On Sunday this week my friend and former seminary colleague Liz Fulmer preached a sermon about Esther, Haman, and Mordecai from the book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. At a key point in both the story in Esther and in the pastor's sermon, there came the phrase, "for just such a time as this." …
Tag: religion
Let’s talk about the N.A.R.
Last week I was able to attend an online webinar hosted by Political Research Associates (PRA) that was related to the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement and Christian reconstructionism. The panel was led by leading scholars of right-wing, authoritarian Christian movements in the U.S. and added to the information I have previously learned as I …
Dear Elon Musk
You've been in the news again lately, so much so that it's somewhat difficult to keep up with all you're saying and doing. Recently though you made some interesting statements about Christianity, and as I am a theologian who engages in theological critiques of modern American politics and those in power, I feel like it's …
A grand view of what church should be
Yesterday I went to a church that I had never been to before. I often need to be intentional about stepping out of my comfort zone because I have PTSD and that can lead to a lot of self isolation and metaphorically sleepwalking through my days. Thus it was yesterday when I woke up with …
Josh Hawley wears no clothes
When I was in sixth grade my elementary class in Blue Ridge, Texas put on a production of The Emperor Has No Clothes. As I was the newest student in the class, having moved from Kansas City, MO to north Texas, I volunteered to perform in the play and was given a role as one …
The God Squad Pod is here
As a result of all of the positive feedback from the God Squad panel on Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang on SiriusXM Progress, and the encouragement from John and his producer Chris Hauselt, the God Squad has created and now released into the wild, the God Squad Pod. In our first episode, in honor …
Why the Ten Commandments?
Louisiana, a state ranking near the bottom in multiple categories including education, has drafted legislation that mandates that the Ten Commandments be prominently displayed in every public school and state funded college or university classroom. It was signed into law by Republican governor Jeff Landry last week. Given Louisiana's woeful rankings for education, economy, public …
So what.
It's Pride month and that means that the conservative Christians are up in arms once again because the LGBTQ+ community has the temerity to not only exist, but to also say that they deserve the same rights, liberties, and protection from discrimination as everyone else. Some fundamentalist type Christians are bearing false witness by claiming …
“You’re not a theologian…”
Something that happens a lot on social media is that someone will respond to something I have posted with a variant of "You're not a theologian!" Generally this is because I have made a theological claim that contradicts a conservative Christians theological assumptions and beliefs, such as "being LGBTQIA is neither a sin nor a …
Let’s talk about cherry picking the Bible
As a progressive theologian I get accused rather often of cherry picking the Bible. The people who level this accusation at me typically do so because I am so vocal about social justice and in my support for the LGBTQIA community. These conservative Christians claim that because I say that being LGBTQIA is neither a …
The Tattooed Theologian 