The idea of "eternal conscious torment" disgusts, and even traumatizes, many. Unfortunately, it feels like it is synonymous with Christianity, even though it is (gasp!) not in the Bible! Hayley and Vince point us toward alternative Christian beliefs about eternity and morality.
Read MoreOur wider culture's good response to self-punishing versions of religion is to focus instead on self-care. Hayley highlights the helpfulness of that, and yet also wonders if it is incomplete, before suggesting an alternative aim we might make our goal, from deep in the Jesus tradition.
Read MoreWe tie up various loose ends and respond to some outstanding questions after leaning into the discomfort of talking about suffering for the last month. (Art: "Sorrowing Old Man At Eternity's Gate" by Van Gogh)
Read MoreVince & Hayley respond to a grab bag of questions about suffering and the tension of alleviating vs embracing. (Image from the Center for Action & Contemplation)
Read MoreFor MLK Day weekend, we continue our look at the tension of alleviating suffering and embracing suffering for a good, full life, learning from some of Dr. King's 1967 speeches.
Read MoreThat is the question! Vince reflects personally and intellectually on how a good, full life seems to involve BOTH a commitment to alleviating suffering AND an embrace of the inevitability of suffering. What do we do with that? How does one hold that tension? Jesus' life and ministry offer needed insights.
Read MoreHayley brings us to the provocative, beautiful suggestion from 13th century mystic Meister Eckhart that we are all called to be mothers who give birth to God -- bringing God's Spirit into the uprootedness of life, into the most unfathomable of circumstances. (Art by @osageandfern)
Read MoreVince asks questions about poverty, exploitation, and perceiving God's Spirit as we turn again to Matthew's Christmas story about the confrontation between Herod and the Magi. (Art: "Herod greeting the three magi" by Rolf Nesch, 1922)
Read MoreThrough the lens of the Nap Ministry's Tricia Hersey and her book "Rest is Resistance", Hayley continues our church's discussion of how to address societal burnout. (Illustration by Kumé Pather)
Read MoreTwo friends of Vince, in different helper professions, join us to continue our discussion of societal burnout (Cartoon by Bruce Mackinnon)
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