The Bible as a Social Justice Manifesto

Tonight and tomorrow the Glendale Church of Christ in Glendale, CA is hosting the First Annual Risen Young Adults Conference. The theme this year is “How to Start a Riot: Lessons from Acts.” I am one of the speakers tomorrow, and the title of my session is entitled “The Bible as a Social [...]

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Feed the Hungry for Jesus’ Sake

ccording to this article 691,000 children went hungry in America last year. According to this article parents in Haiti (and many other countries) have to choose which child will starve to death because there is not enough food to feed their families. Something I am very passionate about, but have not mentioned much [...]

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Is America the Promised Land or Egypt?

Social location is vital to understanding how people come to their interpretations, and appropriations, of the Bible and its stories. One of the most popular biblical stories people have historically personalized has been the story of the exodus. America’s earliest European settlers understood America as the promised land they were entering after fleeing Egypt. Since, [...]

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The Idolatry of American Politicians

In the second debate between the major parties’ presidential candidates Sen. John McCain declared that “[T]he fact is, America is the greatest force for good in the history of the world.” Last week his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, said that the worldview she and Sen. McCain share is that America is to be “that [...]

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Prosperity Preachers and the Economic Meltdown

I recently came across an insightful article on Religion Dispatches. It asks the question, “Where are all the prosperity preachers in the midst of the economic crisis?” “Prosperity preachers” are those who espouse the “health and wealth gospel.” This version of the Christian faith claims that material blessings flow from true faith. [...]

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Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?

Check out this article at Time.com.
Apparently, John McCain’s staff has put out another ridiculous ad trying to scare people away from Barack Obama. The first time he compared Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Now he is hinting he might be the anti-christ? Wow…..
Apparently, a lot of people agree according to [...]

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God and the Problem of Evil/Suffering

One of the greatest difficulties the Christian faith faces is the question, “If God is so loving/good (and all-powerful/all-knowing) how come there is so much pain and suffering in the world?” Theologians call this the question of theodicy. It is something that I have struggled with for some time, and have even written [...]

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The Worship God Has Chosen

Yesterday I was blessed to be able to preach both morning services at Lakeview Church of Christ in Tacoma, WA. I spent the summers of ‘03 and ‘04 working with the church as its summer youth ministry intern. It was good to be back. The title of the sermon was “The Worship [...]

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