Both houses of Congress recently passed the Respect for Marriage Act, with many Republicans joining with Democrats to pass the bill that will protect the right of same-sex couples to marry. Prior to it being voted on in the House of Representatives, conservative Republican congresswoman Vicky Hartzler gave an impassioned speech on the House floor …
Tag: Christian
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, …
Podluck Podcast with Megan Westra
I recently recorded an episode of the Podlcuk Podcast with host Megan Westra. She graciously allowed me to get on a roll and once the train was moving, it was hard to stop. Click the link below to give it a listen. Going Golden with Dillon Naber Cruz
Help Wanted: No penis required
There is a prevalent idea among many Christians, spurious though it is, that women cannot serve in church leadership as ministers, or to teach men in any capacity such as in a seminary class. To do so these folks claim is to ignore Biblical authority. In their view, the world is a sinful place filled …
Bible 101: What the Bible isn’t. Part One
In an earlier post, I wrote about what the Bible actually is because many people are truly confused about the Bible. They think that it is a single coherent narrative with a consistent theological view point despite the fact that it is really a disparate collection of writings that show a great variety of views. …
Strike!
Today all around the world people are striking for climate change because government's have been responding at a sloth like pace. A movement that began in large measure because of the persistence of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who has become the face of the movement, has grown exponentially. I wholeheartedly thank her for standing in …
Incremental changes
In permaculture design, one of the principles is to make the least change for the greatest effect. One of the reasons to do this is to ensure that one doesn't overdo something--like I did while trimming my beard the other day which left me with some designer stubble rather than a full beard...Another reason, in …
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.
The Tattooed Theologian 