(This is a post about religion, but I think it applies to all groups of people in one way or another.) When I was growing up, I was taught the most important thing about being a Christian was that I believed the right things. My mental acceptance of a set of principles defined my status Continue reading

One thing that surprised me as a high school student was that I was good at math. I wouldn’t call myself a “math whiz” by any stretch, but I was better at calculations than I thought I would be. Math was a puzzle to solve, and I enjoyed it, especially algebra. I was quite good Continue reading

To recap: Sin is the problem and Jesus Christ is the solution. Cool. Got it. What does that mean? I’m super glad you asked because this is when I get to write the thing I’ve been wanting to write since I started this Every Thursday Theology Shindig™: Christ is the solution to Sin, and is Continue reading

Here’s one of my favorite jokes: “My friends all say I’m condescending. That means I talk down to people.” I don’t know if people laugh at this joke when I tell it because it’s inherently funny or if they don’t have the guts to tell me it’s a little too much like me, but I Continue reading

Okay, so now we have a grasp of what Sin is. What about Evil…? One story I’ve always been fascinated by is the Tower of Babel. Like all the other stories at the beginning of the Bible (we call them the “Stories of the Beginning”) their purpose is to explain why things are the way Continue reading

Last time, I shared a core concept from one of my favorite theologians, Paul Tillich: “Where fear and anxiety are present, sin is sure to follow.” I said: We are not “sinners” because we are “bad.” We are “sinners” because we are afraid and anxious… And then we do bad things. But what are those “bad things”? Continue reading

Now that we’ve done our detour through the idea that theology is art, let’s get back to Paul, shall we? When Paul was taken to the place of debate, called the Areopagus, to explain what he was arguing about, his goal was to convert people to faith in Jesus Christ. I believe his method was Continue reading

I remember the first conversations I had with my wife when we were college students. They were halting and awkward, the inevitable result of two people trying to learn of the other without sounding stupid. It was when we both realized we came from near the Kansas City area that things started to pick up. Continue reading

Last time, I offered my definition of Theology: Theology is the creation of forms symbolic of human feeling about God. I want to say a bit more about feeling, specifically our feeling of utter dependance on God. Theology is not inviting us to describe just some thoughts and opinions about God. Theology wants us to Continue reading