Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
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The Thoughtful Pastor is one woman’s way of making sense of the world, especially the intersected world of religion and politics. I think, question, and connect odd dots. A retired United Methodist Pastor blogs on progressive Christian theology and practice. A pastor ponders life, death, hope, despair, theology and the nature of God.
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
6d ago
Truth: we saw more abortions in 2023 than before the overturn of Roe vs Wade and before states established laws that removed abortion access and punished providers of women’s health care. So what has happened after the pro-life “life begins at conception” group dominated the Supreme Court and resulted in the overturn of Roe vs ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
2M ago
Can Democracy and Evangelical Christianity co-exist? I used to think so. Now, I’m not so sure. Democracy does not matter in that world. Here is just one of the many sincerely alarmist articles about some plans that Mr. Trump, with the full support of the Evangelical world, has floated to dismantle many of the ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
3M ago
While my son, the migrant, and his family had the time and the means to follow all the rules, Jesus, the migrant, did not. Every stranger is an enemy~Primo Levi A number of years ago, I started reading The Complete Works of Primo Levi. Levi was an Italian Jew, a chemist, and a gifted writer ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
3M ago
Repeal the 19th Amendment if you really want to stop abortions. Women have no biblical right to the vote anyway. The political news, in addition to being dominated by former President Trump’s hate-filled antics, also now overflows with the agony of the GOP’s dawning realization that their campaign against bodily autonomy for women is not ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
3M ago
Let’s face it: Skipping Advent is the real “reason for the season.” The birth of Jesus has nothing to do with it. Immediately after Thanksgiving (and possibly before, but I was not shopping then), walking into a mall or any large store means an assault on the senses with happy, jolly Christmas music, all fine ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
4M ago
I recently totally shocked a lovely, younger, faithful Christian friend by telling her I thought we should stop teaching the Bible to children. Scene One: The Bible Study The Bible study group was small for our last meeting. I almost wanted to put off the lesson because it was one of my best. I wanted ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
7M ago
It is starting to make sense to see Trump as Messiah. Clearly, I’ve had a change of thought about him and his impact. With a bit of horrified fascination, I have been watching the doubling down of support to return Donald J Trump, the voice and influence behind an armed insurrection against the US, to ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
8M ago
Bad theology teaches us that God is in the business of smiting us whenever God may be, for whatever reason, displeased with us. [Note: names have been changed to protect privacy.] We were heading out for our late afternoon Tuesday socializing-with-friends time. Just over a block from our house, an elderly neighbor waved us down ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
9M ago
I was told today that I could no longer call myself a “biological female” but must use the term, “assigned female at birth (AFAB).” Well, hmmm . . . according to a person whom I respect, I can no longer refer to myself as a biological female and remain sensitive to the transgender community. I ..read more
Patheos | The Thoughtful Pastor
10M ago
The headline grabbed me the moment I opened the paper as Southern Baptists ready themselves to bar women from pastoral roles and the title. I opened the New York Times today and find, in this prime spot just above the fold, this headline: Baptists Push To Bar Women From Ministry. A few minutes later, the ..read more