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Key to my understanding today are some observations about human life. I’ll refer to these later in the discussion about human nature, but a quick summary is in order. Following the Reformers, and adding a touch of neuroscience, it seems to me that we all become egocentric.

The dominant view in the history of Christianity is that Jesus the Christ is the savior of the world, the one and only mediator between God and humanity.

Almost 50 years ago I wrote a book entitled “What to Believe?”, subtitled The Questions of Christian Faith. I thought it might be interesting to see how my thinking today relates both to those questions and to whatever theological inclinations I may have had at the time.

Why have we not found evidence of life across the universe? One solution to the question is that civilizations destroy themselves before they develop the technology to escape their planet.

I am sorry to say this, but it has been a long time since going to church on Sunday morning has uplifted my spirit. Interacting with people definitely is uplifting, but the service is mostly boring, preachers never give an indication that the scripture readings are not the literal word of God, and the theology of these same preachers is stuck somewhere way back when.

Accepting that the Gospel accounts of events in Jesus and the disciples’ lives are nonhistorical creations intended to reach Jews in a traditional Jewish liturgical framework,  what *did* Jesus do and say that made the God’s presence in human life so clear to his followers?

If people can be helped to understand that the god they profess is not the God of Jesus, that no man is the messiah, and that God blesses all people, not just America, then perhaps WCN can be overcome. The church has a job to do, and that quite simply is to speak truth to perversion.

Who ever thought we would say this, but it seems to be the case that society could be collapsing before our very eyes. The common bond that forges a basis for unity is disintegrating, indicated and exemplified by the litany of headlines that continue to bombard us.

It’s a scary thought, but true. To quote the Nazi, Joseph Goebbels, “If you tell a big lie often enough and keep repeating it, people will come to believe it.” A full 60% of Republicans today believe that Biden is not the President of the United States.

Woven into the fabric of the disturbing news that continually bombards us are those moments of humanity, mostly unreported, that tell us who we really are.

Everything changes, and often not for the better. Life on this planet will end eventually, possibly sooner rather than later, due to, for example, nuclear annihilation, still quite possible but no longer front page.

There is no inescapable reason why human beings need become divided and protective. There is another way, a way that is based on recognizing that the world we have created for ourself is limited in scope and accuracy. We must not hide in our cocoon and be threatened by all else.

It was the rich and powerful who had Jesus killed. His brand of socialism was not good for business or politics. To their chagrin, his death did not end the movement he had begun. In fact, it spread.

What is your opinion of St Paul?

In a recent article in progressivechristianity.org Jim Burklo wrote about the possibility, if not likelihood, that there will be a flood of disaffected folks leaving the evangelical churches and that progressive congregations should be ready “to attract them by making changes in our styles of worship and congregational life that are necessary to seize this remarkable moment.” 

Our understanding of God is impacted by the historical context in which we live, and often changes with the season. A comparison of the 1960s with today is a case in point. It is also a span of time that brackets the theological journey of some of us, including myself.

As violence and division erupt here at home and around the world, we are forced again to ask of ourselves: who are we? What is the essential nature of human beings? Are we inclined to do good, or are we bound to pursue what might be named evil? Good, or bad? A seemingly simple question but one that drags in its wake a multitude of ramifications that are not so simple.

This book seeks  primarily  to  deal  with  the  questions  which any thinking person  must  raise  about  Christian  faith.

History has proven what Bonhoeffer suspected. Every successive generation in the West is less religious than the previous. Mainline Protestant denominations see membership in a steady decline, such that their numbers will reach zero in 23 years.

At some deep, deep level, we know that another human being, given the right circumstance, has the power to break through the facade we have created and touch the real me. That is an event we long for.

Even as we consider all the facts, the basic story that emerges is quite simple. The disciples were re-born while they lived with Jesus, and his death neither deterred nor discouraged them.  Instead, they turned to one another and embraced, fully aware in their hearts that he was not only still with them, but also that the newness he embodied embraced the universe. This was the bedrock of their faith and forms the foundation for the day we call Easter.

The fact, however, is that most of our life, indeed, the vast majority of it, is time between the moments. The question then becomes: what can I do to overcome my egocentricity and spend more time experiencing the truth of who I am? One answer is community. From what I can tell, community is important for the Buddha because we need support in our search.

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the story of the enlightenment of the Buddha are two of the most famous in the history of religion. Not only that, but even though they arose in different cultures they seem to say the same thing. And what they say resonates with us, no matter our time, no matter our place.

Since it is impossible to say with 100% accuracy what the man from Nazareth looked like, we all need to seriously question our own perception. Who is the Jesus we accept, or reject? Are we open to thinking new thoughts, or are we captivated by the past?

Do you think that Jesus believed he was the Son of God/Son of Man (Daniel 7) and that he physically cured people of diseases and serious disabilities.? If not,what do you think he was trying to achieve by wandering around the countryside with his disciples?

The events of Jan 6th can be seen from both a micro and a macro perspective. At the micro level various elements combined to create mob rule with murderous intent.

The Christmas story is one of comfort and sweetness, if you will allow me that word. But we must not become so enamored by the Silent Night that we miss the revolutionary impact of the imagery. God appears in the poor places on earth and not in the councils of the rich and powerful.

The battle for the soul of America rages on, now focusing on Thanksgiving. On the one hand are those who offer the image of peace and harmony between Europeans and Indigenous people, on the other those who remind us of the savagery of the Europeans as they sought to exterminate the inhabitants of the land. Which is it?

The 2020 US presidential election put on full display a country divided. 74 million voters hoped for a repudiation of Trumpism that they did not get. 70 million others voted to stay the course, and made it painfully clear that we live in a fragile democracy. The current moment in American history is fraught with the danger of disintegration.

In looking at how the Jews see the Adam and Eve story – that it was a story of taking responsibility and moving out of innocence etc. How does this reconcile however with Paul ( a Jew) in Romans Ch5 where he appears to take on a more traditional even literal approach with Adam and Sin entering in , The Fall etc. ?

We don’t know how it happened. A small band that practiced justice and equality for all became an institution that demanded slaves obey their owners, women obey their husbands, and everyone obey the wealthy elite.

In our society, where automation and technology threaten to put more and more of us at the end of the line, it might prove helpful to turn to Jesus’ parable in our striving to determine anew the meaning of labor and reward.

The resurrection of Jesus happened before the crucifixion. Furthermore, I suspect it was the rich and powerful who reversed the order of events. Confused? Let me explain.

The wealthy have always been in control. They are today, they were when Jesus walked the planet. He tried a revolution, but the wealthy commandeered the theology and killed the revolution.

Violence against people of color. Violence against women. Authoritarian and confused reaction to a pandemic. A fundamentalist distortion of Christianity. And controlling influence by the rich and powerful.

In the space of a month, once again we have witnessed here in the US the murder of black people by white people, both civilian and uniformed, and we have witnessed the instant and total poverty of a major segment of our population. The two are not unrelated.