Three Approaches To Pain And Suffering
“Ignorance is bliss.” English poet Thomas Gray Yesterday I tweeted an old thought that came to mind a couple of years ago. It said, “Which is better, to be happily deceived or disillusioned, yet aware?” So much of my life over the last 10 years has been about wrestling with my own disillusions, yet aware that they exist. And as …
Why I’m Going To Hell
I had a thought the other day. If God’s judgment leaves someone out of the Kingdom of Heaven, which can be rationally described as hell, then I’m going to hell. Did I get your attention? Here’s why I’m going to hell. The broad assumption in evangelical Christianity is that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, one must speak …
Sitting With The Other
About six years ago I made the choice to commit my life to the practice of love. Lately I’ve been having some of the deepest conversations with people about what it means to step into love, especially people we consider our enemy. Some of it came from this post, which asked what it would feel like to see our darkest …
The Forgiveness Of Sins
Why is there such a tension with grace? This past week Jay Bakker, son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, was profiled in The New Yorker. The article surprised me in some respects because it was a profile on an emergent perspective. It’s a fair feature piece on a guy who has been to hell and back, and then chose …
Pouring Our Anger Onto God
Where is the safest place to put our anger? Some of you may have heard that Adam Walker Cleveland lost his twin sons in the middle of the pregnancy. It’s one of those things that has no real point of ground. There’s just no words or thoughts that can bring a sense of peace to these kind of moments. As …
A Gospel Of Suffering
A Gospel Of Suffering from The Work Of The People on Vimeo. Why does God allow suffering? A week ago I had the pleasure of meeting with Missiongathering community and presenting Discovering The God Imagination. And while this was the statement I heard the most, it was a late night gathering on the deck that produced the best question for …
Love In The Face Of Unspeakable Evil
One of the central conflicts in the human story is how we deal with the reality of unspeakable evil. I make the argument in Discovering The God Imagination: Reconstructing A Whole New Christianity that the cross is God’s response to how far we as humans think we can go. It invites us into the reality that there is nothing we …
Gameshow Relationships
Contrary to public opinion, I think the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are important shows. Seriously? You ask. This post started because my friend Kate Murray shared her thoughts on the show. She said: Last night I watched the Bachelorette. I never watch the Bachelorette. I don’t know what got into me, but I sat on the couch, for two hours, …
The Destructive Nature Of Judgment
This is a very powerful video on people’s experiences of being judged, specifically within the church space. I have felt some of these statements myself and have seen them in other people’s lives. Not trying to be funny but I really loved the story of the guy who stole the Jesus statue for his grandmother. Its sad that a little …
The Reality Of Hell
[Note: The above video contains graphic violence.] Sometimes I wonder if our fear of hell in the afterlife is keeping us from seeing the reality of hell in this life. Some of you may know that I spent some time working in Hollywood. I wanted to be a screenwriter after growing up watching movies. I was captivated by the storytelling …
