by Steve Kindle In my two previous posts, I attempted to make the case that finding a way for everyone to agree on how to understand the Bible is an impossibility. For various reasons, such as language nuances, psychological makeup, differing worldviews, hidden agendas and the like, we are presently, and probably always will be,…
by Steve Kindle The history of philosophy has been aptly summed up thus: “No matter what is considered the ultimate in metaphysical understanding today, tomorrow it will be replaced by another received as the ultimate in metaphysical understanding.” The same can be said for how the Bible has been interpreted throughout the centuries. I ask…
by Steve Kindle The Christian church has never had a uniform understanding of how to interpret the Bible, nor has it had uniformity of belief over its now nearly 2000 years of attempts to do so. The historic creeds were an effort in this direction, but failed to unite all parties. Even among the proponents…
by Jody Neufeld What words come to mind when this question is posed: What is a life with quality? Dignity Purpose Comfort Joy/Peace/Happiness Humans have wrestled with the concept of quality vs quantity of life, ever since medication was discovered to both heal disease and prolong a life. With technology, we can keep a 20-something…
by Nick May Titles like these honestly make me wonder how many folks per year are unwittingly lured into participating in organized zealotry and/or brainwashing. Like, does the thought never cross your mind? Wait…this reminds me of an episode of Boy Meets World I saw once. We all know “cults” in the traditional sense. It’s…
by Nick May MINUTEMEN was a book I wrote that repeatedly caused my mom to ask, “How can you tell a story with no redemption?” She questioned whether or not it was even biblical to do so. I questioned whether or not I even cared. Regardless of my attempts to write stories with no moral…
by Nick May When I wrote MEGABELT, the “Bible Belt” South had the market cornered on funny traditions, religious stereotypes and condemnation disguised as good-natured child rearing. Back then, it was easy to tell if you were a Belter. Like Gil (my main character), you attended a gospel sing followed by an ice cream social,…
by David Cartwright Of the three questions that drive my quest for an answer concerning the paradoxical teachings of Jesus, “What did Jesus say?” would seem to be the easiest to answer. On the surface, “What did Jesus mean?”, and “What would Jesus do?”, surely require more reflection and discernment. Not so, I’ve found,…
by David Cartwright It’s funny what we remember and what we forget. Some things stick with us for a lifetime. Others refuse to come to light. One insight that has stayed with me now for fifty years is a comment one of my professors made while I was in divinity school. The class was…
by David Cartwright In my book on the paradoxical teachings of Jesus, there are three questions that prompted my quest for answers and shaped the course of all fifteen meditations on the sayings of Jesus. “What did Jesus say?”, “What did Jesus mean?”, and “What would Jesus do?” Although, that’s the most helpful order…