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November 2011

November 09, 2011

Pilgrimage to the New MLK Memorial in D.C.

I recently had the opportunity to visit The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National...

November 08, 2011

Living the (Hardest) Questions: What If God Is Not “Fully and Unambiguously Good?”: A Process Theology Sermon

“What is the character of your God?” At a certain point of spiritual development, deconstruction (saying what...

November 05, 2011

From “A Thief in the Night” to Harold Camping (A Progressive Christian Lectionary Commentary for Nov 13, 2011)

Before there was a New Testament, before the Gospels were written, before any of Paul’s...

November 05, 2011

Streams of Contentment

(Robert J. Wicks, Streams of Contentment: Lessons I Learned on My Uncle's Farm, 2011, 214...

October 2011

October 31, 2011

How an Anti-King Parable Was Co-opted as a Kingdom of God Parable (#OccupyWallSt)

A 'Happy Halloween' Homily: A Spooky-Scary, Empire-Critical Reading of the Parable of the Wedding Feast...

October 24, 2011

#OccupyChurch: Jesus Threw out the Moneylenders for a Reason

Andy Lester was one of the most important professors I had in seminary. I took...

October 21, 2011

Response to Tony Jones’ Blog on “Picking and Choosing Your Bible Verses (or, Why To Abandon the Lectionary)”

(Note: At the end of last week, I posted a lectionary commentary for Sunday, October...

October 18, 2011

More Formation, Less Information (The Future of Seminary Education)

(This post is part of a Symposium at Patheos on The Future of Seminary Education.) After...

October 17, 2011

Jesus’ Parable of the Job Creator, the Day Laborers, and #OccupyWallSt

Jesus’ “Parable of the Generous Landowner and the Laborers in the Vineyard” could be profitably...

October 14, 2011

Brian McLaren, "Two Kinds of Religion," and #OccupyWallSt

I was reminded today of a quote from author and public theologian Brian McLaren that...

October 14, 2011

“Why Not Choose Love? Picking and Choosing Scripture as a Twenty-first Century Christian” (A Progressive Christian Lectionary Commentary for Oct 23, 2011)

Prop 8: The Musical Progressive Christians are sometimes accused of “picking and choosing” Bible verses...

October 14, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Richard Foster’s "Sanctuary of the Soul"

(Richard Foster, Sanctuary of the Soul: Journey into Meditative Prayer (InterVarsity Press, 2011), 164 pages. Richard...

October 12, 2011

Jesus, #OccupyWallSt, and the Rich Young Ruler

What would Jesus say to a Wall Street financier who declared his desire to follow...

October 07, 2011

“The Upside of Quitting”: Sunk Cost, Opportunity Cost, and the 10th Anniversary of the War in Afghanistan

Today marks ten years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. To reflect on the meaning of...

October 03, 2011

Don’t Justify Your Selfishness in Jesus’ Name (Bonus: Two Cartoons!)

Two pictures have been independently circulating on Facebook. Presented together they serve as both an...

October 02, 2011

Against "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" (Unless Churches Pay Their Taxes First!)

The New York Times reports that, This weekend, hundreds of pastors, including some of the...

September 2011

September 30, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "Will There Be Faith?" by Thomas Groome

Thomas H. Groome, Will There Be Faith? A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples (HarperOne...

September 29, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "Who Is My Enemy?: Questions American Christians Must Face about Islam–and Themselves"

Lee Camp, Who Is My Enemy? Questions American Christians Must Face about Islam -- and Themselves...

September 27, 2011

Public School Principal Proselytizes Students in SC

The ACLU reports that: A public school in South Carolina flagrantly violated the Constitution recently...

September 26, 2011

Letter to the Editor

There have been quite a few letters to the editor in response my letter a...

September 22, 2011

Atheists May Have a Point on Clergy Tax Breaks

Many news outlets have reported in recent days about a group of atheists who have...

September 20, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "Biography of Abd el-Kader"

John W. Kiser, Commander of the Faithful: The Life and Times of Emir Abd el-Kader...

September 09, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "Upside: Surprising Good News About the State of Our World"

Bradley Wright, Upside: Surprising Good News About the State of Our World (Bloomington, MN: Bethany...

September 08, 2011

Keep Government Out of Worship Planning for 9/11 or Anytime

CNN reports that, "Progressive Christians Join Controversy over Excluding Clergy at 9/11 Event." In contrast,...

September 08, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "The Betrayal of Charity"

(Matthew Levering, The Betrayal of Charity: The Sins that Sabotage Divine Love, 2011, 219 pages.) As...

September 07, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "Raised Right: How I Untangled My Faith from Politics"

(Alisa Harris, Raised Right: How I Untangled My Faith from Politics, 2011, 230 pages.) In the 2007...

August 2011

August 25, 2011

Letter to the Editor: "God Does Change"

(The following letter to the editor was published on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 in the...

August 24, 2011

“Costly Truth, Costly Forgiveness” (A Progressive Christian Lectionary Commentary on Matt 18 for Sept 4, 2011)

I. Anne Taylor’s Saint Maybe, part one Christian ethicist Stanley Hauerwas has made the important...

August 24, 2011

There Was No Historical Adam and Eve (Part 2)

(Read Part 1 of my post, "There Was No Historical Adam and Eve" here. See...

August 23, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "Is God a Christian?"

(R. Kirby Godsey, Is God a Christian? Creating a Community of Conversation, Mercer University Press, 2011,...