There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature.
03547 – Every Single Time…
Every single time I die to something - my notions of my own specialness, my plans and desires for something to be a very particular way - every single time I fight it and yet every single time I discover more life and more freedom than if I had gotten what I wanted....
02958 – Jesus: The Kind of Friend we Need
The great heresy in American popular religion is the notion that “religion is a private affair,” a secret contract between the believer and God. This individualistic heresy makes Jesus into a close, personal friend who listens, comforts, sustains, confirms, agrees,...
02850 – God, Always Better…
I remain stubbornly committed to this notion: God will always be better than our ideas of God.
02596 – Self-Denial in the New Testament
The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so...
02215 – Science & Spirituality
The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.
02085 – How Do You Understand God?
If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you...
01959 – Myth of “the Chosen Nation”
It is clear that the myth of the Chosen Nation has been a powerful theme in American life. It is also clear that this myth can serve good and constructive purposes, especially when yoked to the notion of national covenant, for "covenant" implies responsibilities to...
01672 – Superficial Religious Identity
Not only Christians but all Americans subscribe to the notion that "all people are created equal." But how many feel the monstrosity of inequality? I'm thinking not only of racial inequality, but also of today's excess of wealth and poverty, the absence of affordable...
00035 – Reading the Bible
It may sound easy to “allow the Spirit to guide us” while reading the Bible…but in a culture of consumerized Christianity it is also easy to stumble over preconceived notions about the Bible cluttering the path. Chief among such market-driven notions is that the Bible...