Tag: Jesus

I remember attending a Pentecostal youth conference as an impressionable teenager. A preacher spoke of the blind man in the Gospel of Mark who sat by the side of the road and, upon hearing that Jesus had just passed by, began to shout at the top of his lungs, “Jesus! Son of Davi...

The doctors told Tammy not to ride horses while pregnant because she was at high risk for miscarriage, but she rode anyway. She gave up her maternal rights before my first birthday. She did not want to be a mom to me. Between nine months and three years old, my sense of security and stability ...

If you’ve ever found yourself immersed in the world of ancient Egyptian mythology or perhaps watching a documentary on the subject (or even just browsing social media around Christmas time), you might have come across the claim that the story of Jesus shares striking similarities with the stor...

Yes, what American culture needs is a lot more Jesus. But before you start cheering (or clicking away because you think I’ve become a religious bigot), let me explain what I mean. Although we’re allegedly an extremely Christian country (even though that was never what the Fo...

If you’ve ever spent any time online, either in random Facebook comment threads or reading the news, I’m sure you’ve come across the claim that Islam and Christianity are basically the same and that “we all worship the same God”, getting lumped together as an “Abr...

If you’ve ever spent any time online, either in random Facebook comment threads or reading the news, I’m sure you’ve come across the claim that Islam and Christianity are basically the same and that “we all worship the same God”, getting lumped together as an “Abr...

I’ve never been enamoured with camping. The last time I went camping — even though it was August — was so cold that I vowed: “Never again.” Good luck to those who love life under canvas. I’m thrilled for you. Just don’t expect me to offer to join you...

I remember attending a Pentecostal youth conference as an impressionable teenager. A preacher spoke of the blind man in the Gospel of Mark who sat by the side of the road and, upon hearing that Jesus had just passed by, began to shout at the top of his lungs, “Jesus! Son of Davi...

Lonnie Frisbee was a hippy, evangelical preacher, Pentecostal healer, and the energizer of two Protestant denominations. He was also gay. Frisbee’s enormous impact on evangelicalism was covered up. And everyone tried to explain away his homosexuality. The silencing and pathologizing of g...

The Church was destroyed and rebuilt in 1009 A.D., during the Crusades. How could it contain a tomb from 33 A.D., the year Jesus died on the cross? Inside the church, there is a shrine called an Edicule. The Edicule covers a limestone cave. Within that cave, there is a tomb that held the bod...

A fascinating study conducted by Pew Research revealed the most commonly used words and phrases in Christian church sermons. To come up with this data, Pew Research gathered the transcripts of nearly 50,000 sermons posted online by various Christian churches over a three-month period in 20...

I don’t go to a church anymore — at least not in the traditional sense. I still get together with a group of other believers, though — every week, in fact. We sit around a fire in a backyard, eat good food, drink a few beers, share our struggles, and chat about life and faith to...

Romans 1:3–4 was the earliest written document stating that Jesus was the son of David — just over 20 years after Jesus’ death. He is also called son of David in the gospels, the book of Acts, and Revelation. Evidence of any serious debate in the first century — that Jesus...

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Why does even with all the evidence provided, Jews and Muslims continue to doubt Jesus is the messiah that was promised and/or that is also God? Why? Is it a cultural thing? A familial thing? Since they grew up in it and since every religion claims to be the only true one, mistrust happens? I use...

The Christians learn the Bible, but with a whole set of additions, which they call the “New Testament”. Although it is better to learn the Bible than to learn other books, the Christians don’t really get to enjoy from the Bible’s legislative code because they claim that Jesus...

Perhaps you remember the Mayan’s apocalyptic prediction of the world. Or do you think of the tragedy that was Sandy Hook? What about North Korea’s first missile launched towards the US west coast? How about the solar flare that narrowly missed the world by 9 days? No doubt 2012 was li...

Yet again, faith has been weaponised as President Trump poses in front of the St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC; brandishing a Bible, the highest symbol of the Christian faith after delivering a message of dominance and clearing peaceful protesters off a public road. A couple of days...

Me: Hey Jesus, how are you doing? Jesus looked around as if he were looking for someone. He then looked at me and pointed to himself, as if to say “do you mean me?” Obviously, he did not recognize this name that was given to him by the religious masses. Me: Is Jesus the correct nam...

Portrayals of 1st century Galilee are quaint. Small Jewish villages dot the landscape under the watchful eyes of Roman rule in Jerusalem. The population is rural and impoverished both materially and spiritually. People work hard but chafe under the burdensome rules devised by the Pharisees and the c...

“When he [Buddha] went again to the garden he saw a monk who was calm, tranquil, self–possessed, serene, and dignified. The prince, determined to become such a monk, was led to make the great renunciation. At the time he was twenty–nine years of age… “Jesus, when he be...

As a child, his mother died, as his father had a mysterious paralysis. Charles supported his family since he was age 14. He worked his way up from a store clerk to an accountant. Then a partnership in a railcar manufacturing company made him a fortune. At age 45, he retired. Why? It was unclear. ...