Is trumpism a word? Yes. It stands for the end of democracy, the end of freedom.
Christians could have better repute in the world if only
they were "more like your Christ," as Gandhi recommended.
Jesus nailed the problem: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?"
Micah made true priorities very clear: "Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God.”
they were "more like your Christ," as Gandhi recommended.
Jesus nailed the problem: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?"
Micah made true priorities very clear: "Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God.”
Most Recent
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The hopes and fears of all the years - What does that make you think of? That's a LOT of human life.
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Should we even care about how to feel more grateful? Why? Well, it is good for humans. Here are some guides, short and sweet.
How To Learn How to Pray – Don’t Fret, Just Do It! – 11 Helps From Real Pray-ers.
How to say a prayer? How to start a prayer? How to learn how to pray? Many times, I bet, we have done something that we were scared to try – but we did it! And it was good that we did. We can do that...
Abusive Use of the Bible – a la Speaker Mike Johnson – is Fraud. But Popular, & a Handy Weapon.
This abusive use of the Bible (“The New Small Bible” or “The Republican Small Bible”) is a long-standing American problem. And it is not a small matter. It is truly dangerous.
Prophetic Improvisation Takes the Bible Seriously. Are You Ready for Jesus and Jazz?
Maybe US churches' inability to bring love, peace, patience, kindness into society - and their increasing desire to bring domination and violence - has to do with NOT taking the Bible seriously. Not...
What is Christian Nationalism? It Wears Christian Words & Symbols Like Sheep’s Clothing.
What is Christian nationalism? It’s nationalism - sort of "my country, right or wrong" stuff - but seems to be Christian only in superficial, dishonest ways.
Open and Affirming Churches – Are YOU SEEN, Welcomed, Affirmed? Do You See, Welcome, Affirm?
Some really are Open and Affirming churches, ONA, or "Welcoming and Affirming." Some merely claim or wish to be.
Justice is What Love Looks Like in Public. Why Resist It? Is It Possible We Hate Loving Our Neighbors?
Cornel West: Justice is what love looks like in public. John Ruskin: We hate justice. All of Us: We don't hate loving our neighbors!!
What is it Like to Live in Ukraine Right Now? – 3 Short Poems – Truth, Terror, Courage, Love.
What is it like to live in Ukraine right now? We need to listen now and then to people trapped "in the hour of war". Poetry from Ukraine enables that.
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If a pastor tries to listen to Jesus and a church member complains ‘Where did you get those liberal talking points?’ - then we know US "Christianity" has problems.
8 SHORT Books – Good Ones You Might Appreciate.
Short books. Sometimes “short and sweet” is most excellent in a book - though sometimes we do without the “sweet” part.
6 Anti-Gay Clobber Passages – Biblical Authority (Mis)Used Against People. Ouch!
Evangelicals and others use a few “clobber passages” against gays - but those passages are quite few, quite brief, and much less clear than it seems at first glance.
The Kingdom of God. We Would Love It – Let’s Get It. (4 Aspects Jesus Emphasized)
The Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven) was Jesus' primary emphasis. Can you believe that?!
What Do You Think? Please Share Some Thoughts. (12 Questions – Pick 1 or 2)
What do you think? We're all in this together, you know.
The Trump Cult: You Must Surrender – And Stop Researching. 3 Lists of Cult Behaviors.
The Trump Cult - really? Depends on who you ask, obviously. People IN a cult never believe they are in a cult.
Our Sometimes Silly Beliefs Don’t Matter Much to God. 3 Ways God Views Our Beliefs.
Your beliefs don't matter. WHY WOULD your beliefs matter to God? We hear all the time, or feel, that they surely do matter - but why? How?
Jesus Named Wicked Ways (9 Examples) – We Can’t Hide
Jesus named wicked ways ... explicitly. That is, Jesus of Nazareth himself, 1000 years after Solomon, 2000 years before us.
2 Chronicles 7:14 – Is This Good News For Us? Great Blessing Offered
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - a frightening yet hopeful word from the God of these people. We’d do well to get the actual points.
Try Mainstream Churches – You Might Be Healthier, More Comfortable Here With The Rest of Us!
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Guns and Mental Illness: 6 Evil Practices by Which We Are Killing Our Kids
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Years ago someone at LibraryThing.com asked which five books I'd like to have with me - 5 books for a desert island.
Christofascism – It’s Real, It’s Deadly, And It Intends to Dominate Us All
The book "Confronting Christofascism," makes this starkly clear: “We are dealing with something far beyond the contents of the Christian Gospels.” (p4)
Tyranny – We’re in Danger but Have Options – 20 Short Lessons.
Very short book, and very valuable! “The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats ...
Fear Can Be Agonizing. 30+ Posts That May Help With That
Fear is real. But it's not in the least all that there is.
Micah 6:8 – He Turns Us Toward a Beautiful Life After His Anger
Justice – Mercy – Humility, all "required" by the Prophet Micah. No excuses apply, of theology, creed, Bible interpretation, politics, economics, race, class, whatever.
Mary Pipher: Can We Flourish as We Age? “Women Rowing North”.
This book of Mary Pipher’s has the strong asset of valuable epigraphs at the head of each chapter. I’m just going to list the sections, chapter titles, and epigraphs from each chapter in Women...
Isaiah 58 Gives us Much-Coveted Hopes – After Accusations. It’s Beautiful.
Please read the outline. Isaiah 58 is ancient, and VERY contemporary. And it's brief!
Earth – I Woke Up on The 3rd Rock Today.
Sitting on my little porch (on Earth, as it turns out), overlooking some lawn space and a bike trail, I suddenly realized -
Book Reviews: Another 10 Excellent Ones I’ve RE-Read Recently. (List 2)
Here are brief book reviews of ones I’ve chosen to RE-read in the last two or three years. That means they’re worth a lot to me, because there’s a bunch of others I still need to read for the first...
Was Social Justice Part of Jesus’ Message? Oh Yes. 4 Scriptures.
What does Jesus say about social justice? I’m not going to argue percentages here. Let’s just see some very clear things he said so we can deliberately choose to believe in him – or not.
Book Reviews: I’ve RE-read 10 Excellent Ones Recently (List 1)
Here are brief reviews of books I’ve chosen to RE-read in the last two or three years. That means they’re worth a lot to me, because there’s a bunch I still need to read for the first time.
Love God – Can Even GOD Demand That? Well, Yes and No.
Can someone demand that you love God? No. Not even God can do that – because God (who- or what-ever God is) has obviously given humans freedom to feel what they feel, period.
Do They Hate You Too? To Not Be Persecuted, Avoid These Traits – 3 Lists
Which of their hate lists are you on? Sooner or later everybody can be persecuted by the authoritarians (fascists). That's crazy.
Greed of Capitalist Preachers Strongly Denounced by Jesus
Hyper-capitalism (American style) seems to thrive on, live on, intense greed - love of money, of wealth accumulation - above all.
6 Ways to Believe in Jesus Without Taking Him Seriously
Do we believe in Jesus? The church for centuries has been good at "domesticating" Jesus -- the historical Jesus was more of a problem to religious people than is usually recognized or accepted.
A Rigorously Christian Liberal – Nebraska’s Wm J Bryan
He was openly, deeply Christian, and vigorously liberal. And "He did more than any other man to transform the Democratic Party from a bulwark of laissez-faire into the citadel of liberalism we...
Guns in Nebraska – Freedom for Guns! Less Freedom for the Humans.
Guns in Nebraska: The NE Senate passed and the Governor signed a bill to remove all sensible and necessary supervision of handgun ownership and possession here. I love Nebraska, have lived here over...
Young Climate Prophets, Wise and Blunt Against Earth Abuse
Climate prophets use the burning Notre Dame cathedral as a gut-grabbing illustration of what’s happening - to our climate, Our Cathedral Home, this beautiful, ancient, and precious Earth.
Prayer for All of Us! – 5 Helps to Realism and Comfort in Prayer
Prayer is perhaps a bit strange, but still a common activity. These five principles I think are hopeful and realistic.