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 [...]
culture
Confronting Boundaries — Part 2
I take a systematic, methodical approach when confronting boundaries (or assessing any potential truth) because it produces reliable results. I've adapted John Wesley's quadrilateral to this task, since my personal boundaries are essentially doctrine or truth applied to me personally. [...]
Mandatory Homeschooling
In cases like ours where our kids attend public school, there is one class offered at their school that we'd better make sure we teach at home first: sex ed. [...]
Rearing Familiarity
Last week, I posted about my prior soul (and Bible and lots of other) searching about strategically raising children who don’t enter adulthood weighed down by body [...]
Scripture on Masturbation
The dreaded “m” word. There are so many colloquial labels for the act. My personal favorite is used at my church’s men’s groups: “Taking matters [...]
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 [...]
Healthy Truth #10 – Popular Culture
Truth #10 – Popular culture is a fickle bitch. I apologize if my word choice offends you, but frankly the subject matter offends me. I don’t generally use such [...]
You Go Girl – The Sexually Confident Wife in the Song
One of the most interesting facets of the Song of Songs runs deeper than its rampant sexuality, stretches further than its rich symbolism, and reaches higher than a man [...]
Swinger Free Hot Tubs
I’m annoyed. When I told my wife I wanted a hot tub, she flinched a little. Hot tubs do, after all, hold a certain reputation. I’m not annoyed my wife immediately [...]
The Novelty of Nudity
When I became a parent, I determined I would not raise children who would be ashamed of their bodies. Modesty, privacy, and self-respect were qualities I wanted to pass on to [...]
The Truth about Santa
I don't condemn any parent for doing the Santa thing. But here's why I won't. [...]
Healthy Truth #9 – Investment Strategies
Truth #9 – Fitness is a long-term investment. In Habakkuk 3:19a-c (NIV), the prophet said: The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes me feel like the feet of a deer, he [...]
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. [...]
Evolution of the Kimono
I find a great deal of fascination in the traditional attire of cultures from around the world. The huge variety in designs, materials, patterns, and stylistic touches are [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
On Christian Modesty in Dress
Are Christians supposed to dress modestly? And what does that even mean? Can my wife wear a plunging neckline or a miniskirt for me to enjoy on a date night? What is [...]
A Difference between Difference and Sin
For centuries, strategic missions organizations in Europe sent workers by ship or caravan to the most remote reaches of trade routes and beyond. The wild interior of Africa, [...]
“Drink Your Fill.” – Christian Sex Shouldn’t Be Boring
Sex is fun. Good sex is really fun. I don’t think these truths would come as a surprise to people with healthy sex lives. Between hormonal chemistry and nervous [...]
Beautiful Bacon
I'm so thankful for the freedom to eat bacon that comes with this Christianity thing. I won't say that it was the deciding factor when choosing between the big three monotheistic religions, but it certainly didn't hurt the case. [...]