A surprisingly large number of Christians in the US will refuse to call you Christian if you actually follow the teachings and example of Jesus.
03235 – The Heart of Our Faith
At the heart of our faith stand not a preoccupation with our own welfare and comfort but the concepts of service and of sacrifice as shown in the life and teachings of the one who made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant.
02645 – Old Testament Justice Teachings: Relevant?
Christians have learned not to see the relevance of the justice teachings of the Old Testament. Despite hundreds of references to justice and to the God of justice in the Old Testament, justice is not customarily an important part of our theology, ethics, or...
02494 – The Cruelty of the “Righteous”
There is no deeper pathos in the spiritual life of man than the cruelty of the "righteous" people. If any one idea dominates the teachings of Jesus, it is his opposition to the self-righteousness of the "righteous."-----------------------------Gender-inclusive...
02482 – During Great Revolutionaries’ Lifetimes…
During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes have visited relentless persecution on them and received their teaching with the most savage hostility, the most furious hatred, the most ruthless campaign of lies and slander. After their death,...
02383 – Being Christian
Being a Christian is not essentially about joining a church or being a nice person, but about following in the footsteps of Jesus, taking his teachings seriously, letting his Spirit take the lead in our lives, and in so doing helping to change the world from our...
02374 – Anything…Teaching You…
Anything that annoys you is teaching you patience.Anyone who abandons you is teaching you how to stand up on your own two feet.Anything that angers you is teaching you forgiveness and compassion.Anything that has power over you is teaching you how to take your power...
02194 – Our Present Shapes Our Future
What you do in the present--by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself--will last into God's future. from Surprised by...
02139 – Observing the End of the Sentence
We tell our people that evangelism is the only practical application of the gospel. “Go ye into all the world and make disciples” is our favorite passage. We leave off the end of the sentence “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” We love...
01889 – How Should We Live in an Atomic Age?
[Written in 1948] How are we to live in an atomic age?’ I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land...