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Mercy Not Sacrifice

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September 2020

September 30, 2020

Donald Trump And The Exorcism Of White America

Trump and his supporters believe that he is a scapegoat. In their understanding of what...

June 2020

June 05, 2020

I Want You To Get It

I don’t want you To be canceled; I want you to get it. And nobody...

October 2019

October 09, 2019

How I Would Rewrite Desiring God’s “Joy” Tweet

A recent drama in Christian Twitter (several news cycles ago) involved the circulation of a...

January 2019

January 08, 2019

Theology That Builds Walls

Donald Trump would not be fixated on building a wall on the southern border of...

August 2018

August 19, 2018

Methodist Coloring Book

At my Thursday men's group last week, somebody brought up a song from the punk...

April 2018

April 25, 2018

Is Hell the Reason to Love Jesus?

Tim Keller wrote two books Prodigal God and Generous Justice that really shaped me and which...

May 2017

May 19, 2017

7 Things AA Taught Me About Salvation

I would argue that what AA calls "recovery" is what Christian salvation was supposed to...

January 2017

January 24, 2017

Five #AlternativeFacts of toxic Christianity

While government officials have always distorted truth, the Trump Administration is the first to openly...

October 2016

October 17, 2016

Christian spirituality for a non-Christian audience

I've been offered an amazing opportunity by the Tulane Hillel rabbi Yonah Schiller to talk...

August 2016

August 24, 2016

Is Jesus the only way to God?

This week's Crackers and Grape Juice episode addressed the question "Is Jesus the only way...

June 2016

June 22, 2016

Detoxify Christian lingo #1: Salvation

I've decided to write a series of blog posts focusing on some of the Christian...

June 20, 2016

Why I still believe in hell

My dear friend and podcast-mate Jason Micheli just wrote a very kind review of my...

April 2016

April 20, 2016

No, heaven and hell are not about afterlife insurance

I was handed a tract last night on Tulane's campus that gave me the answer...

April 10, 2016

Do we need to be saved like Saul of Tarsus was saved?

Today's lectionary scripture includes Acts 9, the story of Saul's conversion into the apostle Paul....

January 2016

January 13, 2016

Is damnation of the other a cornerstone of evangelical belief?

The Larycia Hawkins situation at Wheaton has become fodder for a lot of conversation about...

January 06, 2016

Can Jesus save the world from Christians?

It seems there are two kinds of Christians: those who think the world needs to...

September 2015

September 16, 2015

The best birthday present you could ever give me

Since it's my birthday, hundreds of people (some of whom actually know me) have gotten...

May 2015

May 06, 2015

How a core evangelical doctrine became my gateway heresy

The other week, a friend playfully tweeted out a warning not to mess around with...

October 2014

October 11, 2014

How mental illness made me a pastor

Today my son Matthew and I participated in a walk with the National Alliance on...

February 2014

February 23, 2014

Wrestling with heaven and hell (last weekend’s #sermon #podcast)

I keep on getting busy and forgetting to post my sermon podcasts. Last weekend, for...

February 13, 2014

Have you ever been thrown into hell or did you pluck your eyeball out in time? (Matthew 5:29)

Jesus says some pretty wild things, but this week's lectionary reading includes one of his...

July 2013

July 30, 2013

A new metaphor for thinking about heaven and hell

I've been reading a very stimulating and provocative book by Pauline Biblical scholar Michael Gorman...

July 24, 2013

Is the gospel the invitation to a party or a get out of hell card?

For the first 1500 years of Christianity, the high point of every worship gathering was...

June 2013

June 16, 2013

Sarah Moon and unmerciful #universalism

A week ago, ex-evangelical blogger Sarah Moon wrote a post titled: "When my abuser is...

June 04, 2013

Pinocchio and eternal life (my second Dominican sermon of 2013)

A few weeks ago, Bruxy Cavey at the Meeting House preached a sermon using Pinocchio...

February 2013

February 01, 2013

Holistic sexuality, distorting pieties, and the pursuit of heaven

There's been an outburst this past week from evangelical women bloggers against the idolatry of...

November 2012

November 11, 2012

Who does God weed out?

Jesus' parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 is a tough passage to preach...

October 2012

October 17, 2012

God's wrath as a cosmic spiritual immune system

My reformed brother Derek Rishmawy and I have been having a stimulating discussion about the...

October 17, 2012

God’s wrath as a cosmic spiritual immune system

My reformed brother Derek Rishmawy and I have been having a stimulating discussion about the...

January 2012

January 01, 2012

2011: the Year of the Hell Debate

2011 was a turbulent year for American evangelical Christian identity. A major lightning rod within...