“Did you see the picture of the President praying with his council of religious leaders,” he asked. “What did you think about it?’
We were in the produce department of the grocery store. The question came immediately after ‘hello.” Not a good sign.
It was soon apparent to me that this was a loaded question, based on the presumption that I would agree with his opinion about the praying President picture. “You’re a pastor; surely you would find the picture gratifying and refreshing.” Continue reading The Loaded Question
Ancient Israel was politically and religiously pragmatic. The earliest description of this can be seen in the nation’s clamor for a Golden Calf to quell their fears at Mount Sinai.
“I don’t believe it. It’s fake news.”
No Joke
My editor asked me to rewrite the piece I was working on, using no personal pronouns. It seemed like an impossible request.
I grew up being taught that the Lord’s Prayer was irrelevant to the lives of contemporary Christians because the Kingdom, for which Jesus prays, was now present in the church. Why pray for something that already exists? Right?
I didn’t grow up inside a culture of respect for the earth. “Earth” as a totality – flora and fauna, beauty, wildness, and wonder.
In a prior life we were friends. There was a sort of ease in our conversations, and I did not have to expend energy questioning what was true and whether I was being used.
trust \trəst\ n 1: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something 2 : one in which confidence is placed
In the 80’s there was a rumor that was going around, principally among churches, that Madelyn Murray O’Hare, the famed atheist, was petitioning the FCC to end religious broadcasting. People were frantic!
MonoLogue 