If religious patriarchy was true, the angel of the Lord would have spoken first to Manoah about the miraculous conception of Samson. Instead, he spoke to Manoah’s wife—a woman—alone (Judges 13:2-24). If religious patriarchy was true, the angel Gabriel would have...
All four gospels witness to Mary Magdalene as the premier witness to the resurrection - alone or in a group, but in all cases named by name. . . All four gospels insist that when the other disciples are fleeing, Mary Magdalene stands firm. She does not run, she does...
Making a list of which sinners are welcome in the church and which sinners are not goes against the teaching of the Gospel.
When our story is told a century from now--and it will be--how much of the American church ran after idols and delusions, false christs and conspiracies, history will not only fault the pastors for not confronting us with the truth, but the congregations who forbade...
I'm not all that interested in future church trends or new growth techniques. For 2000 years, the most relevant church has always been the one gathering around a table, caring for the neighborhood, following the words and ways of Jesus.
It's a dangerous thing, though, to confuse the church with God. The church is not and never has been divine, even in the moments where it has been a channel for healing and hope and change. But while I stand by those words, the truth is that I have never been able to...
Think of a single mother who goes to the Church or the Parish, and tells the secretary: I WANT TO BAPTIZE MY SON." And the attendant says: No, you can't, because you're not married.. Let's keep in mind that this mother had the courage to continue with a pregnancy, and...
Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself as well as from others than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian...
If the church is not political, it's irrelevant to the world that God so loves. But if the church is partisan, it becomes a tool of the empire.
How can we be the church of Jesus unless we reflect the ministry of Jesus? Is the church a radical incarnation of the ministry of Jesus or a private social club? from Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion