Posts from the Blog of an (un)Tamed Cynic
Reading: Luke 12:32-48 Reflection The simple message of this passage is this: be ready when Christ returns to usher in the kingdom of God. When considered in the context of the early church, it becomes more complicated. Most of the New Testament writers expected Christ to return within their lifetime. They spoke in urgent and [...]
In his ongoing #progGod series of posing theological questions to progressive Christian bloggers, Tony Jones asks, “Why a crucifixion?” I first wrote an answer to this question a year ago (read it here) in response to Tony’s ebook A Better Atonement. Here is the essence of my take on the crucifixion: I (still) don’t think [...]
This week I’m in Orlando for the the Presbyterian Youth Workers’ Association winter symposium and (for my first time) the annual gathering of the Association of Presbyterian Christian Educators. I brought my family and my parents met us here, so we’re also having some good fun in Orlando theme parks. The PYWA symposium was a [...]
Text for this reflection: Ecclesiastes 1-3 Reflection Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible. It is not very well known, and those who do read it might find it overly negative or depressing, but I think it provides a philosophical and theological voice that helps balance out some of the other voices [...]
The following is the introduction to the sermon I preached yesterday at our afternoon jazz worship service. It was inspired, in part, by this clever post I found by googling “fathers in the Bible.” My thoughts on the binding of Isaac were included in the main part of the sermon. This summer we’re doing a [...]
