Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Joel J. Miller

About
Resources
Joel's Books
Article Categories
- Spiritual Growth
- Theology
- Prayer
- Church Life
- Family Life
- Society
- Books
- Misc

Home
Evangelical

2013-05-14T20:27:42-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Divorcing Jesus from religion

Last updated on: May 14, 2013 at 8:27 pm By Joel J. Miller

Like all divorces this one is going to be messy. You’re the judge, so try sorting this out: The complainant files papers saying she’s trapped in a loveless marriage. There’s neglect and even some abuse. The complainant wants full custody of the kid and certain rights and privileges to the house and the bank accounts — none of which would exist if the plaintiff hadn’t built them in the first place. This is roughly where we sit as people try... Read more

Why Christians need the church

2012-12-05T16:13:57-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The consolation of the cross

Last updated on: December 5, 2012 at 4:13 pm By Joel J. Miller

Orthodox Christians this week mark the Sunday of the Holy Cross. At the midpoint of Lent, the church makes a special point of placing the cross before us to console and embolden believers en route to Pascha, or Easter. Through its veneration and contemplation we gain strength for the journey, its upthrust beam like a staff of support. And yet, the cross is a tool of death. Why turn our minds and hearts toward such a dread instrument? C. S.... Read more

Sunday of the Holy Cross

the cross

2013-05-14T20:26:45-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why Christians need the church

Last updated on: May 14, 2013 at 8:26 pm By Joel J. Miller

There’s an old story about several blind men who try describing an elephant after touching various parts of it. Because the elephant is quite large, each man can only touch a limited portion. So the man touching the leg says the elephant is like a tree, while the one touching the tail says it’s like a snake, and so on, each man coming to a different, incomplete conclusion about the beast. That story comes to mind as I reflect on... Read more

2013-03-25T15:21:42-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Hippies, monks, and Lent

Last updated on: March 25, 2013 at 3:21 pm By Joel J. Miller

Here we are in the middle of Lent and I’m stuck on hippies. I’ve always been fascinated by the 1960s. These were wild and momentous years, populated by colorful and absurd characters whose impact far outstripped their usefulness. But drop the whole psychedelic mess into the period of the Great Fast and a compelling comparison of cultures emerges, one that might change how we see ourselves. (more…) Read more

2013-03-03T14:12:16-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The changeless love of God

Last updated on: March 3, 2013 at 2:12 pm By Joel J. Miller

Our experience of God often changes, doesn’t it? Sometimes he seems angry, other times loving; sometimes comforting, other times convicting; sometimes close, other times aloof. It varies, which is tricky because Scripture tells us that God doesn’t change. So maybe — if you’ll forgive me for speaking for the entire human race — the problem is us. Scripture frequently associates God with fire. He appears in the flames of a burning-yet-unburned bush. He leads by a blazing pillar. Flame streams... Read more

2012-03-06T23:51:52-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We’ll take anything but the truth

Last updated on: March 6, 2012 at 11:51 pm By Joel J. Miller

Whether you’re talking politics, health, business, entertainment, or religion, it’s funny that a culture as skeptical as ours can be so fundamentally gullible. We can fall for nearly anything — anything but the truth. “In a materialist age like ours,” writes Malcolm Muggeridge, “nothing is real except what is false. (more…) Read more

2012-03-05T00:05:56-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Fighting Downton Abbey passions

Last updated on: March 5, 2012 at 12:05 am By Joel J. Miller

At the dawn of the surprise-hit series Downton Abbey Mary Crawley has a momentary and tragic fling with a guest staying at her family’s estate. Opportunity presents in the form of the dashing Turkish envoy, Kemal Pamuk. Lust prevails, and her moral failure and the threat of its scandalous exposure form a good bit of the dramatic pulse that drives the story forward (more…) Read more

2013-03-24T22:51:54-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Angels in the architecture

Last updated on: March 24, 2013 at 10:51 pm By Joel J. Miller

Paul Simon’s song “You Can Call Me Al” speaks of a man who sees “angels in the architecture.” The man’s vision is notable and different. He’s “a foreign man,” as the lyric goes, meaning that normal folk like you and me don’t see anything in the architecture but building supplies. So who has the better vision? The word supernatural is a new one, at least relatively so. It started circulating around the middle of the sixteenth century, before scientific skepticism... Read more

2013-03-08T10:13:21-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The church is room full of sisters

Last updated on: March 8, 2013 at 10:13 am By Joel J. Miller

A woman sits in a church, her cheeks and breast wet with tears. She’s come from Sweden to this basilica in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, part of Provence, not far from the Mediterranean Sea. In Roman Catholic tradition, Mary Magdalene is believed to have come the region before her death. Her relics are preserved in the church (more…) Read more

2012-02-27T00:05:14-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Trusting God in trying times

Last updated on: February 27, 2012 at 12:05 am By Joel J. Miller

The Apostles Peter and Paul both spent time in the hoosegow. While both were jailed for the sake of the Gospel, I find it interesting that they passed their time in different ways. Peter slept. Paul sang. In the first instance, as Luke records in Acts 12, Herod “laid violent hands” upon the Christians. He killed James, the brother of John, and then jailed Peter. (more…) Read more

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In James, what is the correct sequence that leads from temptation to death?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Temptation, desire, death, judgment Desire, sin conceived, sin full-grown, death Sin, desire, full-grown sin, death Desire, temptation, sin, death

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Church Life Family Life Misc Prayer Quotes Society Spiritual Growth Theology Uncategorized Video

Select a Month April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 November 2008 October 2008 July 2008 June 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 August 2007 June 2007 October 2002 July 2002 November 1999 October 1999

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Evangelical