“How can we learn to know ourselves? Never by reflection, but by action. Try to do your duty and you will soon find out what you are. But what is your duty? The demands of each day” (Goethe). “Try to do your duty and you will soon find out what you are.” Well, you don’t […]
Category Archives: Musings
It was not my choice, I was born a polygamist. Sure, my sexual orientation for multiple women took years to develop, but once it developed, boy did it develop. As a teenager I could not image loving only one woman for the rest of my life, I was in love with tons of women from […]
The tradition of hating tradition is a phenomenon found in abundance among many Christians today. Having spent 19 years in the independent Evangelical movement, I know the dizzying freedom one feels when he rejects “religious tradition” in the name of “having a personal relationship with Jesus,” as if the two were mutually exclusive. In my […]
“I’m spiritual, not religious” I wish I had a back massage for every time I’ve heard this line. What gets me most is the presupposition it stems from, that “spiritual” is the assumed equivalent of “good” and “religious” is the assumed equivalent of “evil.” Who made up this language game? Honestly, who decided that “spiritual” […]
To begin, I would like to tip my hat to Sam Harris. He is an all-star neuroscientist and fantastic author and speaker, but more than that, he’s brave! Brave? Yes, brave. Any scientist willing to commit to a strict philosophical naturalism and not allow the element of human thought to escape its clutches has attempted […]
If I were an atheist, and wanted to land a right hook on the chin of Christianity, I would aim first at its disunity. If one took serious inventory of the differences between Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformists, Pentecostals and the endless myriad of non-denominational churches (some estimate such churches to be numbered in the […]
The finest argument I have ever heard against atheism would have to be the ‘argument from reason.’ There was a brief period of time when I did not believe in God, but even if I had never disbelieved I could still imagine what arguments would be difficult for me to reconcile. The typical arguments one […]
What should consume a Christian’s interest is not self-produced virtue or belief, but rather truth. Virtue can very easily become autonomous; the ever present danger in pursuing the virtuous life for the sake of virtue itself. Likewise private belief has the same element of self-sufficiency, is every bit as isolating in nature. Truth is different. […]
It was the winter of 2004 when during a leadership meeting our pastor warned our church staff that if we were not tithing we would be removed from our leadership positions, no questions asked. It was explained that one could not be a devout Christian without tithing, and if one was not a devout Christian […]
Make it easy, man, easy. One of the worst things you can do if you aspire to create a new Christianity that appeals to your own fancies is to make it more difficult than it has to be. All this talk about taking up your cross and following Christ, this stuff about becoming a living […]
For some time I have desired to write an article addressing the Orthodox perspective on one of the most popular Evangelical teachings today known as the prosperity gospel. However, I recently discovered a short work that summarizes the issue quite nicely, which I would like to quote in full. The following is an excerpt from […]
The purpose of this article is to explore in greater depth the Orthodox view of Christ’s atoning work. As a convert from Protestantism I find this topic vital for a proper understanding of the primary differences between the Orthodox faith and its Western counterparts, i.e., Roman Catholicism and the various Protestant faiths. Due to the […]
Was Jesus Sent to Heal Man or to Heal God? This question is not meant to be funny; it’s a legitimate question in light of the prominent western theological view of Christ’s atoning work. According to the general atonement theory among Roman Catholics and Protestants, Jesus’ atoning work is understood as a “propitiation” for sin. […]
It was amazing that I had fit in for as long as I did. Looking back, I can’t believe I spent nearly 20 years in a Christian movement that was almost wholly cut off from dialogue with anyone on the outside. For someone like me, extreme in his tenacity for questioning everything, it is a […]
Stanley Hauerwas wrote a fascinating article in August of 2011 entitled: “The Death of America’s God.” Hauerwas is world famous for saying what many are thinking; using words the rest of us wish we could sting together with the same eloquent rhythm. Reading this article I found myself quietly celebrating each line as I read; […]
Is Your Christianity Gnostic? Nearly a year ago I cashed in my independent, Protestant, evangelical faith for the ancient Christian faith of Eastern Orthodoxy. In a short blog series I attempted to catalog much of my first year’s worth of “a-ha moments” as I stumbled through my new found home. As this first year comes […]
