Mission: Kentucky
I KNOW I’M JUST GETTING THIS BLOG STARTED. But I need to bail for a few days. This morning I’m heading out on a short mission trip to help repair some homes in rural Kentucky, with the Appalachia Service Project. I’m going with a …
Homosexuality and the Bible: thoughts
I LISTENED TO A SERMON YESTERDAY ABOUT SEX. That was odd. The pastors even warned off the kids, grade 6 and under, inviting parents to send them to the children’s program, which is probably where kids should be anyway if they hope to get anything …
I want faith like that
ONE OF MY FAVORITE SET OF VERSES in the Bible comes from the mouth of a prophet standing at the brink…about to lose everything, perhaps even his life. His name is Habakkuk (huh BACK uck). He has just learned from God that invaders are coming. …
Why some read Creation as a poem
SOME CHRISTIANS don’t take the Genesis account of Creation literally. They say it’s because it sounds like the writer is driving with a poetic license. The rhythmic flow includes repeated lines that sound like they belong in the chorus of a …
When I get complaints
I KNOW. It’s hard to imagine me getting complaints, given the fact that I don’t take positions on controversial topics in the Bible reference books I write. Instead, I try to objectively report the various ideas and the reasons behind …
Dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark: Science vs Bible
I’M CAPTIVATED d by a series of sermons that my pastor is preaching because it’s right up my alley: Wrestling with the Bible. Tomorrow, his sermon topic will be “Dinosaurs on the Ark: The Bible and Science.” He’ll be …
When the Jordan River stopped for Joshua
GOD PARTED THE SEA for Moses, the Bible reports. A generation later, for Joshua and the Jews invading what is now Israel, God stopped the Jordan River, the natural border protecting what the Jews called the Promised Land. When I started researching …
A prophet for depressed folks today
THERE WAS ONE PARTICULAR DAY in my life when I felt: Overwhelmed Alone Exhausted—mostly from depression and stress I was twentysomething. I’d give you the backstory, but why bother. You’ve probably been there, too. Instead, let me pass along the …
Job’s story: Fiction or nonfiction?
WAS THE STORY OF JOB about a real human being in history? Or was Job a fictional character in something like a really long parable—a bit like the guy who got beat up in Jesus’ story about a Good Samaritan? I think most of us have grown up assuming he …
Wrestling with the Bible
THERE’S A PASTOR in the Kansas City area who’s knee-deep into a 5-week series of engaging sermons on some tough topics about the Bible. Also a bestselling author, Rev. Adam Hamilton pastors the largest United Methodist Church in the country: …
Humanity in writing the Bible?
MY PASTOR PREACHED A TOUGH SERMON about the Bible yesterday. At least I think it would have been a tough sermon to prep for. It certainly took courage to speak the words. I have no doubt about that. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some folks left …
God in a holocaust frame of mind?
“KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!” That doesn’t sound like Jesus to me. “Feed them! Feed them all!” Now that sounds like Jesus, and presumably his Father, whom he said he reflected: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:8) But “Kill them” …