June was LGBTQ+ Pride Month. This is and isn’t about that in particular, but about all the signals around it. Virtue Signaling In more “conservative” (but perhaps more accurate, reactionary) circles, virtue signaling is a pejoritive phrase regarding what people in such circles see as “liberal” or “progressive” iconography or wording that supports non-conservative/reactionary ideologies/practices.… Continue reading Send and Receive
Category: society
Against Institutions
I’m trying to read outside my silo, which looks at me and my belief structures a lot. I finally downloaded the substack app the other day, and Robert Reich was proposed to follow. So, I read his article The Dangerous Anti-Democracy Coalition. Reich brings up a lot of concerning issues. Thiel, Musk, and so on… Continue reading Against Institutions
Progressive Suffering
I started reading James Farwell’s, This is the Night: Suffering, Salvation, and the Liturgies of the Holy Week, and I came across this quote: Some social theorists, historians of philosophy, and theologians argue that the narrative structure of the modern myth of “progress,”—the structure of the “idealist diamond” that reduces suffering to a concept—was bequeathed… Continue reading Progressive Suffering
Unneeded
I am generally pretty open about my struggles with depression. I’ve even discussed my suicidal thoughts. I have made plans, and never (obviously) fulfilled them. The other day, I watched a webinar on our identity in Jesus Christ. It was a good webinar, don’t get me wrong, but it managed to trigger something. During the… Continue reading Unneeded
Public Privacy
It’s not that I have something to hide; I just have nothing I want you to see. The Girl (played by Amanda Seyfried) in the movie Anon Privacy is a nebulous topic. The so-called Constitutional “privacy” of the United States is far more fluid than most people will acknowledge. In fact, based upon recent cultural… Continue reading Public Privacy
#Purple for Royalty
Not #Red. Not #Blue. #Purple for royalty. I, like much of the country, am grieving. However, it is not about the election result that I am grieving, but people’s responses to it. I am particularly saddened by people of the church, and truly devastated by the people who provide spiritual leadership in the church…the pastors.… Continue reading #Purple for Royalty
How to talk about THAT topic. A guide for parents.
Kate Ott (not me) is taking on a huge task that I don’t envy. Talking to parents about how to talk about sex. This is not your health class sex education. It is, in my opinion, the more important piece of that that many people on one side of the social equation believe that we… Continue reading How to talk about THAT topic. A guide for parents.
Is There a Future for the Church of the Nazarene?
Let’s get the easy/hard stuff out of  the way. I LOVE my denomination. Okay, I love a lot of denominations, but I love mine. I do not love it over the Church, but that’s a discussion for another day. Back on the 19th of September, I quoted Ed Stetzer (on Google+ & Facebook) regarding his views on the… Continue reading Is There a Future for the Church of the Nazarene?
The Pursuit of Happiness
I’ve been annoyed lately (not always a good thing before writing a post). Probably centered around the Fourth of July (the formal U.S.A. Independence Day), there is always a spate of articles about the U.S.A. being founded on Christian principles, which is somewhat true. Then there is the argument over whether Thomas Jefferson was a… Continue reading The Pursuit of Happiness
The Key is the Response to Community, part 2
(Please read part 1 first) So, what light can this shine on our lives? Many things bind us together, some are voluntary, some are not. In the case of religion (or faith if the word “religion” bothers you), we do things together to (re)affirm our community. Circumcision was the earliest (and physically experienced) Jewish rite… Continue reading The Key is the Response to Community, part 2