Category: Living Our Faith

There is nothing in the creeds that explicitly calls for pacifism. It doesn’t take a conspiracy theory to consider that once our faith became a state religion, warfare was back on the menu. Early Christians were perhaps less complicated in their views on governance and held strong pacifist beliefs as one might after watching one’s… Continue reading War in Light of Faith in the Resurrection

If your religion is Christian Nationalism, then one of your holiest sacraments is redemptive violence. This was fully on display this weekend as the United States, led by an adjudicated sexual predator who is also likely mentally impaired, led us into yet another interventionalist war in the Middle East. The brilliant Walter Wink, American theologian… Continue reading The Myth of Redemptive Violence

I have many atheists among my friends and family. Disproportionately so because according to recent Pew Research Center findings, 83% of Americans believe in a higher power. That’s not too surprising as my friends and family tend to be artists, musicians and creatives in one way or another who see it as a part of… Continue reading The Problem is not Religion, the Problem is Power

I recently received a comment on my blog post about the murder of Renee Good asking about some of the more subtle ways we are influenced by privilege. I’m very aware that my privilege has provided many more opportunities for education and advancement in my own life than that of other friends. As a married,… Continue reading Invisible Privilege

This week a masked ICE agent murdered 37-year-old mother and poet, Renee Good. There is no doubt that this was murder. The killing was completely senseless. Minneapolis has no need for ICE-officer presence in the first place. Even if there was a need for ICE, there was no need for the officers to escalate their… Continue reading Murder and Privilege

I tend to compartmentalize the elements of my identity. This can feel like straddling a series of contradictions. There are places in my life where I am a prayerful introvert but also an improvisational musician and composer, a respectable business consultant yet also an award-winning comedy writer, a practiced existentialist who is also a somewhat… Continue reading Authenticity and Integration

“What if he wins?” a close friend asked over dinner in October of 2024. It hadn’t even occurred to me that another Trump presidency was a possibility. Surely America was better than this. Didn’t we all feel the fatigue of the lying and the dehumanizing insults? The polls showed how untrusted he is by most… Continue reading The Full Bonhoeffer: Principles for Spiritual, Ethical, and Political Resistance

Thanks to a dear friend, I’ve been on a Diana Butler Bass kick for a moment. This friend gifted me the book, Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks, last week and I haven’t had a chance to start because of an unusually busy Advent season personally, professionally and in my responsibilities at church. I… Continue reading Advent and a Different Rhythm for Life

Robert Preston Morris started Gateway Church, a prominent megachurch located in Southlake, Texas, in 2000, and served as its senior pastor. Morris was a member of a 25-person evangelical executive advisory board for Donald Trump’s winning 2016 presidential campaign. He also welcomed Trump to Gateway Church in June 2020 and was present at the White… Continue reading How Evangelical Christianity is Unraveling from Within

Tomorrow is election day in much of the USA. But that’s not why you came here. You just wanted some time to think about a Bible passage or two. I get it. You want to escape from a broken world. We all do. I’m sick of seeing President Baby Hands and his sycophants destroy democracy,… Continue reading Do You Have an Escapist Faith?