I have no idea why the book By All Means Available was even on my Kindle. I didn’t know the author or the title, which didn’t attract me. The only aspect that might have interested me was that the author was in the special forces. As a former Marine, I still seem to be intrigued … Read more
Thursday was probably a good day for Jesus until late in the evening. He celebrated Passover dinner with his twelve best friends, and then they went out to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. Good turned to bad when his “friend” Judas, the betrayer, arrived with soldiers, who arrested Jesus on the grounds of sedition … Read more
The church is full of A-theists. The problem is most of them won’t admit it. Let’s start with some definitions. Theist: a person who believes in the existence of a god or gods, specifically of a creator who intervenes in the universe. Atheist: a person who disbelieves in gods. A-theist*: a person who is against … Read more
He is a narcissist, pathological liar, misogynist, racist, cheater (on his wives, taxes, business associates, and employees for starters), vengeful and crude person, opportunist, wannabe dictator, conspiracist, insurrectionist (he even led one against his own country), and phony with ninety-one felony counts. Oh yes, he was the forty-fifth president of the United States and the … Read more
When I was a child, Ash Wednesday was a big deal. It was always preceded by the church’s annual Shrove (meaning “indulge”) Tuesday Pancake Supper. In New Orleans, it’s called Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras with parades and lots of loose lascivious living. Ash Wednesday (February 14, 2024) starts the Lenten season, a penitential time … Read more
Almost on a daily basis I hear someone spout some churchy saying that makes me ask, “What does that even mean?” For example, some folks end a conversation with “Have a blessed day!” or “Have a bless’d day!” What does that mean? Is it better than “Have a good day”? Are they invoking their god … Read more
On December 11, 2023, Annie and I went to the Kennedy Space Center to begin an unforgettable day of exploring space and theology. My deep thinking about my church’s theology and space began in 1958 the day after a very serious accident in which my best friend was killed and I was badly injured. The … Read more
A couple months ago, I ran across a study—not scientific but still revealing—about retired clergy from mainline Christian ministries. There were three groupings: Those who affirm traditional theology and stay within the church. I was surprised that only 19 percent of retired clergy do this. Those who don’t affirm a traditional theology but participate in … Read more
Impress your family and friends with this Christmas quiz. How many stories are there about the birth of Jesus? Some folks will say there are two stories of Jesus’s birth—Matthew and Luke—but there are actually three: the third (not in the New Testament) combines the first two and then adds new details (see below) not … Read more
The State of California is seriously considering giving monetary reparations to Black people who are able to prove that their relatives were slaves. Good luck with that! Reparations make sense to me only if they are used to confront the basic issue of racism. From my viewpoint, slavery is alive and well in the United … Read more