The Unorthodox Gatherings

Virtually no one in a heterosexual relationship in America practices the sexual ethics of the Bible. Heterosexual couples have allowed a massive departure from what the Bible says about hetero relationships because they are archaic and oppressive. Yet, when it comes to same-sex relationships, the Bible is utilized as the "end-all, be-all" of what a relationship should be. In today's...

There is a great assumption that because Jews, Christians, and Muslims today are monotheistic that ancient Jews were monotheistic. However, from the beginning of the Bible to the end it becomes clear that ancient Jews believed in a plethora of gods, but the supremacy of their god. In today's episode we not only go over the scriptural references to these other gods, but we even look at a time w...

The Devil is as consistent as God if you ask a large swath of Christians. However, while God is clearly a part of the Biblical narrative from beginning to end, the same cannot be said about the Devil. Most of what our culture believes about the devil doesn't come from scripture, but has been spun from legends and misinterpretations long after scripture was completed. Today we look at the evolu...

Abortion is not just a hot-button topic in society, it's a single-issue area for a lot of Christians who vote. But does the Bible condemn abortion? In this episode we look at what the Bible says about the practice. I will share an important disclaimer: this episode is not about a moral stance on abortion. It is explicitly about what the Bible says on abortion. What becomes clear in this episod...

This episode is a bit of a controversial one as it starts off quickly the well established assertion that in the Fall story of Genesis, God absolutely lies to the first people. We go through the implications of this story as well as a story of deception in 2 Kings and what this means for us today.

This may seem like a pretty benign topic, but overlapping the long held assumption that God created the universe from nothing is the justification that people have maintained throughout time that since their God is all-powerful, they can do to outsiders whatever they want. We will be looking historically at the creation story and the origin of the doctrin creatio ex nihili in an attempt to create...

Just the creation of what we know today as the Bible is full of assumptions informed by dogma and doctrine. And the truth is, scholars know quite a bit about how the Bible not only came to be compiled, but how it's been edited and revised over the last 1700 years. Today's episode gives a brief overview of how the Bible came to be and it's enough to help us realize how human this book t...

In this episode we lay the groundwork for the start of our new series on scholar Dan McClellan's new book, The Bible Says So. Today we go through the dilemmas of Christianity being so dogmatic, even in the face of contradicting scholastic data. Throughout this series we'll be tackling some big misunderstandings that have come from a more dogmatic approach in a the hopes that Christianity c...

We've all grown up hearing the Bible used as a moral authority for various arguments. Some of the big ones in our society revolve around sexuality, status of women in society and household, and homosexuality. However, the people that wield this moral authority are rarely versed in the context of the bible, and all of them conveniently rely on moral changes our society has made to the Bible wit...

We conclude our series on Liberation Theology with Hope and Politics. Hope is a seemingly innocuous concept, but when considered in light of developed and developing areas, hope becomes a radical beacon that shines a light on the shortcomings of the present. However, to those whose present is just fine, hope becomes something to guard against. Hope is the cornerstone for Jesus, who uses this beaco...

We have gone through a ton of material and not had as much time to reflect and respond, so this episode is a recap of everything so far, with some space to respond to what we've been talking about.

One might not consider history a theological concept, but when a substantial group's theological belief is that the only purpose of their religion is to convince people to adopt beliefs in order to go to an afterlife destination, than history becomes irrelevant and it becomes excusable to not teach or remember history. And then the lessons of history are forgotten and horrendous acts are repea...

Today we talk about the concept of Salvation. A term that most people grew up with having to do with where one's soul goes after they die. However, the Biblical narrative throughout scripture has far less to do with an after-life definition and far more with the life one works towards today. With massive implications on how people have understood the role of the Church, we delve into this conc...

In all relationships a dependence develops between both parties, and ideally this dependence is both mutual and equitable. However, in the course of relationships with minority communities and oppressed communities the level of dependence is not only one sided, but a mechanism to keep marginalized communities in unjust environments so that resources and/or labor can continue to be exploited. Depen...

For some people, church is only meant to be a place one goes to worship. Caring for the least of these becomes a suggestion more than a mandate. For others, it's hard to understand how the Church can be a space that ignores liberation when it claims to follow a man who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom fo...

Development seems like an innocuous term, but when one group owns the means of development, such as when a country gains independence, but enters a process of development that is monopolized by the country from which it gained its independence, then development becomes another form of slavery. In today's conversation we look at the process of development in the Western World and how this is an...

Liberation Theology came out of Latin America in the 60s, 70s, and 80s and it defined a moment in Christian Theology. It's been criticized heavily by conservative Christianity, especially American Evangelicalism. What many of these perspectives miss is that Liberation Theology is both immensely well versed in the philosophy that undergirds all theology, and because of this, reaches to the core...

The truth is as both a pastor and a student of the Bible I can make the text say whatever I want. My community trusts that I'm approaching the text authentically and scholastically. And I do try. However, Christianity in America has departed so far from a scholastic understanding of the Bible that churches, pastors, leaders, etc. have created interpretations of the text that no way reflect the...

We are given visions about the world all the time. From politics, news organizations, social media, and churches. These visions usually portray the world in both a current negative light and moving in a negative direction, primarily to create fear. Yet, Jesus cast overwhelmingly hopeful visions for people. Jesus promised the kingdom of heaven was here, and through loving action would reach fulfill...

How were you raised to deal with failure? Perhaps in a positive way by your parents, but was it ridiculed by your peers. For most people we were raised to think of failures as not only things to avoid, but things to hide. The Jesus movement dealt with failure in a counter-cultural way: it embraced it and simply asked people to learn and try again with a new beginning. While seemingly simple, this...

Sometimes we get caught up with the end of the story. We think Christianity is about the growth in numbers, the size of the building, the large successes, etc. Not only does this detract from the goal, it can create an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. But when we look at the story of Jesus, we see a person from a small, impoverished tribe, simply responding to the needs in front of him with lo...

There might not be a greater antithesis to the American value system than Radical Generosity. This value was deeply imbedded into the person and ministry of Jesus, yet, much of the American Church misses this value. Today we talk about Radical Generosity and the obstacles we, and The Church, face in adopting this value of Jesus.

To say the Church today misses the incarnational place that Jesus has with marginalized people is a vast understatement. The Bible is so explicit about Christ being of the marginalized and not of the rich or powerful, yet the Church grossly ignores this point. Today we look at the value of downward mobility, or the intentionality of the divine power being present, first and foremost, among the mar...

Modern Christianity has been raised with doctrines and dogmas, not values. Doctrines and dogmas tend to be lines in the sand placing people on one side or another. However, values can be an open invitation. Today we start a new series exploring the values of Jesus as evident in the words and actions of his ministry rather than going straight to dogmas and doctrines that have come solely from his d...

An explicit claim needs to be made about Purity Culture's ignorance when it comes to utilizing biblical texts: In antiquity, women were property, and all texts about sexuality and women's place in relationships start from this point. Our society, rightfully so, no longer affirms this cultural tenet, yet Purity Culture insists on biblical reliance. This selective and ignorance needs to be called ou...