Some time ago I watched a two-year-old have a temper tantrum at a hotel pool. It was a textbook meltdown. His parents stood there at a complete loss for what to do. (As a parent, I’ve been there myself.) My family and I had also been enjoying the pool, and I had been sitting next to […]
Read More Why egalitarianism = inequality. Always.Though a follower of Jesus, I have to admit that there are a good number of things that I simply don’t like about the Bible. Though having grown up in a Christian home, I can remember when I first read Genesis as a young adult and came to the story of the flood and was […]
Read More Hierarchy in the Bible and the hope of egalitarianismI have wrestled with this very important question as a husband, father, pastor and scholar, especially over the past nine years, the majority of which I lived in university contexts. The first four of these year were in Cambridge, England, studying the letters of the earliest known author of the Christian movement, the Apostle Paul, who wrote, among other controversial things, “Wives, submit yourselves […]
Read More Is Christianity hierarchical or egalitarian?I recently read a social media piece sharply criticizing President Trump’s view of women. It began with an exalted quote from Thomas Jefferson and concluded with an equally glowing quote from John F. Kennedy. Between these quotes from Jefferson and Kennedy was a scathing critique of President Trump. In what follows my aim is not to talk at any […]
Read More Women, men, Trump & how to de-sexualize your lifeIt’s been nearly 25 years since Saturday Night Live showed its final skit of “It’s Pat.” The series of skits centered around the (so-called) androgynous main character named Pat, who is placed in settings (e.g., a salon or doctor’s office) where all interlocutors struggle–and inevitably fail–to discern whether Pat is a man or a woman. The wildly successful […]
Read More Jesus and genderMany Christians have the Lord’s Prayer memorized. But far fewer grasp its full meaning. Here’s a brief paraphrase that is both memorable and meaningful: Our Father, Stand out, Take over, & Set us free from – self-reliance – sin & – Satan. Let’s unpack that.
Read More The Lord’s Prayer – in a nutshellAlone time with God. We know we need it, and it seems simple enough, but we don’t do it. We fail at it and become frustrated. Enough time goes by, and we feel like a fraud: “He doesn’t want to hear from me anyway.” Here are a few thoughts on how to rekindle your time […]
Read More How to rekindle your time alone with God in 2017“I have come to bring fire on the earth.” So said Jesus. Bluntly. And unapologetically. No less unsettling is what he says–or asks–next: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth?” How many of us, especially at this time of year, would take Jesus’ question as a no-brainer: with carols ringing in our ears, we reply, “Yes, of […]
Read More An Advent meditation: why real Love gets angry–and divisiveJesus of Nazareth was not a man. That is, though male, he was not really a man–at least not by the criteria of his culture. To use today’s (imprecise and still evolving) terminology, Jesus was not cisgender. This is so, for at least two interrelated reasons, but we’ll explore only one, because it has to do with […]
Read More An Advent meditation: Jesus and genderAside from the letters in their names, Santa and Satan, it would seem, have little in common. Residing in radically different climates, while both like to give, Santa prefers to give people gifts (but only at Christmas), while Satan prefers to give them hell (all year round). Both also share an impressive list of aliases: Santa is a.k.a. (Jolly) […]
Read More An Advent meditation: Santa, Satan and secularization theory
Hope Unbroken 