The cultural pictures we have inherited for imagining a powerful God are mostly “white, bearded, muscular, dispassionate God up in the sky, who can do anything” images. But, for the long-suffering, the image of a God who "can do anything but refuses to" is no comfort at all. Is there a better way to imagine a powerful God?
Read MoreSorting or categorizing the world into good-bad or in-out is a deeply ingrained human behavior, evolutionarily, meant for protection from danger. But this instinct can easily turn into scapegoating or exclusion. Is the religion of Jesus just another example of that? Or can living it out push us beyond the in-out mentality? (Art: book cover of Scapegoats, by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw)
Read MoreCuriosity > Certainty. Connection > Answers. It’s okay to be both a believer and a skeptic at the same time. Hayley gets us talking about how much we humans crave certainty, how we might ween ourselves off of it, and what can nourish us better.
Read MoreHealthy unlearning or deconstruction isn't burning down what was before. It is looking back on our younger selves with love and fondness, not disdain or embarrassment. It is differentiating and integrating what was before into a broader, more beautiful story. (Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash)
Read MoreInspired by Discord comments and personally shared reflections from our first two messages on belonging, Hayley and Vince expand on various themes.
Read MoreOn the third Sunday of Advent, we look at the way Matthew's Christmas story (the one with the wise men following the star, and Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fleeing from Herod to Egypt) sets up Matthew's larger message about Jesus. Matthew is a subversive drama (think "Hamilton").
Read MoreVince introduces our theme for this year's Advent (Economic Justice and the Bible's two Christmas Stories) and how to participate.
Read MoreHayley and Vince continue this month's discussion of the modern experience of constant, nagging guilt, and in particular how healthy spirituality and community might help us address guilt in our relationships.
Read MoreFrom Kendrick Lamar to Counting Crows, from social media to sociology, Vince suggests a theory on why, in our culture, everyone seems to feel guilty all the time. Is the traditional religious discussion of guilt helpful to this predicament? Or is there something else we need?
Read MoreIt was so fun (and helpful!) doing a grab bag of religious phrases or words that have lost their meaning (along with the prompt, "keep it, change it, or toss it?") we've decided to do a second round!
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