About COVID Weariness…

About COVID Weariness…

This is my column in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Saturday, August 7, 2021.  I discuss the issue of Christians not getting a COVID vaccination. The pandemic has had a surprising side effect.  It is an x-ray.  COVID-19 has illuminated our culture like a...
Not taught in seminary…

Not taught in seminary…

On Monday a church member called me because her daughter has a problem:  she has rescued dozens of animals and needs to cut hay for them.  But the hay cutter arrived unassembled.  So I arrive with my toolbox and get to to work.  You never know what this job will bring...

The Bible, Sex and Communication

The over-spiritualization of the Song of Songs is theological body-shaming. In the last twelve years, I have written these columns about marijuana, mixed martial arts and my monastic adventures. But my 2019 column about pornography got the most attention. Sex sells....

Virtual religion?

COVID has accelerated an already existing change in our religious landscape. I have a tendency to make unrequested proposals. I’ll have some “great idea,” write it up and send it to some poor, unsuspecting soul. Most of the time these folks are very gracious to...

Democracy disgraced.

Christian Nationalism is neither. They carried crosses. They carried flags and banners with Christian symbols. Clothing was adorned with symbols and slogans about Jesus. Am I describing medieval crusades? Christian nationalism was on display at last week’s terrorist...

Nolstalgia

Idolizing the past, in my opinion, is akin to giving up on the future…God’s future. In the old book there is a story of a ribbon-cutting. Decades after the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s temple, some of the exiles came back to rebuild it. You can imagine...