Author's posts
Jan 11
How to Stop the Legalist
When I was younger, we had a saying about our “Christian standards,” that I don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t chew, and don’t go out with girls that do! Though it was a joking way to say it, it did also reinforce something we discussed in Pub Theology last Monday. We talked about “legalism.” Most of …
Jan 04
The Gospel of Mark, Demon Possession and Today
One thing that stands out in the earlier chapters of Mark is what is called “demon possession.” Many commentators shrink back at this term. They know the history of the mentally ill being called demon-possessed. They also know the excess in some parts of the church about exorcisms, coupled with the entertainment industry’s over-the-top use …
Dec 29
Empowerment
The New Year is filled with opportunity. Sadly, a disquieted spirit within will cause the opportunities to vanish. A renewed spirit is needed for the new year. Charles Allen writes of the terrible tortures of the Spanish Inquisition. The worst of all was to put a man in a jail cell with the ceiling so …
Dec 21
The Importance of the Body
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, I think that we have become disconnected from the traditional Christian theology of the physical body. Sometimes we think it is all bad, so we must deny anything our body wants. That is asceticism. Or we may swing the other way and feel we must satisfy …