-
I will be clear once more, I think the institutional church can be wonderful and those who love it just the way it is, have my full support. I’ve said many times that I’m involved with a very good church but I don’t like all parts of the American church culture. However, the impetus for…
-
I am steering away from a discussion about the organized church for a moment. I just listened to a podcast that, to me at least, illustrated the profound contrast between religious Christianity and following Jesus. I will define the two once more. I see religion as a human-created system of rituals and beliefs that have…
-
The Elephant in the Room (Church) I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a minefield, getting ready to navigate to the other side. “Church” is the most sacred of cows within Christendom, and I sense that many Christian people have a hair trigger, listening to what they think I’m saying and reacting. So,…
-
I want to clear that the primary reason that I am drawing a line of demarcation between the Christian religion and the simple followers of Jesus of Galilee is because the Christian religion is in a death spiral, and for good reason. The “following of Jesus” is the proverbial lifeboat off the religious Titanic. I…
-
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to teach Sunday school to a group of teenagers. I was delighted to do so because my heart was with those disillusioned with the Christian culture, and the Millennials were one of the groups that were most likely to exit Christianity after being raised in Christian homes. Additionally,…
-
Several years ago, Denise and I were in the process of joining a new church, having just moved to the city and attended it for a while. The process of becoming a church member required two meetings with the pastor, which was a reasonable requirement. At the last meeting, the pastor presented us with a…
-
As I define religion, I must acknowledge that my use of the term is different from the norm and likely different from they way the reader uses it. When I write about religion I am not making accusations about your personal life of faith, that you may call “religion.” Observe how I frame religion and…
-
Two years ago, on this blog, I wrote, “I hate religion, but love philosophy.” I thought I had taken great care to define and explain what I meant. But in the end, that statement cost me my best friend. He heard, “I hate God,” and my love of philosophy put me in the same category…
-
Before I move into what love isn’t, I do want to mention a couple more things about what love is. Love is a Choice Agape love is a choice. In John 13:34, Jesus commanded his followers to love others (agape) as he loved them. This would not have been a command if it were just…
-
Here is the love chapter in I Corinthians that everyone is familiar with. While it makes for great poetry, this is one place in the Bible that is meant to be taken literally. The Greek word for love in this passage, of course, is Agape. As you read it, meditate on what this means for…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
