For the first, say, 46 years of my life (I’m 61 now), I was pretty rigid and certain when it came to what I believed religiously.  The church that I was raised in until I was 16 truly believed that they were the only people going to heaven: if you weren’t baptized by immersion, and if it did not take place as a member of this certain denomination (probably the top 4-5 largest denominations in the South), you were going to hell when you died.  And, as the years have gone on, I have been certain about being “right” theologically in several systems of thought, especially when it came to ..read more

In my last blog post (“God IS Love”), I discussed the universal love of God for all people, that God loves everybody, even our so-called enemies (“Even the Russians?  Even those Democrats or Republicans?  YES).  I will discuss this further in a few weeks when I preach on John 3:16 – one of the most mistranslated verses in the Bible.  But, truth be told, I like to SAY that God’s love for every human is unconditional…but many times I really don’t believe it.  Here is one of my favorite theologians, Richard Beck, to explain the concept of God’s unconditional love a bit be ..read more

In my last blog (actually, it was my first blog as well), I discussed a bit about my religious history and the various “Christian” iterations I have gone through as well as my struggle in recent years to re-build my faith in God without assuming that my views are now “right” and other people’s views about God are “wrong.”  Now, being discerning about the veracity of one’s claims in life – whether religiously or politically – is not always a bad thing. Having said that, when one truly believes that the people who are “wrong” about their views on God are going to hell when they die – a plac ..read more