Keeping Christ in Christmas
Are you prepared to hear about the “war on Christmas”? I am sure it will be talked about by some people. What may be talked about can be as varied as the design on the Starbucks coffee cups to the positioning of nativity scenes in public places. What those who make a lot of noise about […]
What does the Bible have to say about tattoos?
When I saw this question I was dismayed. It meant that somewhere there was a preacher or “Bible-believer” that was making tattoos a sin. People are suffering because of human arrogance, greed, rage and apathy. People are suffering because of violence, natural disasters, diseases and unjust institutions. Yet someone chooses to heap guilt and shame […]
Do we control our future or do we follow God’s plan?
Neither. I realize that is not a helpful answer when we are trying to make decisions. However, many factors beyond our control have an effect on our future. We cannot follow a plan when we do not know what the plan is. So, is there any help from our spiritual understandings when we need to […]
500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation
The event that is marking this anniversary is the nailing of 95 Theses on the Chapel door at Wittenberg (Germany) University on October 31, 1517 by Dr. Martin Luther. That event started a chain of events that has changed the face of Christendom and, in some ways, the whole world. The success of the Protestant […]
Forming Faith
On Wednesday nights starting September 6th, I invite you to join me at Pioneer Church to engage in faith formation. I am quite deliberately calling it faith formation, not Bible study. I am amazed at how much ideas about faith have changed since early Christianity. For so many Christians faith has become a set of […]
May a Christian family take their children trick or treating at Halloween?
Reasons for saying “No” are: Too much sugar is bad for them. Some children are terrified by masks – don’t subject them to terror. These reasons have nothing to do with being Christian. If Christians were serious about avoiding any celebration with pagan roots then they would have to stop giving gifts at Christmas and […]