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August 2019

August 04, 2019

The National Cathedral Speaks Truth to Donald Trump

“Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented.” “I’m Not That Kind of Christian.” “The Christian Left.” These...

August 01, 2019

Facing the Greatest Fear of All

Have you never felt like one of those pawns forgotten in a corner of the...

July 2019

July 16, 2019

The Bible is Not the Word of God. Unless . . .

Frequently, my conservative commenters suggest I will be immediately straightened out if I just “read...

April 2019

April 24, 2019

Getting Jesus Out of the Tomb (and keeping him out)

During his Easter Sunday homily, my friend Mitch—the rector of the Episcopal church I attend—told...

April 06, 2019

I am a Liberal Because I am a Christian

Over the past several years, I have found myself in frequent conversations with conservative Christians,...

March 2019

March 17, 2019

Why I Am Done Trying to Prove the Existence of God

If you think you understand it, it is not God. Soren Kierkegaard In Marilynne Robinson’s...

March 05, 2019

Partnering with God (even when one isn’t sure who or what God is)

A Jewish friend of mine told me a number of years ago that Judaism is...

February 2019

February 17, 2019

An Excuse Not To Think

I recently read the following observations: They weren’t such bad fellows. He had mixed with...

February 10, 2019

What Can We Do Now That There Is No God?

Several weeks into the new year, I am for the first time getting to teach...

January 2019

January 20, 2019

I am Deeply Offended that Mike Pence is Deeply Offended

There are so many things that Vice President Mike Pence could be deeply offended by....

November 2018

November 27, 2018

This is Why I am Not an Atheist

Despite my consistent self-description as a “person of faith,” I have been accused occasionally over...

November 25, 2018

Does Christianity Solve the Problem of Evil? (spoiler alert: no, it doesn’t)

In the six-plus years that I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve occasionally been asked what...

November 02, 2018

Spreading the Good News of Atheism

Last week, my blog post about what atheists and persons of faith can agree on...

October 2018

October 18, 2018

Does a Christian Have to be Certain About Anything?

If we remembered that water takes its color from the vessel containing it, we would...

October 14, 2018

What People of Faith and Atheists Can Agree On

About half way through the 1989 film “Field of Dreams,” Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin...

September 2018

September 23, 2018

When an Atheist Finds Out That There is More Than One Kind of Christian

One of the many things that make teaching a rewarding vocation is receiving unsolicited testimonials...

August 2018

August 05, 2018

Faith Without Creed

One Sunday, not too many months ago, I decided to pay close attention to the...

July 2018

July 22, 2018

Don’t Be Afraid

I had the opportunity to spend two hours with a young man named Hayden Bruce...

July 15, 2018

What If God and Morality Have Nothing to Do with Each Other?

Is there any true transcendence, or is this idea always a consoling dream projected by...

July 10, 2018

God’s Works Are as Good as We Make Them

God would have us know that we must live as people who manage our lives...

July 08, 2018

God is Just a Story (and so are we)

Although the name of this blog is “Freelance Christianity,” and it is published on Patheos’...

July 01, 2018

Prayer for People Who Don’t Believe in God

Last week I contracted with a publisher to write a book on prayer--the working title...

June 2018

June 12, 2018

The God of History is an Atheist

Atheism is a purification Simone Weil Former President Obama loved to quote a hopeful statement from...

May 2018

May 03, 2018

One Nation, Under God?

I was invited earlier this week by an online publication that I write for occasionally...

April 2018

April 22, 2018

How Do I Get There?–A Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday

Tomorrow is "Good Shepherd Sunday," including the 23rd Psalm--a text so familiar that it is...

April 17, 2018

The Best Story Ever

In the aftermath of Easter, Christians often enjoy retelling various stories about Jesus from the...

April 12, 2018

Just the Facts

I drove past a billboard not long ago that raised my blood pressure a bit....

April 05, 2018

Jesus and Karl Marx walk into a bar . . .

We should read the New Testament as saying that how we treat each other on...

April 03, 2018

God and Darwin walk into a bar . . .

A Benedictine monk once told me that Darwin has taught us more about God than...

March 2018

March 22, 2018

Morality By The Skin Of Your Teeth

Any caring human being asks the question What is the right thing to do? on...

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