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February 2021

February 21, 2021

Testing, Not Temptation—Jesus & Satan in the Wilderness

Satan was testing Jesus, not tempting him as popularly imagined—and Jesus successfully passed his trials....

February 17, 2021

Fasting—Why Did New Testament People Do It?

While Western Bible readers can easily discover that biblical people fasted, learning why they did...

February 15, 2021

Grapple with Jesus and Scripture, Before Lent Begins

One way to prepare for Lent and Easter this year is to grapple with spurious...

February 14, 2021

Wholeness and Healing Lepers

Here comes Sunday’s Gospel about Jesus brokering wholeness for a leper—except he wasn’t really a...

February 13, 2021

Biblical Christianity—Is It Possible?

Is biblical Christianity possible, or even desirable, in a 21st-century American cultural context? I hear...

February 07, 2021

Folk Healer Jesus

Don’t let spurious familiarity distort this Sunday’s Gospel, where folk healer Jesus helps Peter’s mother-in-law....

February 03, 2021

Paul Never Experienced Guilt

Paul never experienced guilt or other psychological states familiar to Americans. Recently, I wrote about...

January 2021

January 29, 2021

Timothy and Titus Are Forgeries, and That’s Okay!

The Pastoral Epistles were not really written by Paul to Timothy or Titus, but that...

January 25, 2021

Paul Never Converted

That Paul never converted (he never switched religions) makes for a fascinating discussion on the...

January 22, 2021

WandaVision: Perhaps the Deepest Marvel Yet

Marvel's WandaVision, more than just terrific superhero fun, has something deeply spiritual to give viewers. Last...

January 17, 2021

Strange Things in Sunday’s Gospel—John 1:35-42

Strange and peculiar things about evangelizing and more fill this Sunday’s Gospel of John 1:35-42....

January 15, 2021

Grandchildren Wrote the Gospels

History repeatedly shows a third-generation interest, which illuminates the origins of the Gospels as authored...

January 12, 2021

Deaf to Jesus

Being culturally deaf to the Mediterranean hero Jesus makes following his edicts and commands a...

January 10, 2021

Miss the Point of Jesus’ Baptism?

Miss the cultural cues, and you'll likely disengage from the Gospel story of Jesus’ Baptism....

January 06, 2021

Cussing and Prayer: Trumper Chaos at the Capitol

Cussing and prayer, two healing balms, help when your country’s in chaos. Goddamn, I feel...

December 2020

December 18, 2020

Growing Christmas Stories

Americans find growing problems in the two different Gospel stories of Jesus' birth, both true,...

December 15, 2020

Discovering Baby Jesus—Matthew, Luke, & Christmas

Only “Matthew” and “Luke” tell stories of Jesus’ infancy—from where did they get their information?...

December 11, 2020

Pagan Christmas!!??

Do not let your hearts be troubled by Christian Christmas-bashers calling the Season Pagan. Have...

December 09, 2020

Immaculate Perception for the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception showcases why it is better to be wrong for the right reason...

December 05, 2020

Santa Punching Arius & More Stupidity

The same stupidity fixing some Catholics into seeing Saint Nick as an MMA champion kills...

December 05, 2020

The Model is Broken—Nothing Apocalyptic About Apocalypse

Our model for describing Revelation and Mark 13 is fundamentally flawed. Around this time of...

November 2020

November 29, 2020

Mark 13—Neither Apocalyptic Nor Eschatological

This Sunday's Gospel, taken from Mark 13, is about being ready, but not for the...

November 26, 2020

How Goes your Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving came in a messy but beautiful way for your fellow dying inmate. How goes...

November 24, 2020

Understanding Jesus & Ourselves

There are tremendous benefits of understanding Jesus and the New Testament communities in ways honest...

November 19, 2020

Master in Parable Cannot Be God

If the Master in the Parable of the Talents represents God, who needs the Devil? ...

November 17, 2020

“Church”—Is It Really a New Testament Word?

Move church or any other word through space and time, and you necessarily change its...

November 15, 2020

Talents—Another Parable Misunderstood by American Christians

Reading the Parable of the Talents respectfully takes work, Americans! American Christians inescapably botch the...

November 13, 2020

Perspective—Was Jesus a Shameful Son?

Was Jesus a shameful or honorable son? Perspective goes a long way in how we...

November 10, 2020

JPII: Disaster for the Church

The devastating report released by the Vatican forces Catholics to face the truth about JPII...

November 07, 2020

Ethical Consistency & Homosexuality

Homophobia forces many Christians to disproportionately apply ethical gravity to two obscure Greek terms while...