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November 2016

November 30, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: What would Jesus do with Trump voters?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I’ve noticed a lot of “vote shaming” posts in social media lately aimed...

November 21, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: What about Christmas gifts?

Christmas gifts: do they interfere with the real “reason for the season” of the Christ...

November 16, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Are unborn children without sin?

Are unborn children without sin? The answer to this question has a lot of implications...

November 03, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Popes then, celebrity pastors now?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: When you were in Europe recently, did you learn anything while seeing...

October 2016

October 25, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Can I use the Bible to convince my friends to vote a certain way?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Religion has a very unifying effect on its followers. Is it even...

October 18, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Am I supposed to let someone hit me?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: The Bible says to turn the other cheek when I am affronted....

October 12, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: how do I stop playing the game with a passive-aggressive husband?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I've been married nearly 16 years. My husband is a great guy...

October 04, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: how do you stop someone you think is going to do something bad?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: What do you do if you know a person is going to...

September 2016

September 27, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Social media took over our minds!

We let social media take over our brains because we humans are, at our core, essentially...

September 20, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: escape right-wing religious past

I stopped trying to make the Bible do something that it most definitely is not:...

September 07, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: what are family values and do the people that teach them have them?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: What ARE traditional family values and who decided? Why is it such...

September 01, 2016

When an “anyone but Donald” is married to an “anyone but Hillary,” part six

I almost thought I could stomach a Donald presidency, mainly because I fear he is...

August 2016

August 31, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Did the UMC really elect a lesbian Bishop? A primer on UMC-speak

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: My question: I have been an active member of the United Methodist...

August 24, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: how do I practice Sabbath today?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: You know how the Jews in the Bible were forbidden to work...

July 2016

July 20, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: burning questions about cremation and interracial marriage

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I have been reading both sides of the argument and praying about...

July 13, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: How do I deal with my racist dad?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I love my parents very, very much. But I wish my dad...

July 06, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Would you marry off your child this way?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: A lot of Christians insist that the best way for a homosexual...

June 2016

June 29, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Did Trump “accept Jesus into his heart?”

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: What does it mean that Donald Trump has accepted Jesus into his...

June 27, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Medical innovations that tinker with DNA, good or evil?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: New medical capabilities using something called “molecular scissors” that change human DNA...

June 13, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Dan Patrick and the now infamous tweet

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Can you tell me the background for Dan Patrick's tweet? This verse...

June 08, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Does God need blood sacrifices?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Why did Jesus die? I have always believed the very traditional story...

June 06, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Jesus–Divine or Human?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: On Sunday we talked about whether Jesus had a running itinerary going...

May 2016

May 05, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Smelly People and Eating Meat

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I ride public transportation to get to work: two trains and a...

May 02, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: How Many People Do I Have to Evangelize to Satisfy God?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: If someone belongs to an "Evangelical" church that believes members need to...

April 2016

April 21, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Inerrancy; My Journey Out

How important is biblical inerrancy to matters of the Christian faith and the life of...

April 13, 2016

Ask The Thoughtful Pastor: Do I have a Right to Feel Hurt by My Mother’s Choices?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I am a 53 year old childless single female with two younger...

March 2016

March 23, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: When Will They Pray? Good Friday Meditations

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I have visited a number of churches in the last few years....

March 17, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Is Mainline the Opposite of Evangelical?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I grew up in an “evangelical—fundamental” Christian home. My recollection is that...

March 09, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: The Final Judgment and Church Demands

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: The Bible tells us that as Christians Jesus forgives us for our...

March 03, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Lords Prayer and Wading Pool Theology

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Why is the Catholic Lord’s Prayer different from the Protestant Lord’s Prayer? ...

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