I grew up in churches that did not follow the liturgical calendar or the Christian year. Our church year, such as it was, had only two noteworthy celebrations- Christmas and Easter. Christmas was celebrated as a single day, and Easter was marked by Good Friday and Easter Sunday, with both a sunrise service and …
Category: Theological reflections
Woe to those who tear gas the children
When I was in the Marines I was subjected to CS gas multiple times during training. CS gas is a kind of tear gas used for controlling riots or for terrorizing tired asylum seekers including women and children. The first time was when I was in boot camp in California. The "gas chamber" was one …
Chaos: A perspective on poverty
Recently, I went into my little kitchen to get my two cats, Solomon and Luna, a little treat. Luna had been lounging on one of the two cat towers that are stationed near windows in the downstairs floor of my home. This seemingly innocuous action, of me opening a cabinet door, set off a …
“I’m still here.” – A veteran’s story.
This morning I had therapy at the local V.A. clinic. When I went in to my appointment I had thought that this would be a fairly routine session. My plan was to ask my therapist some questions related to the book I am currently working on, which is entitled Traumatic Episodes: Finding grace in a life …
Veteran’s Day: A theological view
In my book Go Golden, I write about war and peace, because warfare is the polar opposite of enacting the golden rule. Yet, here in the U.S. (and in other powerful nations) the military is constantly front and center in society. One way in which militarism is perpetuated is the near deification of the military …
There’s something happening here…
Around three years ago, I attended church for the first time in a many years. Prior to that I had rejected the fundamentalism of my youth and as a result ended up spiritually adrift for a long time. When I left the church in 2003, for more details see my forthcoming book from Wipf …
Law and order on the border?
Theological reflection on the caravan of asylum seekers.
Oppression in Jesus’ name
One of the things that gets me riled up is the conflation of things done in the name of a religion by fundamentalists with the actual teachings of said religion. Case in point, America in 2018 is being enthralled, in the most negative sense of that word, by fundamentalist "Christians" who are gleefully celebrating every …
Who am I to judge?
Love, grace, compassion
America first?
We are in the midst of yet another dark chapter in American history, which is replete with various crimes against humanity including genocide, murder, chattel slavery, warfare for profit, and being the only nation to ever drop nuclear weapons on another country-- the second bomb being a weapons test and not strategically "necessary". …
The Tattooed Theologian 