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A subversive approach to a subversive parable [From Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43] On the surface, the story reads quite clearly—maybe a little too clearly. If you’re a regular church attendee…
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Why I need the poor (maybe even more than they need me)
By Matt Darvas
I feel like I’m sitting on a giant secret and it’s getting bigger all the time… People seem to think that my wife and I are living in Nepal and serving the…
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Hobby Lobby and the Myth of a Christian Corporation
By Pete Newlove
Per their website, Hobby Lobby is committed to “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with biblical principles.” Before offering my criticisms,…
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World Vision changed my life. Now what?
My life was changed nine years ago when the jeep I was traveling in pulled up in front of a cow dung home and a lean, shy 16 year old…
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The Gospel is Never at Stake. A Few Words on Orthodoxy, Christian Unity, and Not Being a Big Jerk
I saw a quote from a Christian leader yesterday, one that I respect despite disagreeing with some of his doctrine. It contained the words “At stake is the gospel of…
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On World Vision, gay marriage, and taking a stand on the backs of starving children
On Monday, Christianity Today reported on a shift in World Vision’s employment policy in regards to sexual morality. World Vision is a Christian organization dedicated to serving impoverished children, and has always held…
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Male and Female: One Image, One Purpose
By Mimi Haddad
Have you ever wondered why, when a friend announces they’re expecting a child, your first thought is, “Will it be a boy or girl?” Granted, gender is the most obvious distinction noted…
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World Vision & The Sad State of American Evangelicalism
It was just yesterday that the president of the Christian social justice organization World Vision announced that it would begin hiring LGBTQ Christians, both married and unmarried, to work at…
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For Church Leaders: Do Active Christians Have a Place In Your Church?
By Yaholo Hoyt
This is a sincere question for church leaders out there. When you get a truly on-fire Christian who wants to get busy working in their community, using their gifts, and…
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I Don’t Love Gay People
By Matt Young
Yes, you read that correctly. I do not love gay people. I will sometimes say that I do, but to be honest I really don’t. They are nice people (the…
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Living in One World at a Time
By Morf Morford
Jesus rarely spoke of eternal life – the vast majority of his words were about everyday life and relationships. And he spoke of love often – but not love as…
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Why Should the Church Care About Marriage?
I was asked by my friend, Audrey, at the GLAD Alliance (Gay & Lesbian Alliance of Disciples) to respond to the question in the subject line above. For some, the…
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A Land without a People for a People without a Land? – Zionism, Jesus, & Israel/Palestine
By Kurt Willems
I’m writing this article from Israel/Palestine. I’ve partnered with The Global Immersion Project to learn from peacemakers in the region in order to apply their vision of peace both at home and…
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The Problem of Fred Phelps
I was hoping to be able to get something out on this before Fred Phelps died, which apparently I failed to do. Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church…
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Would Jesus Use the B-Word?
Have you heard about Ban Bossy, the campaign initiated by the Girls Scouts and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s nonprofit organization LeanIn.org? If you haven’t, here’s the core message in a nutshell: “When…
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7 Learning’s From My Time in the Middle East
By Jon Huckins
Having just gotten home from guiding another The Global Immersion Project Learning Community deep into the lives of the unheralded heroes in the Holy Land to learn from their often untold stories,…
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The Unethical Soul-Winning Church: Scandalized, but not by the Cross
Over the past year, the evangelical Christian world has seen more than a few scandals crop up among the mega-church leadership titans. Mark Driscoll has been allegedly plagiarizing content for…
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Why I Get Credit Card Applications for FredPhelpsFuneral.com
UPDATE: Fred Phelps passed away on Wednesday, March 19 at the age of 84 January 7, 2011, I sent my husband an email at work: “Hey, will you send me…
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Fred Phelps: Sifting Through His Tragic Legacy
By Kathy Vestal
UPDATE: Fred Phelps passed away on Wednesday, March 19 at the age of 84 According to a Twitter post by Fred Phelps’ son Nathan, the 84-year-old patriarch of Topeka’s infamous Westboro Baptist…
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Lent: Falling in Love With the Ordinary
By Jeremy John
I’m one not given to joy. I’m far more likely to escape from normal with a fantasy novel than I am to delight in the cutting of vegetables and the…
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Do Gay Christians Go to Heaven?
By John Watson
You probably read that title, and muttered the answer to yourself. Your answer. The one you’re sure of. Of course. Are you crazy? I hope so. Not a chance. Let’s…
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3 Reasons Why ‘Tough Love’ Rarely Works
By Matt Darvas
We all crave the kind of love and affection that encourages, supports and affirms us no matter what. It is this kind of love that ‘fills our tank’ so to…
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Pope Hope
Just one year ago today, white smoke rose from the chimney overlooking Vatican Square, signaling the end of the two day papal conclave – and the election of a new…
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The First Year of the Pope’s Revolution
A year ago — March 13, 2013 – Pope Francis officially became Pope. Since then he has fascinated the world. He didn’t don the snazzy red shoes and fancy papal…
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Sharing Cake with Prostitutes and Gay Couples, Alike
By Anne Vyn
Yesterday I came across a video of Tony Campolo on Facebook telling the story of how he bought a cake for a prostitute in a Honolulu diner, at 3:00am. If…
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HUGE NEWS: Glenn Ford released after 30 years on Death Row
THIS JUST IN… Louisiana Judge orders Glenn Ford to be released after 30 years on death row. Glenn is African American convicted by an all-white jury, and lost 30 years…
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Happy Birthday Phyllis Tickle!
By Tony Campolo
I can’t believe Phyllis Tickle is 80 years old…she seems so young! That’s because people are as old as their cynicism and as young as their dreams. In spite of…
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Actually, God Does Still Want You to Give Up Chocolate for Lent
By Brian Gorman
It’s Lent again, and like every other Christian holiday or tradition, it brings with it a slew of opinions or non-opinions about the best way to celebrate it in a…
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Slit Throats and Strange Bedfellows
By John Watson
The Jews and Muslims in Britain are up in arms. And it’s not because of one another. They’re oddly united, protesting the same attack on their religious freedom. There is…
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Do We Really Want Community?
By Micah Bales
We live in a culture that talks a lot about community. Politicians, civic and religious leaders, non-profits and businesses are always announcing programs and initiatives to build and protect community.…
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Coolidge and Obama: A Brief Analysis of the Decline of Moral Philosophy in American Political Discourse
By Tom Plum
So the recent winter storm had my girls stuck in my wife’s hometown. That was until the roads cleared up enough for them to safely make the trip back to…
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The Gospel According To Who?
We all know the story of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – four remarkably similar accounts about his life. What we don’t agree…
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It's Time for a New Face on the Pro-Life Movement
By Bob Lenz
It’s 4:00 AM. I can’t sleep. Thoughts are racing in my head: What am I doing? Am I crazy? Who do I think I am? Why would I do this to…
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Churches Need to Call a “Gang Truce” in Order to Reach Youth
Why are young people uninterested in attending church, specifically young people with no recent family history of attending church? In many urban centers similar to where I grew up, churches…
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Honest to God, ourselves and others – PART TWO: how Russian Dolls, Noesis and Experience encourage an honest theology
By Mal Green
NOTE: Read Part 1 Here Over the past 20 years, through my experience of teaching missiology, mentoring young people and coaching university students in educational and developmental theory, I have…
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What Concerns me Most about Ukraine
By Tony Campolo
Here’s another not-so-short recording containing my thoughts on the ever worsening situation in the Ukraine, how Christians should respond, and what about the whole situation concerns me most. Again, I’m…
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The Christian Right’s Ironic Love for McConaughey’s Acceptance Speech
By Chris Zamora
Matthew McConaughey won the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role category at Sunday night’s Academy Awards for his performance in Dallas Buyer’s Club, and he accepted the…
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Fat Tuesday and Skinny Wednesday
“What’s the difference between a flute and a stick in the mud?” our priest asked on Sunday. He then went on, “The stick in the mud is full of itself. The flute…
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This Lent, Pray for the #ChildrenofSyria
It’s Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent – a season commemorated through prayer and fasting in preparation of the hope that Jesus Christ has brought to this world through his life,…
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My response to Uganda's Anti-Gay Law
By Tony Campolo
Here’s a short clip recorded earlier today in which I talk about Uganda’s new anti-gay law. I’m responding to a question so it begins rather abruptly but you can catch…
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Honest to God, ourselves and others – A journey of dishonest theology (Part 1)
By Mal Green
I had to prepare an introduction for a session on “Sexual/Gender identity and theology” as part of facilitating a recent public conversation event that brought together people from the evangelical…
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Prisons “Overwhelmingly Filled With People of Color”: Just or Unjust?
Like many today, Jonathan Brooks, Senior Pastor at Canaan Community Church in Chicago’s Englewood Neighborhood, is concerned about the juvenile justice system in America. Today he shares about the problem…
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Bird Bible & Jared Leto: Two Weekend Clips to Watch
By RLC Editor
Over the weekend two short clips caught my eye. They are quite different from one another but nonetheless each speaks into it’s particular arena in the world today. 1. Saturday…
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Exposing Our Other Names for God
By Yaholo Hoyt
God has many names, the good ones such as “Adonai” or “Elohim” help us explore God’s genuine aspects. However, we have other implied names for God which poison our understanding…
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The Good News No One Needed
The first time I met Rebecca, she broke my heart. I had just said the closing prayer for that evening’s Bible study when she pulled me aside. She was wiry,…
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Confessions of an Arizona Discriminator
I’m a serial discriminator. White, millennial, college-educated. I should know better, right? I’m fairly progressive and pride myself on the open mind I hold towards those who are different from…
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5 Church-Types to Probably Avoid
By Kurt Willems
For the past several years I’ve been wrestling with my vision of church. Often, pessimism wins out. And, although I still believe that the church is the hope of the…
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Why my heart is torn between Russian Orthodoxy and Pussy Riot
A few months ago, First Things ran a post critiquing progressive evangelical Christians like me for dabbling in the theology and sacred ambiance of high church traditions like Orthodoxy and Catholicism without being…
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Jesus the Drunkard
“Jesus gave wine to drunk people.” I stared at my good friend when he said that. “No he didn’t.” He said, “John two.” I checked. Everyone serves the good wine…
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We’ve Really Messed Up On This One: Evangelicals and the LGBTQ Community
Over the past few weeks a lot has been happening around our world concerning the LGBTQ community. From huge things like the horrendous anti-gay legislation signed into law in Uganda…
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What Question Would You Ask God?
By Morf Morford
“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers.” -Rainer Maria Rilke What question would you ask God? I…
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5 Guys of the Early Church You Should Know
This may not come as a surprise to you, but Christianity is a two thousand year-old religion. For much of my life in Protestantism this little fact was completely off…
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Happy Birthday Tony Campolo!
By RLC Editor
Today Tony Campolo turns 79. Undoubtedly many people will send Tony their birthday wishes. He’s been an inspiration, challenger, and full-time evangelist for nearly five decades and there’s truly no…
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Where Does Faith Fit in Uncertain Times?
This is another piece in the series I write for First Christian Church, Portland. I respond to questions about faith and theology in (hopefully) simple, straightforward terms. If you have a…
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Sabbatical and CAIR: Learning from Mother Teresa, Thomas Keating and others
By RLC Editor
After 20 years of international social justice work Chris and Phileena Heuertz launched Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism. Learning from teachers like Mother Teresa, Jean Vanier, Richard Rohr and…
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Uganda's President Museveni signs controversial anti-gay bill into law
By RLC Editor
Earlier today Uganda’s President signed into law a controversial anti-gay bill that punishes certain homosexual acts with up to life in prison. President Yoweri Museveni’s decision to sign the bill was…
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Why Facebook Posts and Free Food Giveaways Aren’t Transforming Lives
For years I’ve been impressed with the ways Haiti Partners has asked hard questions about how we love our neighbors. Today Jonathan Chan, who does some of everything with…
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5 Women of the Early Church You Should Know
Christianity bore a unique position in Roman society by seeing women as equal to men in worth. Today, we are seeing a backlash to what many perceive to be the…
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Hungry and Thirsty
By Matt Young
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink….” Hunger and thirst. Food and water. The two basic things needed…
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I'm Gay at a Conservative Christian College
By Anonymous
This article was published in a student-run newspaper at a right-wing Christian University. After making significant changes to its doctrinal statement, ousting many of its staff and faculty, and relieving…
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This Is Not How I Imagined Christianity
I imagined Christianity would be similar to what I read in the Bible: I would pray for people and they would get better, I would have intimate conversations with God…
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It Is Our Duty To Never Be Offended
By Yaholo Hoyt
At best, it is the one of the most pointless emotional indulgences possible. At worse, it is the very seed of violence, persecution, and separation. To be “offended” is an…
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Violence against children is an accepted norm in Latin American and the Caribbean, new study finds
World Vision in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) just released a new publication titled Child Protection Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: A National and Community Level Study…
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Ok, White Folks, here’s how you can really help!
MORE IGNORANT WHITE FOLKS It was a brutally cold, Saturday evening in January of this year; my wife and I had agreed earlier in the week that we would share…
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U.S. Dependency Courts are like those in Locust Effect
I recently read and reviewed Gary Haugen and Victor Boutrous’ new, groundbreaking book, The Locust Effect. In it, Haugen and Boutros spend a considerable amount of time detailing the corruption,…
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America's New 'Faith'
By Micah Bales
A couple years ago, a survey found that one in five Americans don’t identify with any religion. For Americans under thirty, the number was far higher – more like one third.…
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The Repression of a National Shame: History, Nooses and Lament
I ran across an article the other day entitled, Why Don’t We Want to Talk about Slavery? This article got me thinking. While I wholeheartedly agree with the essence of…
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Our Addiction to Violence, Reducing the Risks
“One failed attempt at a shoe bomb, and we all take off our shoes in the airport. Thirty-one shootings since Columbine, and no change in the regulation of guns, ”…
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Beyond White Evangelicals’ Uneasy Relationship With Dr. King
How will the church engage today’s race issues—immigration, economic redistribution, presidential birth certificates—in the light of Dr. King’s very Christian message? Guided by King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Ed…
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The Kansas 'Religious Freedom' Bill Is Unbiblical
By Emily Timbol
There are few things that make me angrier than when Christians try to twist the Scriptures for their own comfort or gain. As a life-long believer who has read the…
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Concerning this Nonsense of, "I Wish I Could Do More"
I’m currently raising support to work with a church plant in Brooklyn. My day job is freelance copywriting and editing, selling stories and, on occasion, articles. I have never, in…
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Happy Saint Valentine's Day
Happy Saint Valentine’s Day. As much as I like the chocolate, and hope my wife gets me some today (fair-trade organic chocolate of course)… Valentine’s day wasn’t always about chocolate,…
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Have we misread the Bible?
By Steve Chalke
It was May 2012. Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, had just announced plans for a privately funded distribution of King James Bibles into every school across England,…
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Beyond Liberal and Conservative: A vision of unity for a divided church
We are a divided nation. We are divided over politics, religion, race, and even our preferred computer brands (PC all the way!), to name just a few. Some have said…
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Steve Chalke Raises Deep Questions to 'Restore Confidence in the Bible'
By Tony Campolo
Steve Chalke is challenging the Church, and especially its Evangelical community, to face up to questions about the Bible that can no longer be evaded. His paper raises a lot…
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Remembering the Amiriyah Shelter Massacre in Iraq
Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the U.S. bombing of the Amiriyah Shelter in Iraq.There is no indication that the U.S. government and military will ever repent for this unspeakable…
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#NekNomination: An Online Drinking Game turned into A Random Acts of Kindness Generator
It started with a #neknomination (well, let’s be honest – it likely started with a drunk Australian feeling like this was something he thought was a good idea for more people…
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When do you know something is a calling from God?
(Following is from a column called “Christian’s Queries” that I’m doing for our church newsletter at Portland First Christian Church. My focus is to try and take on questions that many…
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The Three Phases of Church Engagement
“Without a vision the people perish” so goes the oft quoted biblical proverb. In our church experience it has been used by leaders to suggest that ‘the’ vision of the…
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A Response to the Life and Death of Philip Seymour Hoffman
By T.C. Ryan
Like so many others I was deeply touched and troubled by the recent death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. A supremely talented actor, he displayed a fascinating ability to reach…
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"Alone Yet Not Alone" by Joni Eareckson Tada Needs to Be Heard
When the nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards were announced, there was a surprise in the Best Original Song category, “Alone Yet Not Alone.” The song is the creation of…
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The Best Way to Be a Christian is to Not Seek Success
In 2012, a book came out called Quiet by Susan Cain and it quickly skyrocketed the New York Times Bestsellers list. The book talked about how quiet and introverted people…
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Michael Sam: I Got Your Back
I heard his voice before I saw him. I knew exactly who it was. “Well, that’s it Spencer! Your last race as a Mizzou Tiger. One hell of a ride,…
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“First of all, let’s not call them inmates…” An Interview with Kim Brown
Kim Brown was in the first graduating class of Project Turn—a course, in partnership with Duke Divinity School, offering seminary-style writing classes inside of North Carolina prisons. Today Kim…
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Does Jesus heal drug addicts?
I almost gave up on my drug-addict mother. But then I discovered that God never gives up. In memory of Dorothy Molex (my mom), Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the countless…
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Why This Year’s Super Bowl Ads Were Less Sexist
If you’re a regular Super Bowl watcher, you probably noticed that this year’s commercials were different from those of past years–they were notably less sexist. While a few ads still sank to…
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Let the Games Begin: Brief Thoughts on Sochi and Russia's Anti-Gay Legislation
Tonight, the Opening Ceremony for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia will air here in America – but the action has already started. Due to an increase in Olympic events this winter,…
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#SelfieNation
I did something last night I’m not at all proud of. I took a ‘Selfie’. I trust my public confession absolves me of my sin, though I’m far from alone…
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Creationism vs. Evolution: The Worst of Both Worlds
By Yaholo Hoyt
When I was in middle school, I heard my first Ken Ham seminar. It made a lot of sense to me back then, but then again, I was in middle…
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Why Dual Citizenship = Treason
In my county, there’s a massive Hispanic population and many of the churches have risen to meet this need in spite of the behavior of local cops. One of them…
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Marriage Sucks
My wife, the beautiful Val [tbV] left for a week’s conference in Atlanta today. As is my tradition when I am away from her I wrote her a letter to…
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Ken Ham Does Not Speak For Me…
I am an Evangelical Christian. I believe the Bible is God’s inspired word. I believe that Jesus is God in the flesh who died for the sins of the world…
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Ken Ham v. Bill Nye: If Only Christians Were This Passionate About Helping the Poor…
As you’ve probably already heard, churches all over the United States are going to be simulcasting and broadcasting the Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye debate. They’re catering food, converting their…
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Do You Know Him?
By Greg Dill
There is a passage in the Bible that REALLY scares me. For years it has raised a bit of fear and worry from within. The text is haunting and I…
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Don't Read The Comments…Especially From Christians
By Emily Timbol
There are few things as universally understood and expected to be horrible, as the internet comments section. When I say universal, I mean it – this applies to comment sections…
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Can you be Pro-Life and Pro-Woman? Bob Lenz Thinks So
Bob Lenz, who speaks to thousands of teenagers every year, thinks the pro-life movement has been hijacked, and he begs Christians who call themselves “prolife” to find new ways…
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Philip Seymour Hoffman. Beautiful, Flawed Humanity.
It makes no sense that I am so upset about the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. It’s not like I live in New York where I might have seen him…
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Why I am Not a Football Fan
By Morf Morford
I know it sounds like the ultimate American heresy, but I’m just not a football fan. And it has taken me many years to figure out why. First of all,…
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In Christianity, There's More to Being a Man
Today, as I was holding my two year old son in my arms, I was wondering what kind of man I aspired him to be. Do I want him to…
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The God Proof: 2 Problems with the Creationism vs. Science Debate
By John Watson
Science is good at working things out. Science starts with an observation: “Look. We found an X!” It moves from there to a hypothesis: “I wonder if X is because…
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The Trouble with Angels
Can a belief in angels heal us? That was the question posed on the January 17th episode of the Dr. Oz show, and spiritual medium Rebecca Rosen had an answer.…