FollowUnless you live under a rock, the phrase “9-11” carries a certain weight. Many of us remember that day with a frightening clarity; one born of watching terrible events play out in real-time on our televisions. Some, like me, were sitting in a fire station and saw our brothers and sisters of the FDNY selflessly […]
Category Archives: suffering
Oh Boy, Columbus Day!
It appears the name of the holiday we’re presently celebrating has been changed to “Be A Condescending Dick Day” and no one bothered to let me know. Sorry if that comes off a little rough, but I am so over all the Columbus Day bullshit some of my progressive friends have throwing up on social […]
Really, God?
During a recent sermon, I was reminded of the story of Naaman. It’s about a powerful dude, Naaman (duh), who has a skin disease and visits Elisha to get some healing. Things go a little sideways because, not only does Elisha fail to treat him with the respect he so richly deserves, he tells the guy to go […]
Trigger Warning
I’ll start this out with a somewhat controversial statement: I am not a fan of the trigger warning. Actually, I guess it’s more accurate to say I’m conflicted about the trigger warning. I understand that hearing certain things can be very hard for someone who’s suffered trauma[1]been there, done that. At the same time, I […]
It’s Advent (Sigh) Pt IV
It’s time for the next installment in this curmudgeonly bitch-fest about Advent. Today, we will discuss “joy”. And, before you ask, I don’t have a problem with joy: I have a problem with the way we talk about joy. The word gets thrown around like it’s no big deal and, really, it kind of is. Our approach […]
It’s Advent (Sigh) PtIII
In the continuing saga of my issues with Advent, we talk about yet another of those words connected with it: hope. Now, one of the best things about being a Baptist is that you aren’t bound to liturgical things like the lectionary text. This past Sunday at College Park Baptist Church, that freedom allowed our […]
The Wisdom Of Atticus Finch
I haven’t said much about the grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for Michael Brown’s death because I’m still processing it. I have a lot of questions about they arrived at this conclusion and, until I’ve worked them out, I’m keeping my mouth shut. Something I’m not having trouble processing is the response […]
This Transgender Thing Is Hard
Last month, my daughter, I mean son, I mean…, shit, I don’t know what I mean. Anyway, she/he came out as transgender. It wasn’t really a big surprise since they’d been flirting with the idea that they were trans for almost a year. It’s been almost two years since my child came out as…, not heterosexual. […]
Got Guilt?
Feeling guilty? No? Well, you will after watching this scarefest. Basically, it’s says God loves you so much that if you don’t love him back, he will condemn you to eternal, fiery torment. More than that, if you do love God back, but don’t pester the living shit out of everyone around you until they do too, […]
Some People Are Just Assholes
More than a few progressives are troubled by the letters of the Apostle Paul and for good reason. Paul’s letters seem to condone misogyny, slavery and other forms of oppression in countless ways. But, perhaps even more troubling, his letters also contain some pretty good theology and have played a part in making us progressive Christians who […]