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Don’t You Care That We’re Dying?
Don’t You Care That We’re Dying? (Day 15 of A Simple Lent) Friday In one sense, the idea that the disciples have that Jesus should at least be awake and aware of what’s happening is a pretty valid concern. The storm is raging and they’re scared out of their minds and here’s Jesus sleeping in the…
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Not-So Secret Faith
How can we talk about always telling the truth and being honest, if we are also keeping secrets and refusing to share with one another? The love (without hypocrisy) Jesus longs for Ash Wednesday | Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 Secret Faith One of the historic battles around Ash Wednesday is based on this gospel passage. A church fight,…
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Religion as Community or There’s more to religion than we think
A more honest understanding of religion then is something involving tradition, community, and commitment. It expects more out of us and a commitment to be with one another. It is connection, not only to GOD and other people, but to the many people who came before. Religion and belief aren’t the same thing. Many of us…
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Personal Religion
The new American definition of religious freedom, and therefore religion itself, is total, personal faith. No one in their right mind would say that Kim Davis defines Christianity. They are, however, eager to say that she is practicing her faith. She is being a Christian. Yesterday I wrote about what we should mean when we talk about religion. Today I…
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Nicene Creed
The strangest moment in worship happens in the middle. For many of us it is sitting right in the center of our worship. And everything around it is far more worshipful and embodies the people at prayer. We open in prayer and we read scripture and we sing and pray a psalm and we proclaim…
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Trinity
The Trinity is the most important concept in the church. It is important in the way that things are important. It has this essential character, it is the source of great conflict, and it has some brilliance to it. And yet the doctrine of the Trinity is about as confusing, ill-defined, and poorly executed of…
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Gospel
I first really heard the gospel in school. I was in an undergrad Bible class on Paul; the kind of distributive requirement that seemed like a natural fit for me. English major; PK (priest’s kid). The professor was an Orthodox bishop, Makarios. And his thick Indian accent meant that we had to really listen. Listen…
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Old Testament
Let me begin by saying that I shy away from the term “Old Testament”. Yes, I’m one of those people. My concern with the name (and its companion, the New Testament) is not that they aren’t PC enough. It is that they are too narrowly prescriptive and restrict the beauty and depth of our scripture.…