As I read Boyd's long book Crucifixion of the Warrior God, I am reminded of a common debate and inconsistency in Christian circles. Some Christians will argue for a literal interpretation of every passage of scripture. They argue for this when it comes to social issues like gay marriage and anyone who questions them is…
Continue reading ➞ Why Do We Resist Jesus’ Teaching?(Crucifixion of the Warrior God ch.3)
We all have notions of what God is like. These ideas and images are built from all sorts of sources - stories, pop culture, holy scriptures, teachers, friends. I imagine even atheists have some picture in their minds of what the God they do not believe in is like. In many cases, it is just…
Continue reading ➞ What God is Like (Crucifixion of the Warrior God chs. 1-2)
I've been continuing to see stories about, and to have discussions about, President Obama's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. It certainly hit a nerve with a lot of people. I shared a few thoughts last week. A good friend helped me see why more people were offended, something I missed before. Plus, even as…
Continue reading ➞ Thoughts on How We Talk About Religion, Specifically Christianity and Islam
For me, as for many Christians in America, it has often been difficult to separate our commitments to Jesus and our patriotism as Americans. I remember singing songs to the greatness of America at church around national holidays. More recently, I remember being at a Christian conference that recognized a national holiday with a powerpoint…
Continue reading ➞ A Farewell to Mars by Brian Zahnd (Review)
Should a Christian ever use violence? It is a question that will not fail to draw a passionate response from people. For many Christians there is no doubt about it, of course there are times when violence is justified. To suggest otherwise is to risk being called a "wishy-washy liberal" or something even worse. Yet…
I wrote this post last week, prior to yesterday's shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. Such violence tears my heart and my prayers are with the families of all the victims of this tragedy, and the other all-to-common tragedies in our world. Before you read this post, check out Nicholas Kristof's great article: Safe…
Continue reading ➞ Guns: Inconsistent Logic and False Dichotomies
In a recent post I drew a connection between the prevalence of pornography and the abuse of women in sex trafficking. Near the end, certainly influenced by all the talk of the massacre at Aurora, I threw in a comment that if we can draw a connection from guns to violence why can't we draw…
Stories like this one are the reason I am not a pacifist: Was This Teen Mom Wrong to Kill Intruder? A young Oklahoma mother shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year's Eve, less than a week after the baby's father died of cancer. Sarah McKinley says that a week…
David Hershey 