Outside the Pigeon Holes

I haven't been reading a whole lot of theological books lately. Frankly, I'm kind of done right now with the whole thing. Not with Jesus, but with all the baggage. I'm worn out by the more evangelical stuff. Yet, with a few refreshing exceptions, people like myself who have endured a painful desconstruction, seem to go so far to the opposite extreme that it simply becomes the flip side of the same coin. There's no place for any previously held  practices or language at all. Science is now the almighty - not a way to understand the world created by an intelligent being. Shame on you if you refer to God as 'he' or wish someone a 'blessed day'. Worse it sometimes goes toward a politico-religious arena wherein unless your deconstruction has brought you to hard left activism then you clearly haven't fully evolved. I took a chance with this book because it seemed as though this author found a way to retain a connection to the concepts of God and Creation...

There has been an overload of debate posts since the Parkland Florida school shooting. This happens everytime. It's a vicious circle. I try not to get too involved unless I think it's a group of people who can talk without devolving into mudslinging. Because, that's helpful! Here is my ramble about the current state of affairs. I support the 2nd Amendment. I like to go target shooting. I don't own a gun, so this has nothing to do with 'mah guns'. If I thought stricter gun laws would truly help, I'd support reasonable reform despite my political views on that subject. We all have to be willing to step down from our respective high horses and talk about real solutio ns instead of just playing the same old talking points volley ball game. The thing is that the root of the problem is complex and we didn't get here over night. No single solution is going to impact the issue overnight. So, let's offer our practical solution ideas from our resp...

I have been on a bit of a mindfulness jag lately. I took a class on Coursera called 'Demystifying Mindfulness'. It was a good precursor to this book as it gave me a basic understanding of the more contemporary study of mindfulness which this book is geared toward. I was drawn to this title because of the aim to make mindfulness practice more easily accessible throughout the day rather than being limited to a certain time and place. The book is based on a particular brand of mindfulness training begun by Shinzen Young. What I liked: The book is very well organized. Salter lays out each chapter clearly and includes a reference chart which she builds upon as the information and practices become more complex. She also gives her own background and journey into mindfulness, sharing her own struggles with settling her body down (dealing with the 'itchy-scratchies')  in order to practice. Once you start to become familiar with the process and the vocabulary that makes up th...

The Book: Patmos by C. Baxter Kruger The Main Idea : Aiden who is a theologian and St. John, author of the Gospel of John and Revelation, meet in a cave on the Island of Patmos and have a three-day conversation. What I liked : The crux of what the author wants to convey is exactly what I have come to understand about the Gospel: that the biggest lie we have been fed by religion and the devil is the lie of seperation from God. There is no seperation except in our minds. And any theology that has seperation (IE - you are apart from God until you believe the right thing and say the right prayer and live the right lifestyle) at the heart of its truth will eventually lead to the exhaustion  and despairof its adherents. Life is in understanding that Christ is already in us - always has been and always will be. Nothing was created or exists in the Heavens or on Earth outside of Jesus - as is the message of John's Gospel. The Gospel of John is explored from this framework as is t...

If you have been reading anything on this blog you know that I am something of a 'Churchianity' renegade, so I had to review this title when it came up. If like me, you are a bit burned out on all of the hoops and tail-chasing that seems to come with most church-going, if you think there has to be something else, this book will be a good one for you. Richard Jacobson gives a compelling argument for retiring from brick and mortar supporting, program-based churching as we know it here in the States. He clearly lays out a Biblical foundation for what the early new covenant church looked like and how the church culture practiced today is based on Old Covenant law and practices. He successfully argues that these practices were never intended for the Christian community this side of the cross. Today there is supposed to be a 'priesthood of all believers' rather than one priest that everyone gathers around for instruction. We're intended to teach and serve one anothe...

I am proud of this project I am working on to honor and remember the victims and survivors of the 1977 fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky. It is the third worst nightclub fire in US history and the worst tragedy the state of Kentucky has ever seen. 169 people died. It is a work in progress but please fee free to visit and if you'd like to contribute, please contact me! Beverly Hills Supper Club Memorial Site 

Each day I am reminded why I have pretty much disengaged from the version of Christianity I grew up with. At its core it's one of the most depressing and anxiety ridden perspectives of Christ ever, no matter how pretty it is dressed up in faux-grace and quasi-mercy. If God is as helpless and powerless as he is construed (again, when you scratch beneath the surface), I'm better off without him. Thankfully, Christ has opened my eyes to the truth that this one perspective is not the only one in the world of Christendom (though some will try to scare you into believing that it is the only accurate one). Just 'being real' and sharing the 'hard truth', which this particular brand is fond of saying.

This book drew me in immediately on three levels. One, it addresses the connection between Spirituality and Psychology. Two, it uses Scripture and Science to explore the concept that we are made of three parts - Body, Soul and Spirit and the importance of understanding how they are interconnected. And three, the picture on the cover includes the image of a spiral figure containing roman numerals that is quite reminiscent of the opening sequence of "Dr. Who" - one of the best television shows ever created! I like the structure of the book with a combination of personal testimonies from various people sharing their spiritual journeys. Caldwell does a good job of explaining what a spiritual director does and how he has been assisted in his life through this kind of direction as well as how he has been able to become a spiritual director himself. His discussion of these practices are very reminiscent of my own experiences in the Sozo emotional healing and deliverance ministry...

I have long taken issue with the 'Left-Behind' version of the 'end times'. I think, among other things, that it 'empowers a dis-empowered devil' (as Kris Vallaton has so aptly stated). I don't have an interest in hashing out in this post all the issues I have with many end-time preachers, apocalypse prognosticators and modern-day 'prophets' who preach gloom and doom. I have not had a recent interest in carrying on intense theological battles with anyone. Life is too short and Grace is too wonderful to get lost in all that. Still, I have had a great interest in finding a good resource that thoroughly explains the eschatological (end-times) view that most, if not all, of the biblical prophecies related to the 'end of the world' came to pass exactly as the bible said they would and exactly when Jesus, Paul and other biblical writers said they would: before the generation of Jesus' time had passed. And they came to pass with the destructi...

Speakeasy Review  Abandon  by Tim Timberlake Well, lately, most Christian books I pick up seem to disappoint or reiterate in another way the theme of running the race of righteousness. This book was no different. I had hoped that this would be a book about abandoning oneself to the unending mercy and grace of God, I had hoped that it would talk about the wonders of letting go of fear and striving to walk along with Christ in reckless abandonment to His freedom. I hoped it would be about trusting in God instead of my own effort. It started out seeming to say some of that...Unfortunately, I found myself almost immediately writing questions in the margins and squirming in my seat. Old tapes started to play and spiritual junk started to creep back into my head. I had to put the book down and be done. For me, the content of this book would have been a giant step backward. To be fair and honest, I did not read the whole book. My thoughts here are based on the presentati...

So, this happened. The TV station asked people to share whether or not we would quit our own jobs over something that went against our religious values. For some reason I keep trying to shut up about all this. But I guess I'm a hopeless discussion addict. My reply: I might....Would depend on the issue. This one? No...But if that's how these court clerks feel then they are doing what they believe they need to. They aren't trying to prevent anyone from marrying, they are saying that they will not be a part of it. I think there's a difference. Look at it this way - now there are a whole bunch of new jobs open! Cool! This is America, folks. The freedoms that we want to have should be extended to everyone - those who are newly included in that freedom and those who have been blessed to have always enjoyed it. Gaining freedom doesn't mean it's time to steal it from another or engage in revenge oppression. For me, this is about giving space to one another even whe...

This is very timely. Papa clued me in to some things yesterday. I laughed and laughed at the absurdity of we ridiculous humans. I got a kick out of what I realized God has been trying to teach recently ("How will you respond if I scramble your paradigms?"). I also understood how deeply sad it is that we have so divided ourselves and set up such powerless, deceptive little kingdoms in an attempt to feel in control. Until we focus on our shared humanity we will continue in the same cycle of trying to scratch and climb our way to the top of a mountain that is, in the words of Dennis DeYoung, just a grand illusion. The Kingdom of Heaven lies beyond what we can see with our physical eyes. It lies beyond gender, race and culture. so why do we always stop there and base our treatment of one another on those criteria? Why do we decide if someone is worthy of our time or friendship on whether or not they comply with what we think they should do or be (as if our friendship should b...

I wish I knew who to credit for this photograph that I memed. It's beautifully done.

A recent article on Greg Boyd's website , Reknew, inspired these thoughts and a confession: This is a difficult reality to internalize but helpful when one 'gets it'...I don't like to get too deep into trying to explain evil in the world or why there is suffering even among those who trust God deeply with their safety and well-being. But what I do believe to be true is that God is good. All the time. God does not promise that we will never face trials or have bad things come our way --The world is too complex with spiritual issues and the cacophony of human voices demanding their independence -- but He does promise that he will never leave us in the midst of trials. I also believe that we ARE protected from many things which we will never know about - or that God can and does greatly reduce the impact of something working against us (depicted in the cartoon - which I found here: https://godguysandgirls.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/291937_10150267924702537_592537536_...

"When our eschatology (end-times view) has more to do with the "destruction of the wicked" than the 'restoration of ALL THINGS' then we really should re-think the Jesus we are preaching. The world is waiting for some GOOD NEWS not DOOM & GLOOM!" - Blaise Foret This is my take as well...Not that I don't believe that there will be some kind of 'recompense for the wicked' (what it looks like I do not know - only God truly knows), I just believe that Jesus' focus and the whole purpose of His work in his ministry, on the cross and in His resurrection was restoration and hope, not destruction and punishment. Scripture says destruction is a work of the enemy. As difficult as it can be, I believe that hope and restoration should be first and foremost in my heart and mind as well - even in the face of the immense evil that we face in the world. It is what Jesus modeled up until his last breath. Punishment, wrath and anger are not listed as b...

Rest in Peace.  Thank you for your heart and all you gave to the world through your work on and off 'the stage.'

I love the discussion and analysis here , in a brilliant post on Brian Mclaren's website , of the varying definitions of churchy words that get thrown around in inter-denominational discussions...I believe wholly that there is sin, that God has wrath and there is judgment, but what that loo ks like to me (through much of my own journey through the Spirit's teaching and God's 'refining fires') may differ greatly from that of my fellows. I believe that God's wrath is much more restorative than it is punitive and that sin has much more to do with 'love-breaking' than law-breaking....I believe Jesus teaches a way of living that is much more challenging to walk than the simplified 'black and white' thinking I was raised with. Yes, there is a time and a place for that, but I have come to understand that it isn't nearly as often as I once thought. #lethispeoplethink . 

At first I was in the camp that thought Hobby Lobby was being unreasonable in its position on Birth Control. There are women who need those for health conditions and not just for BC. I held this position until I looked passed all the one-liners, angry protesting and snarky memes on social media. The fact is that HL isn't  preventing anyone from purchasing anything and birth control pills ARE covered under their insurance plan. Employees are free to purchase other items out of pocket or purchase another insurance package outside of what the store offers. Employees can hop onto the ACA website and find insurance that works for them that covers everything they might need. The issue is with the Morning After pills which many people, men and women alike, are concerned cause abortions which is seen by many as killing and HL does not wish to fund those in their insurance plans. Again, employees are free to disagree with that position and purchase the contraceptives in quest...

When I read the promotional blurb for this book I thought that it would be primarily a book about adoring Jesus using Mary of Bethany (sister of the oft maligned Martha) as an example. I enjoy reading the ways that other people love on Jesus and relate with him. The book does offer this, but I was disappointed that it seemed to largely be the same old compare/contrast model of "will you be a Mary or a Martha in your faith?"Maybe it's just because in my own faith I have moved on from the need to compare myself to other people. Or maybe it's that I see a lot more depth to the characters of the Bible than the black and white 'she's doing it wrong, she is doing it right, BE LIKE HER!' but I was disappointed in the overall thesis of the book. The author is careful to note that we have all 'been' both Martha's and Mary's, and that she has as well, so it's not a self-righteous tone. It just isn't what I had hoped. I did like the stanza ...