-
By Kathryn Post
(RNS) — ‘The biggest lesson I had to learn is that God’s lack of an answer to my prayers to change me was an answer, because there was…
-
New Testament Anti-smackdown
By Morf Morford
I’ve always been intrigued by the social, political and theological milieu of Jesus. If God could have chosen any culture, any language, any era, in fact any individual, why would…
-
Exodus international: bending history's arc
For more than a generation, the gay conversion organization known as Exodus International has been one of the most prominent Christian symbols of LGBT intolerance. They have practiced what is…
-
Ex-Gay No More: The End of Exodus International
By Kathy Vestal
The ex-gay myth has crashed. Fallen. Shattered. Exodus International president Alan Chambers announced last night that Exodus is shutting down. Tonight in a televised interview with Lisa Ling (OWN 10pmET),…
-
BREAKING: Explosion in Kabul near Afghan Peace Volunteers Home
THIS JUST IN… Yesterday, there was an explosion near the community house in Kabul, where the Afghan Peace Volunteers live and work (and where I visited a few months back).…
-
No, We Don’t Worship The Same God. (Do We?)
For Evangelical Christians, there is really no more important question than “Who do we worship?” If you were to ask the average evangelical who they worshipped, we would more than…
-
The biblical definition of marriage and its relevance to marriage equality
Earlier this year, as the Supreme Court began the conversation around California’s contested Proposition 8, social media outlets were buzzing with opinion over marriage equality. In an attempt to show…
-
God’s Graffiti: Inspiring Stories for Teens
A little over a year ago I started working on a book that would speak to the needs of at-risk youth. I use that term loosely because the truth is…
-
Ayn Rand vs. Jesus Christ: FIGHT!
By Yaholo Hoyt
So I’ll admit this article first took seed in my mind due to the entertaining visual of the title. However, I believe the potent philosophy of Ayn Rand has taken…
-
We Are the Words…
By Morf Morford
The Bible opens With the Creator Literally speaking the world into being And we imagine, That we human creatures, In a sense, like every other creature, Given life by God’s…
-
We are Red Letter Christians
By RLC Editor
I began working for Tony Campolo almost five years ago. I was a student at Eastern University and needed an on-campus job that could help subsidize the food and fun…
-
The Disturbing Trend of Christian Self-Deprecation
Christianity is a corporate community that includes thousands of different sects, factions, organizations and denominations—it includes millions of individuals and their nuanced theologies. The problem with the “Christian” label is…
-
Nature’s Elegant Geometry: Signs of God?
My wife, Amy, and I try to take Mondays off together. It’s our only time without kids but with each other and few job demands looking over us. Yesterday after…
-
The Gift of Receiving
By John Watson
“If there’s anything I can do… Can I help? Just let me know… Anything at all.” My son went into hospital, and for the first time, I was the object…
-
Christianity Means Not Knowing All the Answers
By Kathy Vestal
It seems to me it’s unchristian to claim, or even aim, to know all the answers about God. Think a moment with me. We Christians claim to believe in a…
-
Why Conflict is Good For Us
By Micah Bales
As a teenager, I always loved a good fight. I got a huge adrenaline rush from hashing out Very Important Issues with peers and elders alike. More importantly, I believed…
-
Showdown on a South China ferry – Do we have faith because we were born into it?
By Morf Morford
What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what language he shall speak. ~George Santayana, Reason in Religion Do we have a faith because…
-
Mislabeling the Word of God
By Yaholo Hoyt
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1, ESV The Bible is not the “Word of God.” It…
-
Entertainment Christianity
A Christian’s worst nightmare isn’t bad theology, hypocrisy or heresy—it’s boredom. Westernized Christianity has become addicted to entertainment, and we expect our sermons, worship and Sunday school classes to be…
-
Raising Kids and Radically Following Jesus. Possible?
By Jon Huckins
Before we had kids, we loved to travel, had worldview stretching experiences and were all together creative in how we lived the lives we had been given. For us, having…
-
The Damaging Effects of Shame-Based Sex Education: Lessons From Elizabeth Smart
A couple months ago, several Christian bloggers created a conversation about the potentially harmful aspects of idolizing virginity and purity. While I think that abstinence is a great goal for…
-
Churches Shouldn't Be Think Tanks
I remember the first time I met someone without papers. They were 12 or 13, like me, and pretty unremarkable and brown. I can still feel the tension between my…
-
If we say we have no sin…who are we really calling a liar?
By Morf Morford
One of the many themes of the Bible, expressed on almost every page, but rarely presented from the pulpit or explored in Christian self-help books, or even fiction, is the…
-
Honor and Shame: A First Century Lens for Today
This post will be the epitome of a layperson’s understanding of this particular topic, but perhaps it will be new information to some and provide a very general overview. Hopefully…
-
Uncool! — Google and Facebook's Human Trafficking Complicity
I was speaking at a on how to end human trafficking. Every single speaker there — from FBI agents, to Pentagon military people, to professors studying the issue and survivors running…
-
The False Idol of “Christianity”
Welcome to Christianity! Please complete the following questionnaire: Are you an Armenian or a Calvinist? Do you enjoy contemporary or traditional worship? Do you sing hymns or choruses? Do you…
-
Love is Everything
By Matt Young
Over the past year a lot of my beliefs have changed. I went from being a Soldier in the U.S. Army to a Pacifist. I went from having a nationalistic,…
-
Refocusing the Great Commission
By Kathy Vestal
“. . . go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey…
-
Queer People Have More to Offer the World than What We Are Not
Queer people have more to offer the world than what we are not. There is something liberating and life-saving about the Gospel. Jesus hung out on the margins, with the…
-
Give It All Away: Could Jesus Possibly Have Meant What He Said About Money?
By Micah Bales
This week at Capitol Hill Friends, we looked at Luke 12:13-34, where Jesus lays out some of his radical teaching about money. He tells the story of the rich fool…
-
Five Questions with Sarah Thebarge, Author of The Invisible Girls
is the author of The Invisible Girls, a new memoir from . I was fortunate to get a few minutes to ask her a few questions about her touching, funny, compelling…
-
There Should Be No Poor Among You
By Morf Morford
This is one of the few commands virtually all religious people I know easily – even eagerly – follow. We just do it our own way. The Biblical and cultural…
-
Proximity and Relationship: A Personal Story
There’s credibility and power in proximity and relationship. It is impossible to advance the message of reconciliation without being in proximity to and relationship with those who’ve been marginalized. Proximity to and relationship with the marginalized instills in…
-
Warfare Kills Nonhuman Animals Too
For nearly a century, anti-war sentiment has been a cultural force with which governments, religions, and economies have had to reckon. Christian pacifists have played important parts in these movements,…
-
Certainty, Accuracy and Seeking to Follow Jesus
Recently on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, sports commentator Tim Goldman mentioned a at Washington State University. Those who conducted it found that a sports pundit’s twitter following increased much…
-
The Bible Isn’t Perfect And It Says So Itself
By Zack Hunt
If you blog long enough, someone will eventually call you a heretic. Self-appointed orthodoxy watchdogs plague the internet almost as much as porn. Say something outside their particular theological tradition…
-
Tornadoes, Butterfly People and Finding the Sacred in Collective Stories
By Rachel Lloyd
After witnessing the profound impact of the Joplin tornado from a nearby community, I learned of an unexpected survival mechanism that became quickly woven through the fabric of the raw…
-
Serving Beyond Structures: Ministering Beyond Ministries
There are ministries that revolve around motorcycles, cars, pets, political parties, denominations, books, hiking, cooking, and for people without access to water, shoes, homes, jobs, food and even healthy food.…
-
Reformation Takes Decades, but Revolution Draws Blood in a Day
By Yaholo Hoyt
To the Young Revolutionary, Revolution is the cry of the young. It comes, mostly, from a good place. A young man or woman wakes up in this world with fresh…
-
Memorial Day and the Sacrificed
No one joins the military to die. No one intends to be a sacrifice, though many soldiers know there is a possibility they will die if sent into conflict. Yet…
-
Memorial Day – Mourning Our "Enemies" Deaths
On this Memorial Day, what if we not only remember American soldiers but all the soldiers around the world who have lost their lives? And not only soldiers, but all…
-
Jesus and Baptists and Jews – Oy Vey!
Some of my all-time favorite people are Jewish: The Marx Brothers. Mel Brooks. Even my Lord and Savior is a Jew. And then, there’s our local rabbi (sort of), Seth…
-
Why I am Actively Supporting the Boy Scouts
A kid no more than thirteen or so came to our door yesterday. We stood tall and was freshly pressed in his scout uniform, his black canvas Chuck Taylors the…
-
Why “Evangelical” Is Worth Saving
It was September 2005, only four short years after the devastating terrorist attacks that crippled our nation, and I was sitting right in the middle of a large evangelical church.…
-
Arizona atheist's invocation in state legislature raises questions about public 'prayer'
By Kay Campbell
Is it possible to give an invocation for a public group without it becoming a religious prayer? Yes, according to Arizona State Rep. Juan Mendez, who offered a secular invocation…
-
The Irrelevance of Jesus to Congressmen and Food Stamps
It is astonishing to me that politicians who are eager to identify themselves as Christians so readily declare the irrelevance of Jesus. Not that they claim he is totally irrelevant.…
-
The Pledge of Allegiance: 2 Reasons Why Christians Should Not Say It
By Matt Young
The Pledge of Allegiance was originally composed in 1892 by Francis Bellamy. Originally the Pledge was composed of these words: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for…
-
The Violence of Peacemaking
By Jon Huckins
Editor’s Note: Today, author Jon Huckins launches the Global Immersion Project! Watch the video below to learn more and scroll beneath it to read Jon’s post! The Global Immersion Project…
-
Five Reasons Christian Parents "Lose" Their Children
By Yaholo Hoyt
It is a great anxiety of Christian parents; wondering if their children will grow up Christian, or if they will stay Christians as they move into their own adult lives.…
-
Love is the Root of All Evil
By Morf Morford
There is probably nothing considered more mundane, but in reality more dangerous, than the study of words and how we use them. As any gun rights advocate would remind us;…
-
Caught in the Act: Reputation and Relationship
By Mal Green
The seemingly relentless litany in recent church history of high-profile and no-profile Christian religious leaders being caught in the act of spectacularly transgressing some aspect of their own Judeo-Christian moral…
-
When Revolutions Become Religions
Young and old, rich and poor, and people from every social, economic, political and cultural background are starting to rethink their faith. A fresh movement is happening, and in its…
-
The Lie of Gun Right's Advocates
The big lie is being exposed finally. Gun rights advocates continue to say they want their guns for sport, and self defense from all the criminals and mentally ill out…
-
Abercrombie And Fitch And Homelessness and You
Recently, the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch said in an interview that he only wanted “thin and beautiful” people to wear his clothes, which is why the largest woman’s size…
-
Confusion and Certainty about God
I’m not a very deep thinker. When I was growing up in Dallas, there was a D.J. on WRR named Jim Low. One of his tag lines was “even nonconformists…
-
Jesus Is Against the 2nd Amendment
By Art Haywood
Six month old Joniyah Watkins was shot and killed while sitting on her father’s lap in Chicago on 11 March in a drive by shooting. A gun is used in…
-
I Have Some Bad Habits
By Nikole Lim
I have a bad habit. On lazy mornings after my alarm clock goes off, I get back into bed and check up on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I usually fall…
-
The Cost of Being Poor
It’s expensive to be poor. “The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace” says the Washington Post. Most of us wouldn’t be able to…
-
Why I’m Not Spending Mother’s Day With My Children
This Mother’s Day will be the first one in fourteen years that I won’t be spending with my children. Assured by my kids that they could do without me on…
-
Are You Lonely?
By Micah Bales
I recently read a post by Suzannah Paul, in which she reflects on her own experience of living in a culture of isolation. She describes the present era as one…
-
Corrective Strategies and Themes for Understanding the Book of Revelation (Tired of the chaos? Me too!)
By Kurt Willems
After my most popular status update ever affirmed it a few months back, I’ve decided to do some intentional thinking about the book of Revelation. These posts will be scattered…
-
“I am a sexual predator. I need help.” Ariel Castro
By Morf Morford
Like everyone else I would guess, I have been horrified, appalled and spiritually and emotionally paralyzed by the news regarding the recent rescue of the three young women in Cleveland.…
-
The 6 Best Things About American Christianity
When it comes to American Christianity, we often see the worst in ourselves. We’re cynical, overly critical and depressed about our shortcomings. Apocalyptic sermons warn us that the end is…
-
Radical Theology: The New “White” Religion?
I’ve experienced some strange extremes lately. First, I attended – and spoke at – the Subverting the Norm conference in Springfield, MO, where we took some time to consider how,…
-
The 6 Worst Things About American Christianity
America is wonderful! We have religious freedom to express our beliefs and worship according to our preferences, but there are also very distinct problems associated with American Christianity. Here are…
-
EXECUTION HALTED: Willie Jerome Manning
THIS JUST IN…. Within hours of his scheduled execution, Willie Jerome Manning’s death was stopped. The Mississippi Supreme Court (the same court that denied DNA evidence in a split 5-4…
-
The Temple: What Will Be Our Standing Legacy?
By Morf Morford
When I see one of the magnificent historic temples or cathedrals, in all of its opulence and ornate craftsmanship, I am astonished, humbled and even thrilled by its, literally, transcendent…
-
Dr. Vincent Harding, MLK & The One’s We’ve Been Waiting For (with AUDIO)
Who are we building into? Who are we teaching what we’ve been taught? I ask this of us as I think of someone who last year had a profound effect…
-
Upon the Walls of Palestine
I have walked the length and breadth of many a wall over this past year but there are three that stand out decidedly more than all the others. They are…
-
Execution Alert: Willie Jerome Manning
A Mississippi man is scheduled to be killed Tuesday (May 7) at 6pm. In a last minute 5-to-4 vote, the courts denied DNA testing that could prove his innocence. Willie…
-
The Demonization of 'Terrorism'
Co-authored by Cyrus McGoldrick The recent explosions at the Boston Marathon and subsequent media coverage exposed yet again a dangerous trend in U.S. culture: rushing to judgment in labeling and…
-
When Christians speak of violence in Islam
By Dan Martin
The recent bombing attacks in Boston have once again raised the cry across the internet, rehearsing the perceived violence of Islam. In several recent discussions, Christians have repeated the mantra…
-
Why Be Proud of Jason Collins?
By Kathy Vestal
No one is proud of Jason Collins for being gay. Being gay or straight, black or white, male or female, left-handed or right-handed, blue-eyed or brown-eyed, is no reason for…
-
NBA Player, Jason Collins, Comes Out
By Andrew Marin
Late Monday morning my Twitter feed started blowing up with news that NBA player Jason Collins became the first active player on a major men’s sports team to come out. You can…
-
Remember Guantanamo Bay?
I had a chance to meet with some of the folks who have served as mediators to Guantanamo Bay prisoners… and I am deeply disturbed by what I am learning.…
-
How Much Money Does it Take to Be A Good Christian Woman?
When I was in my twenties, I attended a “Bible” study on how to be a Good Christian Woman. Good Christian Women, I was told, stayed home with their children.…
-
"Gun Control… Woopty Doo?"
“Woopty Doo?” John Howard on Gun Control. from John Beohm on Vimeo. — Jarrod McKenna is amazed by grace. A peace award winning nonviolence trainer and activist, Jarrod is now World…
-
8 Things I Know For Sure about Prayer
By Kay Campbell
So what, asks a friend of mine, should he do about Facebook requests of this nature: “I had thyroid surgery yesterday at UAB. Please pray that it will be benign.”…
-
Guns, Sex, and the Total Depravity of Everyone Else
If I were a non-Christian looking from the outside in, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to think that American Christians’ two highest priorities right now are keeping the…
-
What Am I Supposed To Call God?
By Micah Bales
When I was a student at , school policy was that in our written and oral contributions to our classes, worship and community life, we should do our best to…
-
Be Ready to Be Changed
We have a group at our church that does a weekly sandwich ministry together. Though we already had a group that makes sandwiches each week for a local shelter, another…
-
Should Christian Women Color Their Hair? On Dissatisfaction, Cultural Conformity, and Battling the Inner Barbie
A couple weeks ago, I had about a foot of hair cut off my head. When you’re the busy mother of four, and have the sort of Hermione-meets-Rapunzel hair that…
-
North Korea may bomb the hell out of us and blow us to smithereens, yet we will cling to the instability of hope
By Kurt Willems
At the moment, I have the unfortunate luck to commute about an hour to and from work every day. Don’t get me wrong, I love my current job and realize…
-
A Christian Response to Terrorism
Pray: #Prayer is suddenly all over Twitter, social media and the news, and our culture seems to uncharacteristically crave the necessity of supernatural goodness when faced with evil—and so should…
-
Today We Pray for Our Enemies
By Jon Huckins
It is in times and tragedies like those that happened in Boston that our call to pray for our enemies is most difficult. May we be faithful to pray for…
-
Why I've stopped saying 'We are a nation of immigrants'
“We are, after all, a nation of immigrants.” It’s a line I’ve used as almost a stock answer to individuals putting down Mexican immigrants living in the United States. My…
-
Cure for the White Savior Complex
“Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.” St. Augustine of Hippo We have all…
-
Hell and the Love of God (Pt. 2 of 2)
Author’s Note: I was invited to participate in a debate as part of Oregon State University’s Socratic Club series. The topic was “Hell and the Love of God.” I debated…
-
Hell and the Love of God (Pt. 1 of 2)
Author Note: I was invited to participate in a debate as part of Oregon State University’s Socratic Club series. The topic was “Hell and the Love of God.” I debated…
-
My Journey Out of the Religious Right (VIDEO)
Here’s my lecture: Frank Schaeffer: My Journey Out of the Religious Right from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. And the Q&A after: Questions and Answers with Frank Schaeffer from Bruce Prescott…
-
My Brother, Compassion, Gay Marriage, and Me
By T.C. Porter
A group of us from various churches began doing Sunday differently. As an act of worship we met in cafes and other public places, picking up trash, socializing and serving…
-
Was Jesus Efficient Enough?
In a business-driven culture obsessed with success, Christians are often tempted to apply secular business models to their spiritual faith. With around 40 hours of our week spent working, our…
-
Funeral Grace
By Morf Morford
Not long ago I attended a funeral for a sixteen year old boy.* He was a student at the school where my wife is a teacher. I’ll call him Maxie.…
-
The Pain of Moving Forward
Too many of us walk with no limp. No scars nor broken bones. We have not seen the dark of night nor stood against its cold shoulder. We are comfort…
-
Is Hell for the Rich?
Jesus shared a parable that seriously calls everything we think about hell into question. It’s the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. Frankly, I think any…
-
Put Your Guns Away…
But Jesus told him, “Put your sword away! Anyone who lives by the sword will die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52 Jesus said this to Peter just after Peter had…
-
Money is our Language and our Love
By Micah Bales
In our modern society, it is almost impossible to survive without money. The use of money has become an inescapable aspect of our daily lives. To secure food, shelter, utilities,…
-
Christians Pray Over Enbridge Pipeline
By Will Braun
The liturgy was as peculiar as the location. Sixty of us stood in a snowy ditch a mile north of North Dakota. We stood next to an Enbridge pumping station,…
-
The Humility and Grace of Foot Washing: Pope Francis and Me
It takes humility to serve others, but sometimes it takes even more humility to allow others to serve you. Pope Francis created quite a stir during Holy Week when he…
-
Jimmy Carter vs. the SBC/Driscoll/Victoria’s Secret: A Sea Change?
Jimmy Carter offered an open letter a few years back (republished this week by Women’s Press HERE) explaining why he is divorcing himself from the Southern Baptist Convention after six…
-
Get Off the Opium
“Religion is the opium of the people” is Karl Marx’s famous quote. A contemporary, Charles Kingsley, Canon of the Church of England, followed with, “We have used the Bible as…