Christians are often broadly painted with the same brush by people as a large homogeneous group. When I was immersed in the fundamentalist's worldview, the term Christians meant the people who believed as I did that the Bible is inerrant, penal substitution was the heart of the gospel, and all nonbelievers were going to suffer …
Category: Theological reflections
Perverse obscenity
In recent weeks two men with obscene levels of wealth stroked their overly developed egos as they became the first private citizens to fund a trip to "space." It seemingly did not matter to Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos that what they were doing was an utterly pointless vanity project, or that NASA has been …
Lent in the time of Covid
Lent is here again, and Covid-19 remains the reality in our lives. Usually during Lent, we think about what we are giving up as our fast during this season leading to Easter, and often it is something like meat, wine, chocolate, or sex that people choose to eschew. Perhaps this year is different due to …
From repudiation to reconciliation
The voters in the United States have spoken and Donald Trump has mercifully been made a lame-duck president. He will go down in history as a complete failure as president, by virtue of only winning one term in office and being rightfully impeached during that term. By his own standard, he claimed that winning 306 …
The Earth needs a Sabbath
Biblical scripture speaks to the beauty of our home planet, the need to take care of it, and I believe command to reverence it as well. The Orthodox Church in America notes that reverence is hard to define, saying that it can be seen in attitudes of wonder, awe, submission or respect, along with veneration, …
This isn’t about me.
I have a favorite spot that I like to go to decompress here in Lancaster, PA where I live called The Fridge. It's a local craft beer and pizza restaurant that has long been my go to place to relax, enjoy some great food, and an amazing selection of craft beers. The staff know me …
What I hear…
Earlier this week, I had an interaction with a former seminary colleague and friend who had been posting some pro-Trump links on her social media page. I simply asked her point blank if she is now a Trump supporter to which she replied, "I now see the Republican platform as the lesser of two evils. …
It’s the heretic of the week
Recently, I was invited to be the 'Heretic of the Week' on the delightful Heretic Happy Hour podcast as part of their series on the Sermon on the Mount. It was a perfect way to introduce people to the concept of permaculture being a way to live out the golden rule and inform our day-to-day …
On Trump’s pandering and using God as a prop
During a recent trip to Ohio, the current occupant of the White House said that if Joe Biden were elected that Biden would, " "Take away your guns, destroy your Second Amendment. No religion, no anything, hurt the Bible, hurt God. "He's against God, he's against guns, he's against energy, our kind of energy."(1) From …
Continue reading On Trump’s pandering and using God as a prop
Dear white people, part two
The following incident just happened less than thirty minutes ago. I walked down to the Country Garden Six-Pack to get some beer. While in line, a couple who were not wearing masks cut the line and started to crowd me at the register. I turned and stuck my arm out to create space and …
The Tattooed Theologian 