All tagged shame
Anchored in reality, the Bible is not shy about our suffering or lamenting our suffering. Jesus knew that, too. But he changed things when he told us that there is a cost to be paid for following him: the cross. What does that mean exactly? What did it mean in his day? What did Jesus do with regard to our suffering? Together let's press suffering through a Christ-centered sieve. (I also talk about the spiritual war we now find ourselves in.)
The 2015 SCOTUS Obergefell ruling created a new, if ambiguously grounded, right. The basis for that ruling? A philosophy that had been slow-cooking on college campuses for 150 years. How did Charles Darwin's faith play into the cooking of that philosophical stew? What is that philosophy doing to the fabric of society? Let's laugh and think together!
Life is a matter of frequency, of attunement, of stimmung (in German). How we attune ourselves, how we tune our frequency, greatly determines the quality of our lives. What kinds of things have entered the American frequency that have cloyed both a biblical and an American understanding of freedom? What Beatles song do I sing to make my point? Come think and laugh with me.
A now-common take: Paul corrupted the simple and loving message of Jesus. Jesus was about care of neighbor while Paul infected that ethic with religion. So Paul is the one who established traditional, and now passé, Christianity. But was Paul really different from Jesus? How was Paul true to Jesus? The answers could build or wreck Christian faith. And my invisible conversation partner suggusts we publish a pink lettered bible: Jesus’ words about inclusion, diversity, tolerance and not hurting other people’s feelings all in pink.
Does the Bible forbid love of nation? Does the Bible forbid love of one's local culture? Is this really about nationalism or is there another agenda at work? In philosophic speak, between what two enormous focal points does the pendulum of history swing? Why? In light of the Common Good how should we think about Nationalism?
What are the biblical perspective and the Jesus perspective on wealth and riches? Is it sinful to be rich? How was wealth gained in the first century? How did the ancient Jewish world seek to span the wealth gap between the rich and poor? What was the central issue for Jesus concerning wealth? What's all that mean for today?
We all know Jesus was crucified, but what did a crucifixion symbolize for ancient Romans? What kind of capital punishment did Dracula impose, a method that the Romans believed was not enough? What are some amazing theological truths about Jesus' crucifixion? What does the common biblical hermeneutic do to both our reading of the New Testament and our understanding of Jesus? Come and go deeper with me about Christ's passion!
