Writings

Get Thee Behind Me Satan!

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Satan we know and love (to hate) is as much a product of myth and legend as, well, Santa Claus. And like Santa, his main purpose is to affect behavioral change among the most vulnerable of us all.

March 8, 2020

The Vanishing of the Inferno

Welcome to my new series, “Dial H for Heresy”. In this first installment, I dig deep into my thorny relationship with the doctrine of everlasting torment stemming from my earliest childhood memories.

February 13, 2020

About That Time Paul the Hippie Took On the Elitist Establishment

Because of the immense burden of two millennia of church history, it's hard to picture Paul as a freedom fighter speaking truth to power. But he was far more of a radical than many give him credit for. In this final essay on Romans, discover how he tweaked the noses of pretty much everybody in the quest for peace, love, and harmony.

January 12, 2020

Leaving It All Behind: My #Exvangelical Story

Why I walked away from the false certainty of Charismatic Evangelical religion.

August 28, 2019

13 Ways To Avoid Being An Asshole Online (according to the Apostle Paul)

If listicles had been a thing in the 1st century, we might have gotten this one in our holy book.

May 12, 2019

Authoritarian Obsession

How Evangelicalism has become a breeding ground for categorization, stereotyping, and consolidation of worldly power.

January 15, 2019

The Mystic Insights of Paul

How altar calls and sinners' prayers miss the mark when it comes to understanding Paul's contemplative awareness of Christ-centered enlightenment.

December 10, 2018

Paul’s Alter Ego: Wretched-Man

There are times when sin and death seem all-powerful. But in the final reckoning, love and life are always, always more powerful still.

November 20, 2018

Augustine, Paul, Original Sin, and You

Jesus didn't reference it. Paul only touches upon it once in an allegory. So how did original sin become a foundational doctrine of Western Christianity?

November 7, 2018

Reclaiming the Storytelling Genius of Paul

For far too long, Romans 1 has been used to attack anyone Christian fundamentalists just don't like: atheists, gays, and followers of other religions. I'm calling it what it is: bad exegesis and a distortion of Paul's real narrative.

October 29, 2018

The Iconoclast, The Dreamer, The Slave

Before we can truly understand Paul's letter to the Romans, we need to understand Paul. And he was a character far more colorful, far more subtle than most people realize.

October 16, 2018

Love & Hate, War & Peace

The mixed legacy of Paul of Tarsus and what we can do to fall in love with his stories once again.

October 6, 2018

Is Social Justice in the Christian Gospel?

A critical examination of the Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel and what it means for America's culture war.

September 19, 2018

A Man Walks Into an Evangelical Apologetics Conference

It was my idea to attend. Nobody forced me. Why then did I feel like such a spy?

September 5, 2018

Essential Jesus

Guest Post by Keith Giles

Have we become more obsessed with winning the culture wars than with pointing people to Jesus?

April 4, 2017

Who Are the Dones and Why Should We Care?

If you are at all concerned about the future of Jesus' people and His mission, then it's time to start caring. We are witnessing a profound shift in the religious landscape that will affect generations to come.

March 3, 2017

Alone in a Crowd: The Loss of Community in Contemporary Christianity

Guest Post by Alexa Chipman

Gathering together to worship God is also about being together and creating an atmosphere that fosters communication and connection.

February 23, 2017

My Unexpected Journey on the Camino de Santiago

Guest Post by Rod Wallace

It was a time to disengage from the routine, the rituals, the normal, the predictable. Being detached to get perspective and to receive that amazing sense of affirmation was an incredible gift.

January 5, 2017

Simple Praxis