I once read a story about a new pastor who was asked to preach at a funeral. He had never done that before, so he was a little worried about what he should say, how he should say it, that sort of thing. He was really uncertain what to do,…
You may have noticed that I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about this whole neo pseudo gnosticism business. It’s not obvious at all, is it? Well, this week, my multi-part tirade is going to intersect with another pet peeve of mine. But before I get to that, I want…
So last week, I finally let the rubber hit the road about why I’m so up-in-arms about neo pseudo gnosticism. One of the chief problems I have with it is how it can derail and mess up the hope that we as Christians have for eternal life. There are other…
For the past several weeks, I’ve been writing short-ish articles about a problematic belief that seems to have infected modern Christianity. These beliefs seem like pale echoes of an ancient heresy that was roundly condemned by the Church nineteen hundred years ago. In my not-so-humble opinion, it should always worry…
Shortly after I arrived at my present parish, several of the members worked on cleaning the church up. They found an older painting and showed it to me and asked if they should get rid of it. The moment I saw it, I told them to keep it. Not only…
He is risen! He is risen indeed! When we talk about “the heart and soul” of something, what are we usually talking about? We’re talking about what that thing’s most important feature or value is, the thing that sums up or represents whatever it is the best or most. So,…
Earlier this week, I sat down with my copy of Entertainment Weekly‘s summer movie preview and I flipped through it, taking note of all the movies that I have to go see this summer. And yes, I phrased that correctly. I have to go. It is imperative that I see…
I want to take a moment to rewrite the creation story, if you don’t mind. I know, I know, heresy, right? Except I think that I can make it more in-tune with the way most Christians see things. To wit: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.…