacy" is highly valued, but is it highly valuable? We've seen how the family unit breaks down under all the efforts to keep a personal sense of privacy, even in that relational context. This was not always the way. In most of the past, marriage, childbearing, and the broader social dynamic were far more intimate. They lived life together. [...]