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

The Peripatetic Preacher

Home
About

Home
Progressive Christian

2021-03-16T13:35:22-05:00

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.

The Magic of Writing The Peripatetic Preacher

Last updated on: March 16, 2021 at 1:35 pm By John C Holbert

As I announced in my most recent blog of March 15, 2021, I have now accumulated 500 blog posts for the Patheos.com website. This covers perhaps 9 or 10 years of such writing, and encompasses at least 700,000 words of my sometimes lucid but more often opaque prose. I admit freely that I have at one time or another decided that I had said all I had to say, multiple times, and needed to cease my keyboard clacking, thus sparing... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-03-15T17:19:19-05:00

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.

Phillip and the Eunuch The Peripatetic Preacher (5th Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 Acts 8;26-40)

Last updated on: March 15, 2021 at 5:19 pm By John C Holbert

According to my electronic records, this essay will be the 500th addition to my Patheos blog list. I remain grateful to the site for allowing me to continue to express myself in this way, extending appreciably my ministry of Bible study, preaching concerns, and continuing reflections on matters theological. I of course hope to continue this work that is deeply fulfilling for me, and has, as I have been told, held some value for my few readers over the years.... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-03-15T13:33:39-05:00

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.

Truth Reborn The Peripatetic Preacher

Last updated on: March 15, 2021 at 1:33 pm By John C Holbert

That clever and wily genius, Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) in his more cynical guise once said, “Tell the truth or trump—but get the trick.” In other words, the end justifies the means; gain the goal no matter what. In my bridge-playing days, we used to laugh and say, “a peek is worth two finesses.” In other words, if your card skills are not up to snuff, then just peer into your opponent’s hand to gain the needed advantage. The... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-03-09T18:05:58-05:00

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.

On Being Saved The Peripatetic Preacher (4th Sunday of Easter April 25, 2021 Acts 4:5-12)

Last updated on: March 9, 2021 at 6:05 pm By John C Holbert

I think I have recounted the story of the young man who used to station himself near the student center on our campus, holding a well-thumbed King James Bible, and would harangue students as they passed by him each morning. He would scream, not merely speak, but scream that all within the sound of his powerful voice “must be saved,” or they risked the hell fires of eternal damnation. I have on occasion wondered what happened to that man, since... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-03-08T18:38:33-05:00

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.

The Power Broker The Peripatetic Preacher

Last updated on: March 8, 2021 at 6:38 pm By John C Holbert

I have just finished a huge book that matches its extraordinary length with an equally extraordinary significance. It is Robert A. Caro’s 1975 Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Robert Moses, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (1974). I got a copy of the massive tome not because I had any particular interest either in Robert Moses, a name I hardly knew, or in New York City, despite several lovely visits there and the fact that... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-03-03T17:52:31-05:00

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.

A Source of Misery The Peripatetic Preacher (3rd Sunday of Easter April 18, 2021 Acts 3:12-19)

Last updated on: March 3, 2021 at 5:52 pm By John C Holbert

I cannot help being deeply troubled by these early chapters of the Book of Acts. I an well aware that Luke’s second volume is describing, in his unique gospel language, the rise and growth of the early Christian church. In these stirring stories, generations of Christians have discovered powerful tales that have fueled the continual spread of Christianity throughout the earth, as passionate missionaries packed their Bibles and went to places of danger and radical differences to bring what they... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-03-03T14:42:39-05:00

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.

Being in Your Right Mind The Peripatetic Preacher

Last updated on: March 3, 2021 at 2:42 pm By John C Holbert

My wife, Diana, was a pastor of a largely Black congregation for three years, first as a seminary intern, and then as Associate Pastor. She and I were among the five white participants in this 2,000-member church. Both of us learned a vast amount about what it meant in this culture to be Black, but, at least for me, I learned just how deeply racist I was, a painful lesson, but an important one for certain. That lesson has been... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-03-02T14:24:38-05:00

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.

Baseball: God’s Favorite Game The Peripatetic Preacher

Last updated on: March 2, 2021 at 2:24 pm By John C Holbert

I adore baseball! February of every year is wonderful for two specific reasons: Ash Wednesday occurs, the harbinger of Lent and Easter, and pitchers and catchers of Major League Baseball report first to Arizona and Florida, followed by the rest of the position players, for the start of Spring Training, that grand sun-splashed event that precedes the beginning of the regular season, around April Fool’s Day. Even this year, 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues its rages, however now somewhat... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-02-25T18:11:32-05:00

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.

Equality for LGBTQ People? The Peripatetic Preacher

Last updated on: February 25, 2021 at 6:11 pm By John C Holbert

I am a heterosexual male, having been married to a woman for nearly 52 years, and early in my life I participated in those “male bonding” activities that denigrated and ridiculed people I knew, however slightly, men and a few women, who did not conform to my understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity. I confess my stupidity and bigotry now as the absurd and monstrous activity it was, and I ask forgiveness from those of you who identify as... Read more

Uncategorized

2021-02-23T15:17:46-05:00

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.

Reading The Peripatetic Preacher

Last updated on: February 23, 2021 at 3:17 pm By John C Holbert

I have always been a voracious reader. I read at a very early age, in part due to the fact that I was the middle child, attempting to emulate the skills of an older sibling. What he could do I was bound and determined to do! So, since he could read, I could, too. And I did. I devoured most of Charles Dickens before I was 10, along with any number of other novels beyond my full comprehension. Believe me;... Read more

Uncategorized

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does James say we should be quick to do and slow to do?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Quick to forgive, slow to judge Quick to pray, slow to doubt Quick to obey, slow to question Quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Progressive Christian