Integral Faith – A Foundation of Sand
Years ago, I was fiery evangelical. Today, I'm very much not. Did I backslide? Or did I mature? I've been wrestling with this question a lot lately. [...]
Christian Living
The Bible on Unwholesome Talk
There's a third way explicit language comes under attack, empowered by Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth..." [...]
It’s What You Make of It – Christmas
Last time I complained about the hypocrisy of Christians rabidly condemning Halloween for its pagan origins while happily celebrating Easter despite its arguably pagan [...]
It’s What You Make of It – Easter
Some Christians even claim that 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 refers to an early Easter celebration, but serious scholars dismiss that out of hand. Still, the celebration of Easter is quite old. [...]
Misogyny and Malarkey – Creation
The common tradition often holds the Creation story in Genesis as a historical, scriptural precedent for the built-in superiority of man over woman. That's misogyny and malarkey. Typically, Genesis 3:16 is the go-to verse for substantiation of this idea that men were created superior. [...]
Misogyny and Malarkey – The Head
Paul's teachings found in Ephesians 5 have long been used to communicate that wives (and therefore women) are positionally beneath their husbands (and therefore men), as God has placed man as the "head of the household". [...]
Facing Hard Questions – Making Sure I Truly Believe What I Believe
In my youth, I took the teachings of church culture as gospel, even if they didn't sit right. Now, I openly face the hard questions that challenge my faith. [...]
The Prevarication of Privacy – Part 1
Something inside knows we're being deceived. In this fast-paced world of email, smartphones, and even WebMD, we can accomplish most of our needs without ever seeing another human face. And our spirits grieve something lost. [...]
The Bible on Swearing
I thought the idea strange —one series of sounds from someone's mouth forms an unacceptable word while another series of sounds makes an acceptable word. Sounds are sounds, right? But like a "good" Christian noob, I obeyed first and asked questions later. [...]
It’s What You Make of It – Halloween
In both Easter and Christmas, we’ve seen Christians attempt to redeem the festivals and holy days of pagan religions by freeing the harmless customs from the ungodly [...]
Christian Jewishness
Many months ago, I asked Freya to consider sharing some insights from her family’s heritage, expecting a fascinating look into a culture that has so much to do with our [...]
Preach Hell like Jesus: Parables and other Teachings
Did Jesus participate in hellfire preaching on the street corner? Let's take a look at what He said, where He said it, and to whom He said it. [...]
Preach Hell Like Jesus: Hadēs
How (not what) did Jesus teach on hell? Today we look at Hades in Jesus' teachings to see if his example supports hellfire preaching. [...]