Faith can seem like the easiest thing. All we have to do is believe. There’s no physical exertion required. Education is often seen as a hindrance. It’s not something we have to spend much time thinking about. In fact, the less thought we give to our beliefs the more it seems like faith. Appearances, of […]
Continue reading
Tag Archives: Christianity
Aiming At Nothing And Hitting It
December 28, 2012 
3 Comments
When I became a minister, my role as a pastoral counselor had special significance for me. I regarded counseling as a professionally recognized practice. Everything else about being a pastor—the ceremonies, the praying, the studying of religious books, the time spent with women who were home all day—seemed to be seen as more akin to […]
Continue readingShow Me Your Doubt And I’ll Show You Mine
December 9, 2012 0 Comments
When I was in seminary, I became friends with a young Coptic priest from Ethiopia. His name was Marcus, and we both worked as chaplaincy trainees in a large urban hospital. One day, as we relaxed in the chaplain’s office, he described his personal cave. On graduation from priesthood training in Egypt, Marcus was given […]
Continue readingA God Of Love
November 18, 2012 2 Comments
The Aztecs probably hold the record for most human sacrifices performed in a calendar year. They believed in a God who fed on human blood, and their priests tore beating hearts out of chests to offer up as food. Going to war was a form of farming, harvesting captives, then herding the divine victuals home […]
Continue readingcrucifixion, God, humanity, love, pain
Ideologically Speaking
July 29, 2012 3 Comments
We all like to be right. In my experience, being wrong has never had a big upside. It’s usually followed by taking the blame for everything from embarrassments to car wrecks, and is why we constantly try to convince people the truth is on our side. The F was the teacher’s fault. The ways we […]
Continue readingDealing With Blindness
July 15, 2012 0 Comments
As an archer, an arrow. –The Dhammapada Sometime towards the end of my first marriage, I tried to play the stock market and lost my shirt. I didn’t know what I was doing. It seemed like a way to augment my salary as a pastor. I never took a vow of poverty, after all, but […]
Continue readingTrusting The Miracle
March 18, 2012 0 Comments
I’ve been wondering what to do with myself lately. Perhaps it’s because I turned sixty a few months ago. Perhaps it’s because I had a heart attack shortly afterwards. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never held a job longer than seven years, and I’m approaching that now. Perhaps it’s because I still don’t know what I […]
Continue readingMeeting God
February 19, 2012 1 Comment
The first time I experienced what I think of as God was as a bored teenager in church, feeling guilty about masturbating. Masturbation was a regular activity, being a horny fifteen year-old, and the Sears catalog provided visual stimulation. In my day, catalogs were the equivalent of internet porn. Unfortunately, I also believed masturbation was […]
Continue reading
Welcome to my blog on keeping the faith in the 21'st Century. Let me know what you think and how you are keeping on.
